In an effort to handle the enormous silver investments coming out of the Comstock Lode in Nevada, on September 18, 1882 25 brokers met in the basement of 403 California (originally the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Building) to form the San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange. Nineteen signed a charter and invested $50 each as the price of membership. One of these brokers was George Hearst, father of William Randolph Hearst[1].
The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange did not enjoy instant respect: alleged illegal activities earned its brokers the nickname “the Forty Thieves”. But by 1928 seats were selling for as high as $250,000. The Exchange was one of the few institutions to survive the 1929 stock market crash.
In 1930 the Exchange purchased a two-story government building at 301 Pine in the Financial District[2], originally built in 1915. Architect Timothy Pflueger[3] was hired to remodel the building. He gutted the interior but left the exterior Tuscan columns and granite stairs. Heavy bronze doors led to an open floor-plan with wooden stalls along the walls and massive skylights to let in natural light. Investors entered through an adjoining office building onto an observation gallery that overlooked floor activity. Large chalkboards were installed where stock prices were posted. Artist Ralph Stackpole was commissioned to create the Art Deco sculptures that flank the exterior of the building. Story-tall figures holding grain and scientific instruments and carved out of Yosemite granite respresented the unity between agriculture and industry.
In 1956 the San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange merged with the Los Angeles Oil Exchange and was renamed the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange (later the Pacific Stock Exchange), becoming the largest regional stock exchange west of Chicago. Trading floors were located in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 1969 it was one of the first exchanges in the nation to use computers to complete trades. By 1999 17.5 million shares were being traded daily with only 5% done on the floor. As a result, the Los Angeles facility closed in 2001 and the San Francisco facility closed the following year. On September 27, 2005 the Pacific Stock Exchange was purchased by Archipelago Holdings which in turn was purchased by the New York Stock Exchange a year later.
On June 28, 2005 the Pacific Stock Exchange Building was purchased by Equinox[4] and repurposed into a gym. Very little of the building’s interior decor was changed: the basement vault was converted into a locker room. The Art Deco medallions and sculptures remain.
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[1] William Randolph Hearst: story coming January 16th [2] Financial District: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4109 [3] Timothy Pflueger: story coming November 17th [4] Visit them at www/equinox.com
