The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-23
A GOOD EXAMPLE.

The owners of the Safe Deposit building,
corner of California and Montgomery
streets are giving an illustra ton of what
might be done with many of the old
houses in the business area of the City.
Although the owners OF that building were
presumably receiving a good rental, they
observed that under the new spirit of ad-
vancement which has come over our peo-
pie office-renters demand the best accom-
mediation which modern scientific skill
can produce, and that successful men who
rent offices have become dissatisfied with
the accommodations which the old build
ings furnish. This has been made all
the more prominent by the fact that the
perfectly equipped modern buildings,
charging, as they do, rental greatly in
excess of that demanded in the old houses,
are kept we'll filed. Indeed, an office
renters position in the world, with regard
to his ability among the leading forces
which determine the course of vital events,
has come to be measured by the kind of
quarters which he seeks and the amount
of rental which he is able or willing to
pay.
1t is not altogether a matter of tenants
ability to pay high rental. There are
many wealthy and prosperous office
renters who feel themselves above all con-
siderations of appearances. At the same
time it may be noticed that as rule the
most prosperous renters seek the best
quarters. They may do this for one or
more or several reasons. Clearly one OF
them is that they want to be comfortably
and elegantly housed, another is that they
have a regard for the comfort of their
clients or customers, still another is that
they appreciate the value of the showing
that they make, and above all there is the
influence which their conduct exerts as an
encouragement of improvement and q
stimulus to progress.
A most instructive coincidence is OBJ
servable between the unpopularity and
inadequacy of the good old-fashioned
buildings of the City and the condition of
the streets which they face. While it
is true that the finest buildings are
now seeking Market street, and that
this thoroughfare is as to its pavements
one of the worst streets in the City, ii
is evident that the builders are looking
forward to the time when Market street
will be made the most attractive as well as
the most important highway in town. We
cannot imagine such structures as THE
CALL and PARROT buildings being erected
on any thoroughfare other than Market
street. This makes it none the less de-
| plorable that the eastern terminus OF
| Montgomery avenue has given no sign OF
appreciation of the extraordinary advan-
tages which it enjoys. In that vicinity are
many OF the most substantial old houses
which were built many years ago and
which are now nearly empty because they
have not been modernized.
The owners of the Safe Deposit building
are setting an example for all such cases.
This house is to have swift elevators and
all other recently devised conveniences.
But what can be expected of the owners
of houses to whom this example has been
set when we see that they are doing moth
ing to make their streets passable ?
The streets and the houses go together
and in combination express all that is
necessary to explain the tenantless condi-
ton of the buildings and the eagerness
with which the accommodations of the
modern houses are sought