Rincon Center facts for kids

Rincon Annex
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Rincon Center in May 2006
Location in San Francisco County Show map of San Francisco County Location in California Show map of California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	101--199 Mission St., San Francisco, California
Area	1.9 acres (0.77 ha)
Built	1940
Built by	George A. Fuller Construction Co.
Architect	Gilbert Stanley Underwood
Architectural style	Streamline Moderne
NRHP reference No.	79000537
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 16, 1979

Rincon Center is a large complex in San Francisco, California. It has shops, restaurants, offices, and apartments. This center includes two main buildings. One of them is the historic Rincon Annex, which used to be a post office. The whole complex covers a city block near the Embarcadero. It is bordered by Mission, Howard, Spear, and Steuart Streets.

The Historic Rincon Annex Building

The original Rincon Annex building was once a post office. It was designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood and finished in 1940. The building's style is called Streamline Moderne. This style uses smooth lines and rounded shapes, like a fast train or ship. In 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important historical site. Outside, you can see cool stone carvings of dolphins above the doors and windows.

Amazing Murals Inside

Inside the Rincon Annex, there are 27 large paintings called the "History of San Francisco" murals. A Russian artist named Anton Refregier painted them between 1941 and 1948. He used a special paint called tempera on a prepared wall surface called gesso. These murals show important moments in the history of California and San Francisco.

The murals are in a style called social realism. This means they show real-life scenes and often focus on social issues. When they were finished after World War II, some people had strong opinions about them. Some critics didn't like the art style or questioned the artist's political ideas. The disagreements even reached the U.S. Congress! Luckily, the murals were saved. They helped make sure the post office lobby was kept as part of the new Rincon Center.

Rincon Center's Modern Expansion

In the 1980s, the old post office building was made available for new development. A company called Perini Land & Development Company helped turn it into a modern, mixed-use center. The main designer for this project was Scott Johnson. The new complex was finished in 1988.

Aerial view of Rincon Center (2010)

The Rincon Annex building got two new stories of offices on top. The inside was opened up to create a huge, five-story open space called an atrium. This atrium has a long skylight, about 200-foot (61 m) long, letting in lots of light. There's also a food court on the lower level. A new 23-story building was built next to it. This new building has a new post office, more offices, and 320 apartments in two tall towers.

There used to be a cool art piece in the atrium called "Rain Cloud." It was designed by Doug Hollis and was an 85-foot (26 m) column of water drops falling from a box with 4,000 holes. This art piece was removed in the early 2020s during a renovation. Another art piece, a frieze by Richard Haas, was also removed. Now, the atrium has vegetated panels, which are walls covered with plants.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, you could take walking tours of the amazing Rincon Annex murals. These tours were led by San Francisco City Guides.

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  Exterior of Rincon Annex, 2008

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  1939 post office dedication plaque

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  Former parcel post window

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  1961 Post Office war memorial plaque

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  Main hall of Rincon Annex, with History of San Francisco murals by Anton Refregier

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  Refregier mural, Panel #3, "Sir Francis Drake"

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  Refregier mural, Panel #16, "Building the Railroad"

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  Refregier mural, Panel #20, "San Francisco as a Cultural Center"

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  Refregier mural, Panel #27, "War and Peace"

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  Rincon Annex historic marker

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  Rincon Center entrance

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  Detail of sign

Images for kids

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  Aerial view of Rincon Center (2010)

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  Eagle statue flanking main entrance

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  Main entrance details

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  Entrance to elevator lobby

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  Main lobby of Rincon Annex (parallel to Mission)

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  Junction of main and side lobbies of Rincon Annex

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  Side lobby of Rincon Annex (parallel to Spear)

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  Refregier mural, Panel #10, "Raising the Bear Flag"

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  Interior of atrium, view northwest towards Mission Street

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  Atrium skylight detail

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  Exterior courtyard of 1988 commercial building and residence towers, view southeast towards Howard Street