List of tallest buildings in San Francisco

, California, in the United States, has at least 472 high-rises, 56 of which are at least tall. The tallest building is Salesforce Tower, which rises and as of 2018 is the 13th-tallest building in the United States. The city's second-tallest building is the Transamerica Pyramid, which rises, and was previously the city's tallest for 45 years, from 1972 to 2017. The city's third-tallest building is 181 Fremont, rising to 802 ft.
San Francisco has 26 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet. Seven more skyscrapers of over 150 m are under construction, have been approved for construction, or have been proposed. Its skyline is currently ranked second in the Western United States and sixth in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles.

History

San Francisco's first skyscraper was the Chronicle Building, which was completed in 1890. M. H. de Young, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, commissioned Burnham and Root to design a signature tower to convey the power of his newspaper. Not to be outdone, de Young's rival, industrialist Claus Spreckels, purchased the San Francisco Call in 1895 and commissioned a tower of his own that would dwarf the Chronicle Building. The Call Building was completed in 1898 and stood across Market Street from the Chronicle Building. The Call Building would remain the city's tallest for nearly a quarter century.
Both steel-framed structures survived the 1906 earthquake, demonstrating that tall buildings could be safely constructed in earthquake country. Other early twentieth-century skyscrapers above include the Merchants Exchange Building, Humboldt Bank Building, Hobart Building, and Southern Pacific Building. Another skyscraper boom took hold during the 1920s, when several Neo-Gothic and Art Deco high rises, reaching three to four hundred feet in height, were constructed, including the Standard Oil Building, Pacific Telephone Building, Russ Building, Hunter-Dulin Building, 450 Sutter Medical Building, Shell Building, and McAllister Tower.
The Great Depression and World War II halted any further skyscraper construction until the 1950s when the Equitable Life Building and Crown-Zellerbach Building were completed. Many of San Francisco's tallest buildings, particularly its office skyscrapers, were completed in a building boom from the late 1960s until the late 1980s. During the 1960s, at least 40 new skyscrapers were built, and the Hartford Building, 44 Montgomery, Bank of America Center, and Transamerica Pyramid each, in turn, took the title of tallest building in California upon completion. At tall, the Transamerica Pyramid was one of the most controversial, with critics suggesting that it be torn down even before it was completed.
This surge of construction was dubbed "Manhattanization" by opponents and led to local legislation that set some of the strictest building height limits and regulations in the country. In 1985, San Francisco adopted the Downtown Plan, which slowed development in the Financial District north of Market Street and directed it to the area South of Market around the Transbay Terminal. Over 250 historic buildings were protected from development and developers were required to set aside open space for new projects. To prevent excessive growth and smooth the boom-and-bust building cycle, the Plan included an annual limit of for new office development, although it grandfathered millions of square feet of proposals already in the development pipeline. In response, voters approved Proposition M in November 1986 that reduced the annual limit to until the grandfathered square footage was accounted for, which occurred in 1999.
is visible on the right. The foundation of the Salesforce Tower is visible on the lower left.
These limits, combined with the early 1990s recession, led to a significant slowdown of skyscraper construction during the late 1980s and 1990s. To guide new development, the city passed several neighborhood plans, such as the Rincon Hill Plan in 2005 and Transit Center District Plan in 2012, which allow taller skyscrapers in certain specific locations in the South of Market area. Since the early 2000s, the city has been undergoing another building boom, with numerous buildings over 400 feet proposed, approved, or under construction; some, such as the two-towered One Rincon Hill and mixed-use 181 Fremont, have been completed. Multiple skyscrapers have been constructed near the new Transbay Transit Center, including Salesforce Tower, which topped-out in 2017 at a height of. This building is the first supertall skyscraper in San Francisco and among the tallest in the United States.

