\[\"The Department of the TREASURY NEWS\" banner, with \"The Department
of the Treasury 1789\" seal on right and \"BUREAU OF THE MINT; WASH.,
D.C. 20220 - W04-5011\" on 2nd line.\]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 1, 1976

RESTORATION OF THE OLD SAN FRANCISCO MINT HAS BEEN COMPLETED

The exterior and interior restoration of the Old San Francisco Mint, one
of the finest examples of Federal classic revival architecture in the
West, has now been completed, Mrs. Mary Brooks, Director of the Mint,
announced today.

The restoration of the national landmark building began in the spring of
1972 and, after extensive interior rehabilitation, the Old Mint
re-opened as a dual-purpose facility of the Bureau of the Mint in the
spring of the following year. At that time, the Old Mint became the
first public building to open in accordance with the provisions of
Public Law 92-362, providing for the adaptive use of surplus historic
structures.

The basement vault area and the front rooms of the first floor of the
Old Mint have been authentically restored to their original appearance
and serve as the museum area open to the public. Among the many
historical and educational exhibits are a \$1 million gold bar display
and a specially-automated 1869 press for use by visitors to strike their
own souvenir medals of the Old Mint. Since its opening, the Old Mint's
museum has become a major tourist attraction in a city that draws
visitors from around the world.

The remainder of the old building has been thoroughly modernized to
serve the employees and activities of the Mint's Special Coins and
Medals Division and its computer operations.

[Historical Background]{.underline}

The United States Mint at San Francisco was constructed during the
period 1869-1874 and survived the disastrous San Francisco earthquake
and fire of 1906. It was used for coining operations from 1874 until
1937, at which time minting operations were transferred to the then new
San Francisco Assay Office at 155 Hermann Street. Thereafter, until
1968, the Old Mint was used as an office building by various Federal
agencies. The building remained vacant from 1968 until the spring of
1972.

During the 1960s, the Old Mint became the center of controversy between
agitators for its demolition to make way for a high-rise development and
those citizens and groups that believed the old building should be
preserved and restored as an architectural, cultural and historical
landmark. In the spring

of 1972, the General Services Administration transferred title to the
building to the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of the Mint for
restoration and continued use by government and for the enjoyment of the
public.

The architect of the Old Mint was Alfred B. Mullett, supervising
architect of the Treasury, who has already designed a number of public
buildings throughout the nation. He utilized the architectural styles of
classic revival and the more elaborate neo-French renaissance. The
latter can be seen in his most noted achievement, the State, War and
Navy Building (now known as the Old Executive Office Building), located
on the west side of the White House. In the former style, the Mint is
judged to be his masterpiece.

The land for the San Francisco Mint at 5^th^ and Mission Streets was
acquired in 1867 at a cost of \$100,000 in gold coin. Construction began
on April 1, 1869, the cornerstone was laid on May 25, 1870 and the
structure completed in November, 1874, at a cost of \$2,130,512.

The two story, lofty basement and attic brick building is faced with
sandstone 12 inches thick. The main facade is built around a central
Doric hexastyle portico, and the entire structure stands on a concrete
continuous footing foundation 5 feet deep and 4 feet thick.

The interior construction includes cast iron beams with door and window
frames, shutters and ornamental work also of cast iron. The corridor
floors and stairs are granite and the woodwork Honduras mahogany.

Originally, there were 14 marble fireplaces on the first and second
floors. Two large rooms, 32 feet in height, are identical. Balconies of
cast iron railings, originally painted in scarlet and gold and entered
from the second floor, encircle the rooms and were used by armed guards
when the Mint was in full operation. Eight large windows admit light
from the courtyard and at night two large chandeliers in bronze and
gold, each having 12 burners, were lighted.

To determine the paint originally used, especially in these twin central
rooms, historical architects of the National Park Service removed and
examined small sections of the entire layering of paint in cross section
through a binocular microscope. This revealed all layers of paints or
varnishes from the original prime coat through the existing finish
coats. With this knowledge of the layering, and under magnification, it
was possible to remove areas, layer by layer, with acetone or other
chemicals, or physically cut away the layers with very sharp knives, and
identify each layer.

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[Interior Restoration]{.underline}

As the structure of the building was found to be sound and capable of
supporting any contemplated uses, very little work was required in this
area.

However, entire new systems for heating, ventilating, air conditioning,
plumbing and electrical service had to be installed. Also, extensive
repairs and modifications to the roof, ceilings, walls, floors and
miscellaneous areas were required.

The portion of the building used as a Mint Museum, approximately 40% of
the total building space, received special treatment so that this area
was restored to the condition and appearance---including chandeliers,
fireplaces, doors, windows, hardware, ceilings, walls and floors---as
existed when the building was completed and first occupied in 1874.

This faithful restoration was facilitated by the mass of historical
records and detailed drawings pertaining to the Old Mint which were
found in various Federal archives, including the Library of Congress.
The Museum area restoration includes the locating, refurbishing and
displaying of many of the original pieces of minting equipment,
Victorian furniture and old paintings now on public exhibit.

[Exterior Restoration]{.underline}

After the interior rehabilitation was accomplished, the second major
phase of the project was restoration of the Old Mint's exterior
sandstone and granite facing stones. These stones are well anchored into
the structurally sound 18 inch brick bearing walls. However, the stones
had deteriorated appreciably over the 100 year life of the building from
a combination of natural erosion, chemical action and mechanical
fracturing. In addition, the crumbling heavy perimeter cornices, friezes
and architraves had been removed from the building as a safety
precaution.

All of these deteriorated and missing stones have been repaired or
replaced using lightweight synthetic stones. Also, all remaining natural
stones have been thoroughly cleaned and the old mortar removed and
replaced.

The lightweight synthetic stones were manufactured with an appropriate
mix of chemical resins, sand and ground stone to reproduce and match the
color and texture of the natural stones.

The cornice and frieze sections are made of assemblies consisting of a
metal armature supporting structure, with bonded fiberglass profile
sections and a one-half inch coating of synthetic stone. These sections
were fabricated in the

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contractor's plant, then brought to the building and raised into
position and bolted to deep anchors placed in the brick walls.

Wall stone repairs were accomplished by casting new stones and placing
them into position or by building up deteriorated stones by applying the
synthetic stone mix directly to the affected areas.

Now that the exterior stone facing has been restored, the Old Mint,
especially, the front face of the building, has the same elegant
appearance that it exhibited in 1874.

The Old Mint Museum, Fifth and Mission Streets, San Francisco, welcomes
visitors. It is open for public tours Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no admission charge.

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