California Historical Society

The California Historical Society building on Mission Street stands out for its bold international orange facade, the same distinct color used on the Golden Gate Bridge. Constructed in nineteen twenty-two as the San Francisco Builders Exchange, this structure has lived several lives, serving as a hardware store for E. M. Hundley and even as the headquarters for Nancy Pelosi’s first congressional campaign. It was later rehabilitated to house the society’s archives, including a basement vault carved into the earth beneath the sidewalk.