Fugazi Bank Building

The Fugazi Bank Building, also known as the Fugazi Banca Popolare Operaia Italiana Building, and Old Transamerica Building,[2] is a historic commercial building built in 1909, and located at 4 Columbus Avenue in the Jackson Square Historic District of San Francisco, California.[3][4]

Fugazi Bank Building
Location4 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, California, 94111, U.S.
Coordinates37.795839°N 122.403692°W / 37.795839; -122.403692
Built1909 (1909)
ArchitectCharles Peter Paff
Architectural style(s)Classical Revival
DesignatedMarch 5, 1973
Reference no.52[1]
Fugazi Bank Building is located in San Francisco County
Fugazi Bank Building
Location of Fugazi Bank Building in San Francisco County
Fugazi Bank Building is located in California
Fugazi Bank Building
Fugazi Bank Building (California)
Fugazi Bank Building is located in the United States
Fugazi Bank Building
Fugazi Bank Building (the United States)

The Fugazi Bank Building has been listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark since March 5, 1973;[5] and is part of the Jackson Square Historic District which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[6]

History

The Fugazi Bank Building was designed by architect Charles Peter Paff (1865–1942) and was originally flat-iron-shaped and standing at two stories with a cupola at its sharp point,[3] but the cupola was removed and a third story was later added.[7] The building has a white terra cotta-cladding.[7]

The Fugazi Bank Building was a design reference-point for the Reid & Reids' Colombo Building (1913; also known as the Drexler-Colombo Building) located nearby at 1 Columbus Avenue, with a mirroring building shape.[7][8] These two buildings together are framing the gateway to Columbus Avenue and the North Beach neighborhood.

Giovanni "John" Fugazi (1838–1916) originally built the structure in 1909 to hold the Banca Popolare Operaia Italiana Popular Italiana Bank. A.P. Giannini had been a member of the Fugazi Bank's board of directors early in his career and before founding the Bank of Italy; and later he purchased the building which served as the headquarters of his Transamerica Corporation (founded in 1928).[5] Since November 2003, the building has been owned by the Church of Scientology.[9]

See also

References
  1. "City of San Francisco Designated Landmarks" (PDF). City of San Francisco. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
  2. Hartlaub, Peter (2022-05-09). "'An inhumane creation': The rise of the Transamerica Pyramid, once S.F.'s most hated building". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  3. Michelson, Alan. "Fugazi Bank Building, Jackson Square, San Francisco, CA". Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD). Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  4. "Guide: 52. Transamerica Building (Old)". The San Francisco Examiner. 1974-12-22. p. 185. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  5. "San Francisco Landmark #52: Fugazi Bank Building". noehill.com. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  6. "National Register Information System – (#71000186)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  7. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Colombo Building". National Park Service. December 18, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2022. With accompanying pictures
  8. Michelson, Alan. "Colombo Building, Financial District, San Francisco, CA". Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD). Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  9. Goupil, Helene; Krist, Josh (2005). San Francisco: The Unknown City. Arsenal Pulp Press/Josh Krist. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-55152-188-6.
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