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San Francisco, California, in the United States, has at least 463 high-rises, 51 of which are taller than 400 feet (122 m). The tallest is the Transamerica Pyramid, which rises 853 ft (260 m) and as of October 2016 is the 39th-tallest building in the United States. The city's second tallest building is 555 California Street, formerly known as Bank of America Center.
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San Francisco has 22 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m). Its skyline is ranked second in the Pacific coast region (after Los Angeles) and sixth in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles.
History
San Francisco's first skyscraper was the 218-foot (66 m) Chronicle Building completed in 1890. M. H. de Young, owner of the San Francisco Chronicle, commissioned Burnham and Root to design a signature tower to convey the power of his newspaper. Not to be outdone, de Young's rival, industrialist Claus Spreckels, purchased the San Francisco Call in 1895 and commissioned a tower of his own that would dwarf the Chronicle Building. The 315-foot (96 m) Call Building was completed in 1898 and stood across Market Street from the Chronicle Building. The Call Building (later named the Spreckels Building, and Central Tower today) would remain the city's tallest for nearly a quarter century.
Both steel-framed structures survived the 1906 earthquake, demonstrating that tall buildings could be safely constructed in earthquake country. Other early twentieth-century skyscrapers above 200 feet (61 m) include the Merchants Exchange Building (1903), Humboldt Bank Building (1908), Hobart Building (1914), and Southern Pacific Building (1916). Another skyscraper boom took hold during the 1920s, when several Neo-Gothic and Art Deco high rises, reaching three to four hundred feet (90 to 120 m) in height, were constructed, including the Standard Oil Building (1922), Pacific Telephone Building (1925), Russ Building (1927), Hunter-Dulin Building (1927), 450 Sutter Medical Building (1929), Shell Building (1929), and McAllister Tower (1930).
The Great Depression and World War II halted any further skyscraper construction until the 1950s when the Equitable Life Building (1955) and Crown-Zellerbach Building (1959) were completed. Many of San Francisco's tallest buildings, particularly its office skyscrapers, were completed in a building boom from the late 1960s until the late 1980s. During the 1960s, at least 40 new skyscrapers were built, and the Hartford Building (1965), 44 Montgomery (1967), Bank of America Center (1969), and Transamerica Pyramid (1972) each, in turn, took the title of tallest building in California upon completion. At 853 feet (260 m) tall, the Transamerica Pyramid was one of the most controversial, with critics suggesting that it be torn down even before it was completed.
This surge of construction was dubbed "Manhattanization" by opponents and led to local legislation that set some of the strictest building height limits and regulations in the country. In 1985, San Francisco adopted the Downtown Plan, which slowed development in the Financial District north of Market Street and directed it to the area South of Market around the Transbay Terminal. Over 250 historic buildings were protected from development and developers were required to set aside open space for new projects. To prevent excessive growth and smooth the boom-and-bust building cycle, the Plan included an annual limit of 950,000 square feet (88,000 m2) for new office development, although it grandfathered millions of square feet of proposals already in the development pipeline. In response, voters approved Proposition M in November 1986 that reduced the annual limit to 475,000 square feet (44,100 m2) until the grandfathered square footage was accounted for, which occurred in 1999.
These limits, combined with the early 1990s recession, led to a near halt of skyscraper construction during the late 1980s and 1990s. To guide new development, the city passed several neighborhood plans, such as the Rincon Hill Plan in 2005 and Transit Center District Plan in 2012, which allow taller skyscrapers in certain specific locations in the South of Market area. Since the early 2000s, the city has been undergoing another building boom, with numerous buildings over 400 feet (122 m) proposed, approved, or under construction; some, such as the two-towered One Rincon Hill, have been completed. Several taller buildings are under construction in connection with the new Transbay Transit Center, including Salesforce Tower, which broke ground in 2013 and is planned to rise to 1,070 feet (330 m). When completed this building will be the first supertall skyscraper in San Francisco and among the tallest in the United States.
Tallest buildings
This list ranks San Francisco skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.
Under construction
This lists buildings that are under construction in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least 100 meters (328 ft). Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are also included.
Approved
This lists buildings that are approved for construction in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least 100 meters (328 ft).
Proposed
This lists buildings that are proposed in San Francisco and are planned to rise at least 100 meters (328 ft).
* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding building floor counts or dates of completion has not yet been released.
Timeline of tallest buildings
This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in San Francisco as well as the current titleholder, the currently under construction Salesforce Tower.