The San Francisco call., 1908-05-30
City of a Thousand Inhabitants Under
a Single Great Roof
Tenants May Find Every Convenience in This Modern
Building and Need Leave 1t Only to Sleep
By Horaffo F.. SfoH

The modern Office building is q won
derful institution. Take the Pacific
building, at the southwest corner Of
Fourth and Market streets, for ex-
ample. IL is the most complete strac-
ture OF its kind in san Francisco and
offers its tenants hundred comforts
and conveniences that in a smaller
place il would be necessary 20 go over
the entire town 70 find. Virtually every
thing but sleeping quarters is pro-
vided, so that a man. arriving at his
Office at o'clock in the morning and
departing at midnight, need never leave
the building for a moment. He can
set food, clothing. medical and legal
advice and everything that is essential
10 his creature comforts and the sue
cess OF his business work within its
walls.
And I can assure you. after a weeks
study of this particular building, that
The tenants appreciate the advantages
Of having so many representative firms
and eNpOnents OF so many calllngs
housed under one roof ! was dis
cUssing this point with an attorney.
who cited an example of how the con-
Veniences of the building had recently
helped him out of an embarrassing pre-
dicament.
Late one afternoon during feet week
he received a message from his wife.
saying that inasmuch as a number of
relatives had arrived from the interior
for days stay and she was not pre-
pared for so many extra diners, she
wanted TO bring them downtown and
have dinner in the Bismarck cafe
I agreed on one condition. re-
marked the attorney. he narrated
Tie incident TO me, and that was that
as soon as we finished dinner / was to
return TO my ONCE 10 complete some
pressing work on which | was engaged.
The understanding being that my wife
would take the visitors to a theater
near by, where a minstrel show was
drawing great crowds.
EASY TO PURCHASE NECESSITIES
Then I started TO prepare, for nay
linen was soiled. / needed a shave and
my trousers had TO be pressed l mad
intended 10 work until midnight and
could easily have done the work alone
Bat 1 decided TO meet the folks after
the theater was over, so 1T meant that
1 must have the assistance Of a stenog-
rapher. After hard days work
hardly felt justified in asking any of
our girls TO come back. so / called up
Douglas 20fS and arranged TO have
Miss Geneyieye Jansen. public stenog-
rapher who has an Office on the fifth
floor, help me out
"A few minutes more and l was con-
nected with the theater. After 1 had
arranged Tor six tickets. Iswiggied the
receiver again, got central and rang
up my wife TO inform her that ! should
expect her TO be at the Office promptly
at 6-30 o'clock. IL was then nearly 5.
There We're several important let
ters still TO be dictated, and then
made dash for the elevator and de-
scended TO the basement. 1 hunted
Up the steward of the cafe. selected
what 1 wanted served and asked him
10 phone for flowers and candy for the
ladies. On nay way up L dropped in at
). n. Wood & Co.'S store and secured
clean collar and black tie, which
seemed to be more in keeping with the
occasion than the light four-in-hand
! had been wearing during the day.
All the chairs in the barber shop
were busy when L rushed in, but that
did not mean any loss OF time.
stepped into the elevator again and
went up two floors to my tailor, whe
pressed nay trousers while l waited.
No GRATING HERE
1t was very restful to sink into the
BARRIERS chair a few minutes later.
Fortunately, Mr. Reigelhaupt, the head
Of the establishment, was able TO shave
me himself. He is always very ac-
commodating and while he did not
rush me through, he did his work
quickly and well. All his assistants.
including the manicurist, are thorough
" coI1petent and never attempt 10
looks fierce or that your face needs
& massage You can have haircut
or massage If you want it, but Reig-
elhaupt never permits his men to pes
appeals TO me is that everything is so
scrupulously neat and clean from the
white duck -garbed BARRIERS to the san
tfary hair brushes, which are sterilized
every time they are used.
But am. depressing. As soon as
had finished with the barber l went
upstairs to my office, having been
gone less than an hour and having
out my work for the evening before
my wife and our relatives arrived
Our dinner in the cafe was very en-
5oyable. We had nearly an hour and
half at the table, plenty of time to
compare family notes since We had
last met, and inasmuch as we We're
seated near Stark's excellent orehes-
ira. Wethad a fine opportunity to hear
the music.
When I returned TO my office Miss
Jansen was waiting for me. She has
IS intuitiye and quick. and in the next
two hours we managed to turn out an
Immense amount of work Tt is a pleas-
ure TO work when you can go along |
undisturbed without the Interruptions
that scatter your thoughts during the
busy hours Of the day. To my sur
prise, when I arrived at the theater
the last act had just begun, so I was
able 10 enjoy a hearty laugh before
we accompanied our relatives to their |
hotel and boarded our car for home"
Owing TO the advantageous location
the sidewalk in front of the Pacific
building is always crowded with a
busy. hurrying throng. To the stranger
IL seems almost incredible that only
two years ago this very sidewalk was
2 heap of debris and twisted iron and
that the clean street denseiy jammed
with cars. automobiles, carriages and
vehicles of every description, was an
impossible thoroughfare without cars.
practically deserted and absolutely
dark at night Time has indeed worked
n marvellous transformation.
FINE ELEVATOR SERVICE
It is very interesting to, watch the
crowd around this corner. The long
plate glass windows Of s. ~. Wood &
co. are a potent attraction and all dav
long people stop TO gaze at the be-
Wildering array of goods so temptinglv
displayed. ] have often wondered how
many people pass in and out through
the revolving door entrance of fhis
building from the time the elevators
start running In the morning until thev
cease at night. The six passenger ele-
Vators are always crowded and I should
estimate that they distribute in the
neighborhood of 5000 people through
the building each day They are of the
full magnet control type and since
their installation have given smooth
and continuous service. Each of these
elevators is built to lift a load of 1000
pounds at a speed of 400 feet per min
ute. There is also one freight elevator
which travels from the basement 10 the
a load of 5000 pounds. This entire
plant is built on solid and substantial
lines and is such a plant as can only
I. oh l.r- he d ola %<~