140 New Montgomery

History

The building was designed to consolidate numerous smaller buildings and outdated offices into a modern headquarters for The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co., and as a result, was designated as the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. Coast Division Offices by the company, though referred to colloquially as The Telephone Building.

The building's architecture was influenced by Eliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower design, in particular regarding the setbacks on the higher floors.

In reference to the Bell System, of which The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. was a member of at the time of construction, the façade featured bell motifs in many locations, most notably surrounding the arch over the main entrance doors on New Montgomery Street. The decorations near the base and in the lobby also include references to the candlestick telephone and the pneumatic tube, some of the most modern communication technologies in use at the time. After the breakup of the Bell System (AT&T) in 1984, and the formation the Regional Bell Operating Companies, also known as the Baby Bells, Pacific Telephone changed its name to Pacific Bell.

In 1929, Sir Winston Churchill visited the building and made his first transatlantic telephone call, phoning his London home.

For 44 years until 1978, the top of the roof was used to convey official storm warnings to sailors at the direction of the United States National Weather Service, in the form of a 25 ft long triangular red flag by day, and a red light at night.

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake did only minor damage to the building, affecting parts of the terracotta cladding and requiring the eight eagle sculptures to be replaced with fiberglass replicas.****

In the 21st century

In 2006, AT&T moved out of the building, following its merger with SBC Communications. In 2007, the PacBell Building was sold by AT&T to Stockbridge Capital Group and Wilson Meany Sullivan for . In 2008, the new owners filed plans to convert the tower into 118 luxury condominiums. However, those plans were put on hold during the 2008 financial crisis, and the building sat empty for nearly six years.

Following a surge in office demand in 2010–2011, Wilson Meany Sullivan changed the plans back to office space. Major renovation work began in February 2012, to improve the building's seismic performance, install all–new mechanical, electric, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems, and preserve and restore the building's historic lobby, at an estimated cost of . In 2012, Yelp announced it had signed a lease on the building's 100000 sqft of office space through 2020. After two expansions, the company held a total of almost 150000 sqft on 13 floors in the fall 2015.

In April 2016, Pembroke Real Estate Inc., a Boston–based REIT, acquired 140 New Montgomery as part of its portfolio — its second acquisition in San Francisco. According to property records, Pembroke paid for the property, at around per square foot.

In 2021, Yelp did not renew its 2011 lease, and instead subleased a smaller space at nearby 350 Mission Street, due to the rise of remote work in the COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 2023, during what the San Francisco Chronicle described as "Downtown San Francisco['s] worst office vacancy crisis on record," the building had a vacancy rate of 32.9%.

References

References

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