Young Men's Institute

• Exultadagio — Daniel Winterich
  Glass; facade of the addition/ left of the main entrance; artwork is always accessible.
  Installed 2006. The 74-by-40-foot glass curtain wall uses prismatic glass fins with dichroic glass strips that project colored light onto the facade and into classrooms, fulfilling San Francisco's 1% for public art requirement; architect for the addition was Perkins + Will and the glass was fabricated by Lenehan Architectural Glass.

1. 1914

   Built in 1914 for the Young Men's Institute to the design of William Shea: a Beaux Arts steel-and-concrete building of four to five storeys over a two-level basement, rising 75 to 87 feet and 97 at the parapet, with three-storey terra cotta Ionic columns and a decorative sheet-metal cornice under terra cotta ornament, a ballroom on the first floor and a gymnasium and swimming pool below. Its frieze reads 'The Young Men's Institute Building and Donahue Library'.

   San Francisco Planning Department, 50 Oak Street: San Francisco Conservatory of Music: Final Environmental Impact Report, Case No. 2001.0862E, 2003.
2. 1923

   Built in 1923 by the firm of Shea and Shea as an adjunct to the institute building next door, holding a new gymnasium, handball courts and meeting rooms for local chapters: a concrete and brick block of three to four storeys, 53 to 77 feet high, plainer than its neighbour, its cornice carried on heavy flat banding that answers the fretwork on the base of 50 Oak Street. To fund it the organisation sold the deed of 50 Oak Street to the Archdiocese of San Francisco. It was cleared for the Conservatory of Music's new wing.

   San Francisco Planning Department, 50 Oak Street: San Francisco Conservatory of Music: Final Environmental Impact Report, Case No. 2001.0862E, 2003.
3. 1935

   The Filipino Youths Organization and Filipino Schools were here in 1935.

   San Francisco Filipino Heritage: Addendum to the South of Market Historic Context Statement, 2013
4. 1950s

   From the late 1950s parts of the 50 and 70 Oak Street buildings were rented to outside organisations — the USO Club, the Foreign Students Center, the Artists Embassy and the International Center — ending their exclusive use as Young Men's and Young Ladies' Institute recreational space.

   San Francisco Planning Department, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music at 50 Oak Street: Initial Study, 2002.
5. 1976

   Rated 4 of 5 in the citywide architectural survey and placed in Inventory Group A — the top one percent of structures surveyed — in San Francisco Heritage's downtown inventory; the building is eligible for the California Register and was found to appear eligible for the National Register as the most significant surviving Young Men's Institute/Young Ladies' Institute facility.

   San Francisco Planning Department, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music at 50 Oak Street: Initial Study, 2002.
6. 1995

   The Young Men's Institute and the Young Ladies' Institute occupied the building from 1914 until 1995, when the Archdiocese sold it; it was later known as the International Center.

   San Francisco Planning Department, 50 Oak Street: San Francisco Conservatory of Music: Final Environmental Impact Report, Case No. 2001.0862E, 2003.
7. 1995

   After the sale the buildings were rented to small organisations for performance, dance, fitness, office and studio use.

   San Francisco Planning Department, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music at 50 Oak Street: Initial Study, 2002.
8. Nov 1996

   Permit 9622629 $$$ $5,000

   Provide drywall to studs to create 1-hr corridor, doors, frame.

9. Mar 1997

   Permit 9704739 $$$ $1

   To verify for proper occupancy class.

10. March 2000

    The San Francisco Conservatory of Music bought the property and took possession of the buildings at 50 and 70 Oak Street in March 2000; neither was fully occupied at the time.

    San Francisco Planning Department, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music at 50 Oak Street: Initial Study, 2002.
11. March 2000

    A 1,500-gallon fuel-oil tank set in a concrete vault in the sub-basement floor — there since the building was constructed — was uncovered and removed; the Department of Public Health issued a closure letter on 30 June 2000.

    San Francisco Planning Department, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music at 50 Oak Street: Initial Study, 2002.
12. May 2002

    Filed Permit 200205287561 $$$ $28,000

    Parapet bracing.

13. Oct 2002

    Permit 200210098630 $$$ $25,000,000

    Erect 6 story educational building.

14. Feb 2004

    Issued Permit 200402236924 $$$ $450,000

    Shoring & underpinning of existing 50 oak. all work is temporarily and will be ermoved once new stru.

15. Apr 2004

    Issued Permit 200404050426 $$$ $1

    Rev. appl#200210098630 for duct & mep in foundation.

16. Feb 2005

    Issued Permit 200502105261 $$$ $15,000

    Erect: single faced, existing awing/marquee canopy, non-illuminated new sign.

17. Apr 2005

    Issued Permit 200504119706 $$$ $1

    Generator operating permit - reference- permit application 2002/10/09/8630.

18. Apr 2005

    Issued Permit 200504139931 $$$ $150,000

    New fire alarm consisting of smoke detectors, strobe, speakers, sprinkler monitoring, hvac duct dete.

19. Aug 2005

    Issued Permit M33831

    Streetspace.

20. Feb 2006

    Issued Permit 200602214988 $$$ $2,500

    Revision to permit application 200210098630-si: )addition of (2) 3 hour walls (non structural) with 3 hour doors at (2) electrical spaces at lower level 2 and lower level 1.

21. Apr 2006

    Issued Permit 200604058316 $$$ $1

    Floors 1 to 6 - supplemental information to 200210098630.-sheet a0.08 project info: filed agreement between sq ft cons of music and adjacent property owner regarding property line windows per admin bulletin 009.

22. Mar 2007

    Issued Permit 200703025376 $$$ $22,000

    Revision to approved permit application 200210098630 add 4 automatic door openers i leiu of push side clearance at thickend concrete wall per inspectors request.

23. Dec 2007

    Permit 200712180770 $$$ $50,000

    Accoustial plaster on walls (3 walls) approx 40 ft tall x 60 ft wide @ concert hall ara (1/8" accoustical plaster).

24. 2008

    Built.

25. Feb 2008

    Permit 200802074283 $$$ $1

    Renew appl#200504139931 for final inspection.

26. Feb 2008

    Permit 200802134672 $$$ $1

    Renew app #200410146799/200703025376/200502105261.

27. Feb 2008

    Permit 200802134673 $$$ $1

    Renew permit applications nos. 200404050426; 200604058316 and 200504119706 for final.

28. Feb 2008

    Permit 200802134676 $$$ $1

    Renew app #200602214988/200402236924/200403128481 for final inspection.

29. Mar 2019

    Issued Permit 201903266301 $$$ $5,000

    This project will be adding one anchor at a location specified on drawings. the anchors will be at a minimum 18' above grade and include a 1/2" hilti kwik bolt embedded 4" into the buildings concrete facade to hold up string lights over hickory alley.

30. Dec 2025

    Filed Permit 202512161845 $$$ $9,900

    Installation of voluntary cell communicator + monitor module for supervision of communicator to exist. fire alarm system.

4 nominal $1 street-space or sidewalk permits are omitted from the timeline. 4 expired or cancelled permits are not shown. The 2025 assessor's roll gives this parcel a build year of 2008, which is the Conservatory of Music's rebuilding within the 1914 walls rather than a new building. The Conservatory's 2002 initial study gives the building's construction year as 1914 in two places, but elsewhere cites health-department records that a fuel-oil tank sat in the sub-basement 'when it was constructed in 1913'.