650 California Street
Encyclopedia
650 California Street, also known as the Hartford Building, is a 34 story, 142 m, (466 feet) office
tower on the northwestern edge of San Francisco's
Financial District. The tower is located on California Street
on the edge of Chinatown, and not far from 555 California Street. 650 California is visible from every direction except from the southeast, where the Financial District skyscrapers block the view.
of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Hartford Insurance
, its initial tenant. It is architecturally significant, featuring a tall modernist lobby, high ceilings, and an exterior skeleton of floor-to-ceiling windows recessed into a square gridwork of precast
white reinforced concrete
.
When this tower was completed in 1964, it was the second in San Francisco larger than 400000 sq ft (37,161.2 m²). It also became California's tallest building, replacing both the Russ Building
in San Francisco and the Los Angeles City Hall
in Los Angeles, California
. Later skyscrapers in both San Francisco and Los Angeles took the title of California's tallest from this building.
650 California was acquired for by the Pivotal Group in 2000, and later sold to private investors, A-650 California St. LLC, and AEW Capital Management in 2007.
650 California Street passed the certification requirements for the Gold Level of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating in June 2011. The LEED building certification system is a program for rating the design, construction and operation of environmentally and socially responsible buildings.
Key tenants include Littler Mendelson
(world headquarters), Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
, Credit Suisse
, Jefferies & Co.
, Fairmont Hotel Management, Fliesler Meyer LLP, Jones Hall Law Corporation, KBCW (former), and Recommind.
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
tower on the northwestern edge of San Francisco's
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
Financial District. The tower is located on California Street
California Street (San Francisco)
California Street is a major thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. Fifty-four blocks of California Street, from Van Ness Avenue westward to 32nd Avenue, comprised the last major leg of the final 1928 alignment of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across America, leading out to the highway's...
on the edge of Chinatown, and not far from 555 California Street. 650 California is visible from every direction except from the southeast, where the Financial District skyscrapers block the view.
Description
The building was designed by Edward Charles BassettEdward Charles Bassett
Edward Charles Bassett was an American architect.Born in Port Huron, Michigan, Bassett was a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome in 1970, and served as design partner in the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill for 26 years, from 1955 through his retirement in 1981 .Bassett's...
of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Hartford Insurance
The Hartford
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. , usually known as The Hartford, is a Fortune 500 company and one of America’s largest investment and insurance companies...
, its initial tenant. It is architecturally significant, featuring a tall modernist lobby, high ceilings, and an exterior skeleton of floor-to-ceiling windows recessed into a square gridwork of precast
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
white reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
.
When this tower was completed in 1964, it was the second in San Francisco larger than 400000 sq ft (37,161.2 m²). It also became California's tallest building, replacing both the Russ Building
Russ Building
The Russ Building is a Neo-Gothic office tower located in the Financial District of San Francisco, California. The building was completed in 1927 and had 32 floors as well as the city's first indoor parking garage...
in San Francisco and the Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall
Los Angeles City Hall, completed 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Later skyscrapers in both San Francisco and Los Angeles took the title of California's tallest from this building.
650 California was acquired for by the Pivotal Group in 2000, and later sold to private investors, A-650 California St. LLC, and AEW Capital Management in 2007.
650 California Street passed the certification requirements for the Gold Level of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating in June 2011. The LEED building certification system is a program for rating the design, construction and operation of environmentally and socially responsible buildings.
Key tenants include Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson
Littler Mendelson P.C. is a San Francisco-based law firm. The firm has 52 offices and over 800 lawyers practicing exclusively in the representation of employers in labor and employment law, and has the largest practice in this area in the United States and Venezuela.-History and practice:The firm...
(world headquarters), Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette or DLJ is a defunct U.S. investment bank founded by William H. Donaldson, Richard Jenrette and Dan Lufkin in 1959. Its businesses included securities underwriting; sales and trading; investment and merchant banking; financial advisory services; investment research;...
, Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
, Jefferies & Co.
Jefferies & Co.
Jefferies & Company, Inc., the principal operating subsidiary of Jefferies Group, Inc. is a global investment bank and institutional securities firm...
, Fairmont Hotel Management, Fliesler Meyer LLP, Jones Hall Law Corporation, KBCW (former), and Recommind.