As tourism booms in San Francisco with a record 25 million visitors in 2015, the historic Hearst building at Third and Market Streets may seek to capitalize on the trend with a conversion from office space to hotel rooms.

Hearst, a media empire with investments in real estate and ranching, once owned The Examiner newspaper, which occupied the Hearst building from its completion, in 1911, until 1965. Hearst now owns the Chronicle, who had the the early word on the conversion plan, revealed in the form of a letter to current tenants of the 13-story, 120,000-square-foot, fully occupied building.

JMA Ventures, who converted an area of Ghirardelli Square into a Fairmont hotel and condos, will work with Hearst on the project. “People like to stay in a building with a story to tell,” Todd Chapman, a JMA Ventures partner, told the paper.

And the Hearst building does have stories. New York architects Kirby, Petit & Green designed the original building, which in the area at the intersection of Third, Kearny and Market Streets was once also home to The Chronicle and the now-defunct Call, earning it the nickname "Newspaper Angle."

Future Bars, a nightlife group who operate establishments like Bourbon & Branch, have already drawn inspiration from the Hearst building's past life with their bar in the building's basement, Local Edition, equally capitalizing on the hipster trend of typewriters as decor.

“People really latched onto it," Future Bars partner Brian Sheehy tells the Chron. "They love to be in a building with so much history.” Also in the building, Future Bars operates The Lark (formerly Dave's, RIP) and a spirits shop, Cask. All have long term leases and plan to stay on the premises.

via the Hearst Building

The conversion won't happen overnight — in fact, it could take years, as tenants were told. Though that leaves them time to find new space, such a task has never been more daunting in San Francisco. So far, JMA Ventures have met with Supervisor Kim and representatives of the hotel workers union, Local 2. And, if and when it arrives, the Hearst building won't be alone — more than 4,000 hotel rooms at 12 hotels are in the proposal pipeline.

Related: Record Number Of Tourists Checked Out SF Last Year Cause We're Hot Like That

How does one celebrate the 39th anniversary of the day one was convicted of armed robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony? Long walk with your prize-winning dog? A cake? A shot and a beer?

I'm sure that whatever Patty Hearst does today, it'll be done in style, for it's her conviction about which I'm talking. Yup, it was this day in 1976 when a jury of her peers (as much as anyone can be the peer of a wealthy socialite) came back from 12 hours of deliberation and delivered that verdict.

You know her story, of course. SF native and William Randolph Hearst's granddaughter Patricia Campbell "Patty" Hearst, now 61 years of age, was kidnapped, renamed "Tania," joined the Symbionese Liberation Army, and robbed a Sunset District bank (among other places) in April, 1974.

Hearst was arrested in her Mission District apartment in 1975.

(I'll pause here while you scroll down to make some comment about gentrification. Ha ha, that's a good one. You're so funny!)

Her trial kicked off on February 4, and here I'll let Douglas O. Linder take over:

The verdict came after twelve hours of deliberation. Many jurors ended their session in tears. On March 20, 1976, a jury of seven men and five women pronounced Hearst guilty of armed robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony. In the end, jurors thought Hearst lied to try to shoehorn her actions into an untenable theory. One juror explained that [defense attorney F. Lee] Bailey forced him to either buy or reject "the whole package" and that Hearst's firing shots at Mel's "didn't jive" with her supposedly passive role in the SLA. Hearst was not the weak-willed puppet that the defense suggested she was. A female juror concluded Hearst was "lying, through and through," and that no woman would keep a love token from someone who raped and abused her. Other jurors described Hearst as "remote" and "baffling." We didn't know "whether we were looking at a live girl or a robot," one male juror said. Jurors seemed to blame the defendant for hiding behind Bailey's "mind-control" theory and not coming clean about her true feelings. Hearst's repeated taking of "the Fifth" also didn't sit well with jurors. One explained, "It was a real shocker. A witness can't just tell you what he wants to tell you and not tell you what he doesn't want to."

Hearst was eventually sentenced to seven years in prison, but then-President Jimmy Carter commuted that to time served in February 1979. All in all, she served twenty-two months. Years later, on his last day in office, Bill Clinton granted her a full pardon.

Read all of SFist's Patty Hearst coverage here

Before we get to what esteemed journalists have to say about SF Chronicle's impending closure -- when discussing "micropayments" and other snake oils with a SFSU journo professor this morning, KTVU's Ross McGowan looked even more crestfallen than usual -- SFGate commenters have much to say about why, exactly, the Chron might have to shut its doors. Their reason? Commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns on the editorial staff.

No, really. Take a look.

idiocracy: Start by firing all the leftists who work for your paper and hire real journalists who can be unbiased. That will save you 80 percent right there

haveapizza: The Chronicle has become a one sided mouthpiece for the left. It is no longer a newspaper. That is why its as good as dead. You need journalism. Over the last 10 years, this paper become an advocacy group.

t_cloud: >>>>> Just close down the liberal/leftists rag <<<<< If I want to read a newspaper laced with liberal/leftist/communist style propaganda, I can subscribe to Pravda in Moscow.

Holy smokes.

This just in: the SF Chronicle is (practically) up for sale. Word is that "if they don't sell it, they'll shut it down." No deadline communicated yet.

The following memo was sent to SF Chronicle employees today.

Memo from Frank Vega, Chairman & Publisher
February 24, 2009

Dear Fellow Employees:

The rapidly declining economy, coupled with severely declining advertising revenues, is forcing nearly every newspaper company to re-think how it conducts business while continuing to serve its respective communities.

Despite all of our best efforts as an organization, The Chronicle continues to show staggering losses each week. Recent staff and expense reductions have not stemmed these losses, which are only worsening in the present economy. In response to our financial picture and the bleak economic forecast for the foreseeable future, our management team has begun a series of cost-saving initiatives designed to alleviate those losses.

First and foremost of these cost savings will be a significant reduction in force across all areas of our operation affecting both represented and non-represented employees. We will shortly begin discussions with union leadership on proposals. Our current situation dictates that we accomplish these cost savings quickly. Business as usual is no longer an option.

If we are unable to accomplish these reductions in the immediate future, Hearst Corporation, which owns The Chronicle, has informed us that it will offer the newspaper for sale or close it altogether. We know these are painful times for everyone and we face difficult choices. We share in the sincere hope that we will reach agreement with all parties involved on the concessions needed to continue to operate and provide the Bay Area with a quality newspaper.