140 New Montgomery: Inside an Art Deco Masterpiece

One of San Francisco's cultural gems is John King, the San Francisco Chronicle's Pulitzer-finalist urban design critic. He just published a book, Cityscapes: San Francisco and Its Buildings, that showcases fifty buildings representing our fair city at its best. And what better place to celebrate than inside the erstwhile 'Pacific Telephone Building' at 140 New Montgomery, which has been closed since 2007, awaiting a better real estate market so it can be converted into the current owners' fervent dream of luxury condos. This Timothy Pflueger classic was called "daringly original" when it opened in 1925 and features an exquisite marble lobby. Celebrants (including Therese Poletti, author of Art Deco San Francisco) were not allowed beyond the lobby, although one of the security guards whispered that a Bollywood film crew got permission to use one of the upper floors a while ago. Even without a tour of the upper floors, though, enjoy this special peek inside of one of San Francisco's Art Deco masterpieces.