600–628 California Street

• Guardian — Bruce Beasley
  Bronze; top of the stairs of the California St. open space; open space and artwork are always accessible.
  Installed 1992.
• Three Bridges — Kent Roberts
  Steel, concrete, brass; in stairway of California St. open space; open space and artwork are always accessible.
  Installed 1992.
• Untitled — Bella Feldman
  Stainless steel, water; inside of Bank lobby; artwork is available from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  Feldman was Professor of Sculpture at California College of Arts, Oakland, from 1965 to 2001.
• Elevator Doors — Lee Lawrie
  Bronze; outside of Sacramento St. entrance; open space and artwork are always accessible.

1. 1954

   A nine-storey office building in the International style of the 1950s stood here, of reinforced concrete clad in polished granite. It was cleared for the tower.

   San Francisco Department of City Planning, 600 California Street, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco: [Draft] Environmental Impact Report, Case No. 86.85E, 1986.
2. November 7, 1968

   The 18,302-square-foot corner parcel, zoned C-3-O and C-3-G, held old commercial buildings on its northern part that were being razed and a 67-car parking lot on its southern part. The City Planning Commission approved a conditional use for a parking lot on the whole corner site, to be replaced later by a three-level garage for about 200 cars, as an interim use of five to fifteen years.

   San Francisco City Planning Commission minutes, San Francisco Public Library (Internet Archive)
3. 1969

   A two-storey concrete parking garage of three levels stood on the site, screened at the second floor and roof with reinforced steel grillwork. It was cleared for the tower.

   San Francisco Department of City Planning, 600 California Street, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco: [Draft] Environmental Impact Report, Case No. 86.85E, 1986.
4. 1974

   The Pacific Mutual Building, designed by architect William Pereira.

   Architecture, Planning & Preservation Professionals: A Collection of Biographies, adopted 2021
5. Oct 1981

   Permit 8108911 $$$ $250,000

   Additions alterations or repairs.

6. 1986

   The nine-storey office building then on the site was owned and occupied entirely by offices of the Federal Home Loan Bank — about 93,086 square feet of offices over an 8,386-square-foot basement, with 29 parking spaces.

   San Francisco Department of City Planning, 600 California Street, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco: Initial Study, 1986.
7. 1986

   The parking garage on the site's northern portion, fronting Kearny Street at number 551, was also the Bank's; it held 201 parking spaces and a small service office of the Hertz Rent-A-Car Corporation.

   San Francisco Department of City Planning, 600 California Street, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco: Initial Study, 1986.
8. Nov 1987

   Permit 8716686S $$$ $35,000,000

   20 story office/retail building.

9. 1991

   Built.

10. Apr 1994

    Permit 9405276 $$$ $804,096

    Cti i.

11. Oct 2004

    Permit 200410055937 $$$ $495,000

    Oti-1 10/f el me ls sp.

12. Dec 2013

    Permit 201312093635 $$$ $1,025,809

    9th floor t.i. (interior office remodel). construction of non-rated partitions and interior finishes. no structural work. m.e.p. under separate permit. fire alarm and sprinkler under separate permit.

13. Mar 2014

    Permit 201403049859 $$$ $1,000,000

    Full floor interior tenant improvement incl. drywall, ceiling, demolition doors glazing millwork & finishes, includes electrical & mechanical.

14. Jan 2015

    Permit 201501054878 $$$ $1,124,800

    Ceilings & finishes, mechanical, electrical, fire sprinkler & life safety under sep permit.

15. Jan 2015

    Permit 201501054879 $$$ $1,124,800

    7/f: ceilings & finishes, mechanical, electrical, fire sprinkler & life safety under sep permit. compliance with maher ordinance no 155-13 not required.

16. Mar 2015

    Issued Permit 201503130783 $$$ $788,118

    15/f-demolition on non structural partitions, glazing, ceiling grid & tile, light fixtures & finishes. partial build back of non structural partitions, glazing, millwork & light fixtures. no change in occupancy or use. mep., life safety, sprinklers to be submitted under separate permit. n/a #155-13.

