The San Francisco call., 1909-10-03
MAY RAzE WALLS
OF FLOOD MANSION
Architects Hear Rum0rs Re-
garding New Home OF the
Pacific Union Club

Is the Pacific Union club to have for
its new clubhouse a brown stone front.
warmed over by Willis Polk from the
scraps the fire left of the Flood man
sion at California and Mason streets,
as Polk suggested when his drawings
were accepted?
Rumor among the architects, filtering
down from their well lighted perches in
the tops of the office buildings, de-
clares that D. II. Burnham & Co. of
which Willis Polk is the San francisco
manager. after having secured the COW
eted honor of emolunents of designing
the clubhouse on the showing that the
riginal walls might be retained, may
now suggest to the directors of the
club that the walls go down and new
ones arise.
Albert Pissis a member Of the club
and the architect whose design in the
original competition for plans for the
old clubhouse was accepted, said yes
terday that he had heard that Polk in
tended to raze the standing walls. Ken
meth Macdonald of Macdonald & Apple
garth the architects whose drawings
We're awarded the second place in the
competition. said that he. too, had
heard the report. Manager Coleman of
the Pacific Union club said, however.
that the old walls were to be retained,
but that the new clubhouse was to be
erected of reinforced concrete and not
of steel frame, as was originally in
tended
WRATH OF ARCHITECTS
Whatever the conditions of the build
ing there is again in the saddle the
wrath that broke out among the archi-
tects who competed only to have the
designs of noncompeting architect
adopted.
Pissis' attitude toward his club is
more of sorrow than anger. He would
not discuss the situation. Kenneth
Macdonald who is not member of the
club, is more free to talk.
Macdonald declared yesterda. that at
the time of the competition the archi-
tects were advised that the club build
ing was not to cost more than $SS0,O00.
Our plans called for s375,000.' he said.
The cost of the building under the
Polk plans will be between $450.00O
and $500. .000.' admitted Mana ger Cole
man. L believe, but l am not sure,
that the limit set for the competition
was $3.50 600"
Macdonald however. who drew plans
and estimates, declared that the CLUB
limited the architects to $3S0.000.
ton" he added. ''As a rule, reinforced
concrete construction is about $4,000
cheaper.
Willis Polk is. unfortunately. in the
east, and not on the ground to enter
! into the controversy.
FOR CLUB, NOT RESIDENCE
| Anyway" asserted Macdonald, re-
fering to Pollls original plan of utiliz-
ing the standing walls of the Flood
mansion, anyway. a residence design
I is not suitable for club-there is no
more interchange ability between a
clubhouse and a residence than there
| is between a golf suit and a dinner
coat Our design, in the French
renaissance, was to fit the character OF
a club-we had something sumptuous
/ in keeping with the fine living and
I luxury of the club We wouldn't have
| dared made a classic structure, II
/ would have suggested. a place where
men might go to read Ruskin-there's
! nothing like that up there" commented
! the figurative architect.
II have heard, said Albert Pissis
that the architect of the new club
house intends to tear down the stand
| ing walls of the building, but 1 have
no positive Information on the subject
The building of the new clubhouse
! of the Pacific Union is in the hands OF
1 the board OF directors. They are w. b
Bourn, president. and r. T. Rithet, A. c.
Kains w Babcock, J. c. Kirkpatrick
| Thomas H. Williams and George d
Boyd.