Page:California a guide to the Golden state-WPA-1939.djvu/346

280 Constructed of brick, with a slender tower and steeple, it is the fourth building and the third site of this parish, established in 1851 by Father Maginnis, then the only English-speaking priest in San Francisco. The interior of the church is finished in green translucent Connemara marble and Caen stone, for which the late pastor, Father Rogers, searched Ireland. On the floor is a mosaic, The River of Life. The crucifix and vestments are by, Irish artist, after designs of the sixth and eighth centuries.

13. On the TURNTABLE, Powell and Market Sts., the southern: terminus of the Powell Street cable line, the cars are turned around bodily by the crew before starting the journey up the hill again.

14. The NATIVE SONS MONUMENT, intersection of Market, Turk and Mason Sts., by Douglas Tilden, is a tall granite shaft surmounted by a bronze figure holding an open book inscribed "September 9, 1850," the date of California's admission to the Union; below stands a male figure holding a flag with a new star for California. The column was presented to the city in 1897 by Sen., then mayor.

15. UNION SQUARE, Post St. between Stockton and Powell Sts., extending to Geary St., originally a huge sandbank known as O'Farrell Mountain, was presented to the city in 1850 by John W. Geary, first mayor of the American City. The plot, leveled and landscaped, was given its present name because of pro-Union meetings held here before and during the Civil War. In 1864 the Mechanics' Institute held a fair in the pavilion on the square; after the 1906 disaster the square was dubbed "Little St. Francis" because of the temporary building erected here to house guests of the St. Francis Hotel. In the center of the square is the, by , commemorating Dewey's victory in Manila Bay, a 96-foot granite shaft topped with a bronze figure symbolizing naval conquest.

16. The ST. FRANCIS HOTEL, SW. corner Post and Powell Sts., a gray stone structure, is one of San Francisco's largest and best-known hotels. Almost destroyed by the 1906 fire, its walls were scarcely cold when a banquet was held in the White and Gold Room to celebrate the beginning of reconstruction. The rebuilt hotel has a Borgia Room, a replica of the room of that name in the Vatican at Rome. A large painting of Mount Tamalpais by Jules Mersfelder hangs over the desk in the main lobby.

17. The 450 SUTTER BUILDING, 450 Sutter St., is a modern 25-story skyscraper of steel, glass, and terra cotta, designed by Miller and Pflueger. Light buff in color, it has windows set flush with the outside walls, accentuating the vertical mass. Ancient Mayan hieroglyphs and stylized ornament carry out the decorative motif in both exterior and interior detail.

18. The NATIVE SONS BUILDING, 414 Mason St., a red brick building with terra cotta facing, is the headquarters of the Native Sons of the Golden West, an organization of native-born Californians. Around the two entrances are tile plaques representing California ex-