Architectural History of San Francisco – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

St. Josephs of San Francisco

Posted by Cindy on May 9, 2016

May 092016

1401 Howard at 10th
SOMA

St Joseph’s Church was founded, at 10th and Howard, in 1861, by Archbishop Joseph Alemany. The church, home to over 300 mostly Irish families, was destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

The church we see today was constructed in 1913. By that time, the Irish of the neighborhood had moved away and the church welcomed families from Latin America, the Philippines and the Pacific Islands. By 1980 St. Joseph’s was the largest Filipino parish in the US.

The two cupolas rise above the SOMA area, making St. Joseph’s one of the most prominent buildings in the area

The church building was designed by San Francisco architect John J. Foley in the Romanesque Revival style.

It is cruciform in shape, with an exterior constructed of brick, covered in stucco. The main entrance is through doors set inside three large Roman arches just below a large rose window.

Saint Joseph’s Church is a San Francisco Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. The goal is to fully rehabilitate the church structure into offices, for what is estimated to be $15million. The church, closed after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and has been vacant and neglected since then.

Interior of the church in 2008. Photo courtesy of SF Gate.

There is little known about John J. Foley. He studied at the Armour Institue in Chicago and worked as a draftsman for Peter J. Weber in Chicago in 1905 before coming to San Francisco. He designed many churches throughout California as well as public buildings and residences. He died April 20, 1946.

2019 Update:

The church was purchased by Ken Full and is not the Saint Joseph’s Art Society. Here are some photos of the newly remodeled interior.

* * * * *

Eng-Skell

Posted by Cindy on January 8, 2014

Jan 082014

1043 Howard Street
SOMA

It is hard to believe that in a world of corporate mergers and gentrification of neighborhoods, that the original company that built this wonderful deco building still occupies it.

In 1900 W.A. England and H.D. Skellinger founded the Eng-Skell Company. The company made flavoring extracts for the bakery and bottling trades and specialties such as orange bitters for the bar trade.

In 1930 the company built this three-story Art Deco building in SOMA. The building was designed by architect A.C. Griewank. It is 100,000 square feet and originally housed a laboratory, manufacturing plant, warehouse and office space. There was a Research Department with a staff of trained chemists. Somewhere along the line they became ESCO but their website still proudly displays this Howard Street Building.

224 Townsend Street (1935) was also designed by A.C. Griewank. Both buildings feature fluted pilasters that divide the bays and a three-dimensional, stepped triangular parapet over the primary entrance. Although we know he was an engineer/architect there is no information about A.C. Griewank to be found at the City of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Library, or San Francisco Heritage.

We do know he was a writer for the Architect and Engineer. In November of 1917 they published an article titled “California Cotton Mills’ New Building,” by Mr. A.C. Griewank, the architect of the California Cotton Mills Factory in Oakland, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

(update) The San Francisco Public Library has informed me that Mr. Arthur Carl Griewank was born on the 6th of September 1886 in Laporte, Indiana and died in San Francisco on October 9, 1942,

I found an A.C. Griewank listed in the 1911 alumni record of the University of Illinois stating Mr. A.C. Griewank was a 1910 graduate of the University and was then working with the Sacramento Valley Irrigation Company.

He was also listed as a San Francisco Port Engineer in 1930.

From the November 1930 American Chemical Society Publication:
The Eng-Skell Co. , 208 Mission St., San Francisco, Calif., manufacturer of flavoring extracts, chemical specialties, etc., has approved plans for a new three-story plant at Russ and Howard Sts., and will proceed with work on the superstructure at once. It is reported that it will cost over $54,000 including equipment. A. C. Griewank, address noted, is company engineer.

Despite not knowing much about Mr. Griewank personally, I am sure he would be please to know that some of his structures he designed still stand today. They include: (in San Francisco) 1130 Howard, 1035 Howard, 1126 Howard, 224 Townsend and Piers 1-35 where he acted as engineer on the substrates and transit sheds, as well as, the California Cotton Mills Building in Oakland