Tallest buildings

This list ranks San Francisco skyscrapers that stand at least tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft	Floors	Use	Year	Coordinates	Notes
1	Salesforce Tower		1,070	61	Office	2018		11th-tallest building in the United States 2nd-tallest building in California Tallest building in San Francisco since 2018 Tallest building constructed in San Francisco in the 2010s
2	Transamerica Pyramid			48	Office	1972		41st-tallest building in the United States 5th-tallest building in California Tallest building in San Francisco from 1972 until 2018, when Salesforce Tower was topped-off. Tallest building on the West Coast from 1972 until 1974 Tallest building constructed in San Francisco in the 1970s
3	181 Fremont		802	56	Office, Residential	2017		2nd-tallest mixed-use residential building west of the Mississippi River.
4	555 California Street			52	Office	1969		Tallest building on the West Coast from 1969 to 1972 Tallest building constructed in the city in the 1960s Formerly known as Bank of America Center Largest office building in San Francisco by floor area.
5	345 California Center			48	Hotel, Office	1986		Tallest mid-block skyscraper in San Francisco Tallest building constructed in the city in the 1980s The height shown includes flagpoles.
6	Millennium Tower			58	Hotel, Residential	2009		Tallest building constructed in the city in the 2000s Fact: The Millennium Tower has tilted up to 2 inches a year and has sunk as much as 3 inches per year
7	One Rincon Hill			60	Residential	2008		Originally known as One Rincon Hill South Tower. Tallest all-residential building in the city.
8	Park Tower at Transbay			43	Office	2018
9	50 Fremont Center			43	Office	1985
9	101 California Street			48	Office	1982
11	The Avery *			56	Residential	2019
12	Market Center			40	Office	1975		Also known as Chevron Tower
13	Four Embarcadero Center			45	Office	1982
14	One Embarcadero Center			45	Office	1971
15	44 Montgomery Street			43	Office	1967		Tallest building in California from 1967 to 1969
16	Spear Tower			43	Office	1976
17	One Sansome Street			41	Office	1984		Also known as the Citigroup Center
18	The Harrison			49	Residential	2014		Originally known as One Rincon Hill North Tower.
19	One Front Street			38	Office	1979		Also known as Shaklee Terraces and 444 Market Street
20	525 Market Street			39	Office	1973
20	McKesson Plaza			38	Office	1969
22	425 Market Street			38	Office	1973
23	One Montgomery Tower			38	Office	1982
24	333 Bush Street			43	Office, Residential	1986
25	Hilton San Francisco Tower I			46	Hotel	1971		Tallest building used exclusively as a hotel in the city
26	Pacific Gas & Electric Building			34	Office	1971
27	50 California Street			37	Office	1972
27	555 Mission Street			33	Office	2008		Tallest office building constructed in the 2000s
29	St. Regis Museum Tower			42	Hotel, Residential	2005
30	100 Pine Center			33	Office	1972
30	45 Fremont Street			34	Office	1978		Also known as the Bechtel Building
32	333 Market Street			33	Office	1979
33	650 California Street			34	Office	1964		Tallest building in California from 1965 to 1967 Also known as the Hartford Building
34	LUMINA I			43	Residential	2015
35	100 First Plaza			27	Office	1988
36	340 Fremont Street			40	Residential	2016
36	399 Fremont Street			42	Residential	2016
36	500 Folsom *			43	Residential	2019
39	One California			32	Office	1969
40	San Francisco Marriott Marquis			39	Hotel	1989
41	Russ Building			32	Office	1927		Tied as the tallest building constructed in the city in the 1920s
41	140 New Montgomery			26	Office	1925		Tied as the tallest building constructed in the city in the 1920s Originally called the Pacific Telephone Building upon completion
43	Jasper			39	Residential	2015
44	The Infinity II			41	Residential	2009
44	JPMorgan Chase Building			31	Office	2002
44	The Paramount			40	Residential	2002
47	Providian Financial Building			30	Office	1981
48	Three Embarcadero Center			31	Office	1977
48	Two Embarcadero Center			30	Office	1974
48	350 Mission Street			27	Office	2015
51	595 Market Street			30	Office	1979
52	123 Mission Street			29	Office	1986
53	101 Montgomery			28	Office	1984
53	Embarcadero West			34	Office	1989
55	100 Van Ness Avenue			29	Residential	1974		Originally completed as an office tower in 1974 before residential conversion in 2014 Also known as the California Automobile Association Building
55	LUMINA II			38	Residential	2015

* indicates still under construction, but has been topped out

Tallest under construction, approved and proposed

Under construction

This lists buildings that are under construction in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least. Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are also included.

Name	Height ft	Floors	Use	Year	Coordinates	Notes
Oceanwide Center, Tower 1	910	61	Office, Residential	2021		Will be the second tallest building in San Francisco once completed, only behind the Salesforce Tower. Construction started December 2016.
Oceanwide Center, Tower 2	625	54	Hotel, Residential	2021		This project contains a 169-room Waldorf Astoria San Francisco hotel on the first 21 floors and approximately 154 residential units on the upper 33 floors.
The Avery	575	56	Residential	2019		This project contains approximately 554 units from developer Related California and architecture firm OMA. Topped-out in June 2018.
706 Mission Street	510	43	Museum, Residential	2020		This project will contain 190 condominiums and an expanded Mexican Museum. Construction began in February 2016.
500 Folsom	440	43	Residential	2019		This project will contain 563 residential units on Folsom Street between First and Essex streets. Construction started in March 2016. Topped-out in January 2019.
MIRA	422	39	Residential	2020		This project contains 391 condominiums from developer Tishman Speyer and Studio Gang Architects. Construction started mid-2017. It is also known as 160 Folsom Street and Transbay Block 1. The development's original proposed name was Folsom Bay Tower.
1500 Mission Street	416	39	Office, Residential	2020		This project consists of a 550-unit residential tower and a shorter office tower for the City of San Francisco.

