450 Sutter Street

450 Sutter
In May 2021
450 Sutter Street is located in San Francisco
450 Sutter Street
Location within San Francisco
450 Sutter Street is located in California
450 Sutter Street
450 Sutter Street (California)
450 Sutter Street is located in the United States
450 Sutter Street
450 Sutter Street (the United States)
Alternative names450 Sutter Medical Building
Medical-Dental Office Building
General information
TypeCommercial offices
Architectural styleArt Deco/ Art Moderne
Location450 Sutter Street
San Francisco, California
Coordinates37°47′22″N 122°24′28″W / 37.7895°N 122.4077°W / 37.7895; -122.4077
CompletedOctober 15, 1929
Height
Roof105 m (344 ft)
Technical details
Floor count26
Design and construction
Architect(s)Miller and Pflueger
Four Fifty Sutter Building
Built1929
Architectural styleArt deco
NRHP reference No.09001118
Added to NRHPDecember 22, 2009
References
[1][2][3]

450 Sutter Street, also called the Four Fifty Sutter Building, is a twenty-six-floor, 105-meter (344-foot) skyscraper in San Francisco, California, completed in 1929. The tower is known for its "Neo-Mayan" Art Deco design by architect Timothy L. Pflueger.[4] The building's vertically faceted exterior later influenced Pietro Belluschi in his similarly faceted exterior of 555 California, the former Bank of America Center completed in 1969.[5]

The building's tenants are largely dental and medical professional offices.[citation needed]

History

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In the 1960s, endocrinologist and sexologist Harry Benjamin, known for his pioneering clinical work with transgender people, opened a summer practice in the building, with many of his patients coming from the nearby Tenderloin neighbourhood.[6][7]

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In the director's commentary of influential 3D adventure game Grim Fandango, game designer Tim Schafer credits the building as a major aesthetic influence. Schafer said he became familiar with 450 Sutter because his dentist's office was located on one of the upper floors, and that he had modeled the Department of Death, one of the game's most important locations, on the building.[8][9]

The building is also modeled in the 2003 Maxis video game SimCity 4 as the fictional "Vu Financial" commercial office tower.[10]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Emporis building ID 118820". Emporis. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "450 Sutter Street". SkyscraperPage.
  3. ^ 450 Sutter Street at Structurae
  4. ^ Starr, Kevin (1996). Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-510080-8. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  5. ^ "20th Century Architecture: Former Bank of America World Headquarters". Vernacular Language North. 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  6. ^ Kane, Peter Lawrence (2015-07-22). "The Tenderloin Museum Has Ceiling Lights in the Shape of the Tenderloin". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  7. ^ Conway, Lynn. "Lynn Conway's Career Retrospective, Part II". ai.eecs.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 2001-04-14. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  8. ^ "Exhuming Grim Fandango's Mexican folklore inspirations". Kill Screen - Previously. January 23, 2015.
  9. ^ "450 Sutter". Double Fine Productions.
  10. ^ "Vu Financial". SimCity 4 Building Index. Accessed June 13, 2023.
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