Borel & Co.

The Borel & Co. building is a historic building built in 1908 and located at 440 Montgomery Street in San Francisco, California.^[2] The building is a small, two story, granite-faced, steel frame building.

Borel & Co.
Building in 2017
Location	440 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.
Coordinates	37.793505°N 122.402759°W / 37.793505; -122.402759
Built	1908
Rebuilt	Roger Owen Boyer and Associates
Architect	Albert Pissis
Architectural style(s)	Beaux Arts
San Francisco Designated Landmark
Designated	April 6, 1980[1]
Reference no.	109
Location of Borel & Co. in San Francisco County Show map of San Francisco County Borel & Co. (California) Show map of California Borel & Co. (the United States) Show map of the United States

The Borel & Co. Building has been listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark (number 109) since April 6, 1980.^[3]

History

Antoine Borel was the owner of this share of the California Street Cable Railroad Co., issued 1. August 1884 ^[4]

The Borel Company Building was commissioned by Swiss-born banker and diplomat, Antoine Borel. Although the Borel Company was generally thought of as a commercial bank, the type of service offered was more closely related to investment services. Borel held directorates in the California-Oregon Power Company, the Los Angeles Railroad, The Spring Valley Water Company, and the Bank of California. In 1884, Borel organized a syndicate to purchase the California Street Cable Car line which had been in operation since 1878. It was largely through Borel's efforts that the company expanded its operations by constructing the Hyde Street Line.

The building was subject to facadism by architectural firm Roger Owen Boyer and Associates, and it was combined with the neighboring Italian American Bank (1907), in order to create 456 Montgomery Plaza.^[5][6]

Design

The building was designed by Albert Pissis, It exemplifies the Beaux Arts architecture commercial classicism strongly evident in the reconstruction of downtown San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake and fire.

The Corinthian façade begins the colonnaded parade of temple banks that runs northward from Montgomery Street to Columbus Avenue. The building is only 27.5 feet wide, and while this narrow façade offered less opportunity for innovation than would a larger street frontage, it demanded greater innovation to achieve architectural excellence.