17. Dec 2015

    Permit 201512013828 $$$ $1,800,000

    New floor finishes, new guard desk, new exterior doors, new lighting, auxillary furniture, selective demolition: lighting, finishes, guard desk. maher na.

18. Jan 2016

    Permit 201601126884 $$$ $1,310,326

    Interior demolition and reconfigurate of office space to include meeting rooms, phone rooms & equipment rooms. mep. life safety & fire sprinkler under seperate permit. n/a ordinance #155-13.

19. Mar 2016

    Permit 201603182415 $$$ $576,600

    11th floor: interior tenant fit out of a full floor including interior non load nearing partitions, partial ceilings, lighting & finishes for single tenant. maher na.

20. Mar 2016

    Permit 201603182418 $$$ $576,600

    12th floor: interior tenant fit out of a full floor including interior non load nearing partitions, partial ceilings, lighting & finishes for single tenant. maher na.

21. Apr 2016

    Permit 201604053963 $$$ $923,000

    2nd floor - demolition of non-structural partitions, glazing, ceiling tile & grid, light fixtures, electrical, & finishes. build back non-structural partitions, glazing, mllwork & light fixtures. sprinkler & life safety under separate permit. n/a maher ordinance.

22. Mar 2017

    Permit 201703080958 $$$ $950,000

    16/f-tenant improvement to include new partitions and finishes. construction includes meeting rooms, private offices, open office and pantry. mep. life safety & sprinkler under seperate permit. n/a ordinance #155-13.

23. May 2017

    Issued Permit 201705156641 $$$ $1,000,000

    Demolition plaza level: exterior stone pavers & panels & waterproofing system. construct with paving & waterproofing system, modify handrails. n/a maher ordinance.

24. Apr 2018

    Permit 201804116086 $$$ $3,036,057

    19th & 20th floors - demolition of existing and installation of new office suite on 2 floors of an existing building includes: partitions, ceilings, millwork, finishes and security card readers. life safety, mep under separate permit. maher na.

25. Oct 2019

    Permit 201910114277 $$$ $1,797,500

    2nd & 3rd fl: tenant improvement of office space. installation of new non-load bearing partitions, millwork, cielings, lighting, plumbing fixtures and finishes.

26. Feb 2020

    Issued Permit 202002073852 $$$ $1,516,000

    Level 4 and 5: t.i. of office space: demolition of existing ceilings and lighting fixtures, installation of new non load bearing partitions, millwork, ceilings, lighting, plmg fixtures, and finishes. no change of use, area, or occupancy. mep scope under seperate permit.

27. Jan 2022

    Permit 202201276756 $$$ $957,000

    18/f. t.i includes building new non-structural partitions. all new or revised mep, sprinkler and fire alarm work will be design build and submitted separately. building is fully sprinklered.

28. Oct 2024

    Permit 202410253728 $$$ $358,000

    15th fl - ti includes demolition of non-structural partitions and building new non-structural partitions; all new or revised meps, life safety work & sprinklers submitted for permit separately. building is full sprinklered.

DBI holds 573 permits for this parcel, most of them tenant improvements on individual floors. The timeline shows the 24 largest by stated cost, plus the earliest on file; the DBI query in the sources below returns all 573. 8 of them are nominal $1 street-space or sidewalk permits. 4 expired or cancelled permits are not shown. The assessor records 1991; the building's own website records 1990.

Lee Lawrie designed these bronze doors in 1930–31 as one of six sets for a hand-operated lift in the Education Building of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at Harrisburg. They worked there until automatic lifts replaced them in 1972, passed through a private Virginia collection from about 1980 to 1989, and were installed here in 1990. Lawrie (1877–1963) was born in Germany, came to Chicago as a child and trained under Augustus Saint-Gaudens; his best-known work is the bronze Atlas at Rockefeller Center.

The building opened as the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Bruce Beasley's 18-foot Guardian went up at the head of the plaza stairs in 1992, the year Kent Roberts's Three Bridges was commissioned for the stairway itself.