Pacific Telephone Building at 140 New Montgomery: The Art Deco Skyscraper

Why is it significant?

Look up at the soaring twenty-six-story terracotta tower of 140 New Montgomery Street, celebrated as one of the finest Art Deco commercial skyscrapers in the United States.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Look up at the soaring twenty-six-story terracotta tower of 140 New Montgomery Street, celebrated as one of the finest Art Deco commercial skyscrapers in the United States. Completed in 1925 as the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company headquarters, this four-hundred-thirty-five-foot tower was designed by brilliant local architect Timothy Pflueger in partnership with James Miller. For over four decades, it held the proud distinction of being the tallest skyscraper in San Francisco, its vertical piers and tapered setbacks embodying the soaring optimism of California's roaring twenties.

Step inside the opulent ground-floor lobby and prepare to be dazzled. The vaulted ceiling is hand-stenciled with Chinese-inspired black and gold lacquered motifs, while walls are clad in polished black Belgian marble. Look up at the decorative bronze elevator doors and grilles, where stylized telephone bells, lightning bolts, and communication waves are woven into delicate Art Deco patterns. When Winston Churchill visited San Francisco in 1929, he toured this very lobby, marvelling at its technological modernism.

Look toward the summit of the tower through the binoculars or camera zoom. Perched atop the twenty-sixth floor roof parapet are eight monumental sculpted eagles with thirteen-foot wingspans, carved from architectural terracotta. Pflueger designed these heroic avian guardians to watch over the telephone lines connecting San Francisco with the Pacific basin and the American continent. Generations of travelers, artists, and neighborhood residents have gathered at this very location, inspired by the unforgettable harmony where vibrant community memory meets bold architectural innovation. Generations of travelers, artists, and neighborhood residents have gathered at this very location, inspired by the unforgettable harmony where vibrant community memory meets bold architectural innovation. Generations of travelers, artists, and neighborhood residents have gathered at this very location, inspired by the unforgettable harmony where vibrant community memory meets bold architectural innovation.

In 2012, the tower underwent an award-winning LEED Gold historic rehabilitation, preserving its historic grandeur while housing modern technology offices.

Walk east along Minna Street to First Street, crossing into the innovative rooftop botanical park of the Salesforce Transit Center.