Baker and Hamilton
Unfinished History
This is the 1905 Baker & Hamilton warehouse at 7th and Townsend, now renovated and used as office space.
Photo: Chris Carlsson
Baker & Hamilton started in a tent near the "Mormon Island" claim above Fort Sutter east of Sacramento in 1849, supplying "miners' hardware": picks, shovels, knives, saws, hammers, axes and nails... By 1860 B&H had a thriving block-long store in Sacramento, and in 1867 they opened their first store in San Francisco, down on Front Street. After merging with Pacific Hardware & Steel Co. in 1918, they moved into 700 7th Street at the corner of the evolving Mission Bay area.
Pacific Hardware & Steel advertisement, prior to merger with Baker & Hamilton.
Image: courtesy Potrero Hill Archives Project
Image: courtesy Potrero Hill Archive Project
Some of the many products sold through Baker & Hamilton.
Image: courtesy Potrero Hill Archive Project
Image: courtesy Potrero Hill Archive Project
Image: courtesy Potrero Hill Archive Project
Old warehouses are being renovated throughout San Francisco. This is the old 1865 Oriental Warehouse near 2nd and Brannan, in the midst of rehabilitation in the 1990s.
Photo: David Green
Old brick powerhouse converted to glass offices.
Photo: Chris Carlsson