Hobart Building
The Hobart Building is an office high rise located at 582–592 Market Street, near Montgomery and 2nd Streets, in the financial district of San Francisco, California. It was completed in 1914 after only eleven months, which led to accusations that it had been constructed with a degree of recklessness. It was at the time the second tallest building in the city, at 21 floors and. It was designed by Willis Polk.
The building was constructed for the Hobart Estate Company on the site of the company's previous offices. The location was reportedly chosen by founder Walter S. Hobart in the 1880s for its prominent location at the head of 2nd Street, originally one of the city's major streets leading to the fashionable Rincon Hill neighborhood. Said to be the favorite commercial building of its designer, Willis Polk, its sculpted terra cotta exterior with Baroque ornamentation and handcrafted brass and Italian marble interior are a noted example of neoclassical architecture.
Its unusual shape was dictated by the site, which is an asymmetric polygon, and since a neighboring structure was torn down in 1967, exposing one flank, it is now even more idiosyncratic and striking. The Hobart Building was designated as a landmark by the City of San Francisco in 1983.Gallery