Approved

This lists buildings that are approved for construction in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least.

Name	Height ft	Floors	Year	Coordinates	Notes
524 Howard Street	515	48			This project contains 334 residential units from developer Crescent Heights.
5M Project Residential Tower	470	40			This project contains office and residential on at Fifth and Mission.
One Oak	426	40	2021		This project would contain 304 condominiums.
555 Howard Street	405	36	2020		This project includes 69 condominiums over a 255-room hotel.
5M Project Office Tower	395	23			This project contains office and residential on at Fifth and Mission.

Proposed

This lists buildings that are proposed in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least.

Name	Height ft	Floors*	Year*	Coordinates	Notes
Transbay Parcel F	806	64
Palace Hotel Residential Tower	669	60			This project is also known as Two New Montgomery.
One Montgomery Street	500	33
Sun Tower	450				This project is also referred to as Treasure Island Tower. It would stand as the tallest building on Treasure Island.
1481 Post Street	410	36			This project is also referred to as Cathedral Hill Plaza II and Post Street Tower.
30 Van Ness	400	42
655 4th Street	400	40
10 South Van Ness	400	38
10 South Van Ness Tower B	400	38
48 Tehama Street	366	30
Central SOMA Tower	350	37			This project is also known as 636-648 4th Street.
98 Franklin Street	332	31

* Table entries with dashes indicate that information regarding building floor counts or dates of completion has not yet been released.

Timeline of tallest buildings

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in San Francisco as well as the current titleholder, the Salesforce Tower.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft	Floors	Notes / Reference
Montgomery Block		628 Montgomery Street	1853–1854	~50	4
Old Saint Mary's Cathedral		660 California Street	1854–1875	90	1
Palace Hotel		2 New Montgomery Street	1875–1890	120	7
Chronicle Building		690 Market Street	1890–1898	218	10
Call Building		703 Market Street	1898–1922	315	15
225 Bush Street		225 Bush Street	1922–1925	328	22
140 New Montgomery		140 New Montgomery Street	1925–1964	435	26
Russ Building		235 Montgomery Street	1927–1964	435	31
650 California Street		650 California Street	1964–1967	466	33
44 Montgomery Street		44 Montgomery Street	1967–1969	565	43
555 California Street		555 California Street	1969–1972	779	52
Transamerica Pyramid		600 Montgomery Street	1972–2018	853	48
Salesforce Tower		415 Mission Street	2018–present	1,070	61

Popular movies

The Hunger Games (film) - 2012 American dystopian action thriller science fiction-adventure film directed by Gary Ross and based on Suzanne Collins’s 2008 novel of the same name. It is the first insta...
untitled Captain Marvel sequel - part of Marvel Cinematic Universe....
Killers of the Flower Moon (film project) - Killers of the Flower Moon - film project in United States of America. It was presented as drama, detective fiction, thriller. The film project starred Leonardo Dicaprio, Robert De Niro. Director of...
Five Nights at Freddy's (film) - Five Nights at Freddy's - film published in 2017 in United States of America. Scenarist of the film - Scott Cawthon....

Popular books

Book of Revelation - The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament, and consequently is also the final book of the Christian Bible. Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: apok...
Book of Genesis - account of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, Israel's ancestors and the origins...
Gospel of Matthew - The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and one of the three synoptic gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, rejected and executed in Israel, pronounces judgement on ...
Michelin Guide - Michelin Guides are a series of guide books published by the French tyre company Michelin for more than a century. The term normally refers to the annually published Michelin Red Guide , the oldest...
Psalms - The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms , the Psalter or "the Psalms", is the first book of the Ketuvim , the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and thus a book of th...
Ecclesiastes - Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh , where it is classified as one of the Ketuvim . Originally written c. 450–200 BCE, it is also among the canonical Wisdom literature of the Old Tes...
The 48 Laws of Power - non-fiction book by American author Robert Greene. The book...

Popular television series

The Crown (TV series) - historical drama web television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, created and principally written by Peter Morgan, and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Tel...
Friends - American sitcom television series, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast sta...
Young Sheldon - spin-off prequel to The Big Bang Theory and begins with the character Sheldon...
Modern Family - American television mockumentary family sitcom created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for eleven seasons, from September 23...
Loki (TV series) - upcoming American web television miniseries created for Disney+ by Michael Waldron, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shar...
Game of Thrones - American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It...
Shameless (American TV series) - American comedy-drama television series developed by John Wells which debuted on Showtime on January 9, 2011. It...