601 Third Street
South Beach · San Francisco, CA 94107
A 1920 bank building at Third and Brannan, in the South End Historic District. Published guides mark the site as Jack London's 1876 birthplace — but the structure he was born in is long gone, and this building postdates it by four decades.
This site documents residential addresses first and defers business addresses. This page exists because 601 Third Street was named in the article that prompted these pages, and because the parcel carries a notable site history.
The site's history
A published guide to notable San Francisco addresses records Jack London as born on this site in 1876, states the original building was destroyed, and notes a small plaque dedicated to him. The building now on the parcel dates from 1920 — so the claim is about the ground, not the structure standing on it. No underlying source is cited, and what stood here between 1876 and 1920 is not recorded in the city data used for this page.
Permit history
Six substantive permits, 1987–2026 — the maintenance record of a working commercial building: roofs, HVAC, a fire alarm, parapet bracing, and a pair of ATMs.
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Mar 2026
Reroof with hot works; cool-roof material exceeding minimum solar reflectance values.
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Oct 2004
New second-floor HVAC with rooftop package units and ducted distribution.
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Mar 2000
Install a fire alarm to monitor water flow.
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Nov 1993
Reroofing.
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Jul 1992
Parapet bracing.
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Oct 1987
Add two automatic teller machines, no structural changes.
Not yet documented: the architect and builder of the 1920 building; the wording and exact location of the London plaque; confirmation of the birthplace claim against a primary source; and what stood on the site between 1876 and 1920. Know any of it? Tell us — just describe it in plain words.