Polk's San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory, 1955-56, Part 1

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1953
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 2410

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JAMES HURST CO.

REALTORS

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS · BUSINESS AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES SALES - LEASES - MANAGEMENT - PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 155 Montgomery St.

San Francisco 4 Tel. SUtter 1-8456

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511-514 Morris Plan Bidg. 717 Market Street

San Francisco 3, California

Telephone SUtter 1-1550

Montgomery

TERMITE AND PEST CONTROL

1167 HARRISON

MARKET 1-6388

KANSAS CITY LIFE INSURANCE CO. KANSAS CITY, MO.

Life Insurance - Annuities Retirement Income and Endowment Policies Over $100,000,000.00 in California

BROKERAGE ACCEPTED - LIBERAL COMMISSIONS

Insurance in Force over $1,200,000,000.00 Assets over $400,000,000.00

HUNTER AND HUNTER AGENCY 370 Sansome St., San Francisco, 4

Tel. YUkon 6-0456

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630 Harrison St. Tel. SUtter 1-4188

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R. J. POLK & CO.'S

POLK'S SAN FRANCISCO (SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY, CALIF.)

CITY DIRECTORY 1955-56

Containing an Alphabetical Directory of Business Concerns and Private Citizens, a Directory of Householders, Occupants of Office Buildings and Other Business Places, Including a Complete Street and Avenue Guide; also a

BUYERS' GUIDE

and a Complete

Classified Business Directory

FOR CONTENTS SEE INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL INDEX SOLD ON SUBSCRIPTION

The

DIRECTORY IS THE COMMON INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN.

BUYER - SELLER "

R. L. POLK & CO., Publishers 1070 Bryant Street, San Francisco 3, Calif.

DIRECTORY LIBRARY FOR FREE USE OF PUBLIC AT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Member Association of North American Directory Publishers

Section 28, Copyright Law In force July 7, 1909

That any person who willfully and for profit shall infringe any copy- right secured by this act, or who shall knowingly or willfully aid or abet such infringement, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment for not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or both, in the discretion of the court.

ASSOCIATION OF

BONO

PUBLICO

NORTH AMERICAN

1898

DIRE DIRCODIREO DIRECDIRECDIREC

DIRECTORY.

PUBLISHERS

Publisher's Note

The information in this directory is gathered by an actual canvass and is compiled in a way to insure maximum accuracy.

The publishers cannot and do not guarantee the correctness of all infor- mation furnished them, nor the complete absence of errors or omissions, hence no responsibility for same can be or is assumed.

The publishers earnestly request the bringing to their attention of any inaccuracy so that it may be corrected in the next Directory.

R. L. POLK & CO., Publishers

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS PAGE NUMBERS BELOW REFER TO THE BUYERS' GUIDE SECTION

Page

A-N-Z-A Realty . left side lines and 93

Aaro Realty right bottom lines and 93

Ace Venetian Blind Co. . right side lines and 116

Dohrmann's

Acme Delivery Service

D'Orazi Investment Co. right side lines and 95

Dorothy's Salon . front cover, left side lines and 99

Drake-Wiltshire Hotel

Adler Adjustment Co.

.Handy List Services insert and right side lines

Alberton Realty Co. left side lines and 94

Alco Realty Co. . . Handy List Services insert and right side lines

Allstate Acceptance Corp.

American Mortgage Exchange . backbone and

Anchor Realty .front cover, right side lines and Anderson C. A. Funeral Parlors. . backbone, left top lines and Anthony Earle C., Inc. right top lines and 4

Arts and Fashion School

Handy List Services insert and left side lines

Atlas Metal Spinning Co.

Atom Realty Co.

Handy List Services insert and left side lines

Bank Chevrolet Co. right bottom lines and

Bankers Life Co. of Des Moines, Iowa .... right side lines and Bay Counties Title Guaranty Co.

. front cover, right side lines and 115

Bay View Federal Savings & Loan Assn.

106

Beauremede . back cover and

Beck's Downtown Motel right side lines and 80

Blyth & Co., Inc. right bottom lines and 14

Bowers Gary Chevron Service. right side lines and 10

Brandenburg Melford F. .left side lines and

Brown Buick Co. . right side lines and

Brush, Slocumb & Co right side lines and

California Casualty Indemnity Exchange

California Collection Agency, Inc.

front cover, Handy List Services insert, left side lines and California Pacific Title Insurance Co.

. right bottom lines and 113

California Physicians' Service. left side lines and 67

California Savings & Loan Co. right top lines and 104

Carew & English, Inc. left side lines and 41

Cash Realty Co.

. left top lines and

Cervetto Joe Co. . left side lines and 116

Cimino J. Jr. Co.

right bottom lines and 95

Citizens Federal Savings & Loan Assn.

. left top lines and 105

City of Paris

left top lines and 30

City Realty Co.

City Title Insurance Co.

.left top lines and 114

Clementina Co.

Coldwell, Banker & Co. .. bottom edge, left bottom lines and Collier Arlene

Collier Realty back cover, right side lines and

Johns W. Harry . right side lines and

Johnson Reynold C. Co.

.left side lines and

Kansas City Life Insurance Co.

front cover, left side lines and

Keane Realty Co .. . right side lines and 98

Kennedy Van & Storage right side lines and

Krout and Schneider . left side lines and

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. right bottom lines and 68 61

London Assurance, The . left top lines and

Lorms Bob Gough Street Auto Repair & Body Reconstruction

right side lines and 10

Magnin I. & Co. right and left top lines, 32 and 47

Marines' Memorial Club . left side lines and 22

54 Market Street Van & Storage right side lines and 82 Mayfield Moving & Furniture Co. . right side lines and 80 12

McAlister Buick, Inc. left bottom lines and

Dilling Charles & Co.

. left side lines and 73 McAvoy & O'Hara Co. . insert at beginning Classified Section

McGahey & Olson right side lines and 28

Mckinney Motors, Inc. left side lines and 11

50 88 45 86 59

Friedlander Plumbing & Heating Co . right side lines and

Gantner-Maison-Domergue . right side lines and

General Fireproofing Co. right top lines and

Glens Falls Insurance Group

Golden Gate College . left side lines and 107

Gordon Walter M Granat Bros. . left side lines and 96 71 42 Gray N. & Co. . right bottom lines and 96 Greer Realty Co . . left side lines and 96

Grisez Chas. J. Co. . left top lines and

Gump's, Inc. left bottom lines and

Halsted & Co. . right top lines and

Hannaford & Talbot

left top lines and

Harrigan, Weidenmuller Co.

Hartling Realty Co. . left side lines and

Hearing Mart . front edge and

Hermann Safe Co.

Herold & Herold right side lines and

Heyman Brothers left side lines and 97

Home Mutual Savings & Loan Assn. left side lines and 106

Hooker & Fay

Hotel Gartland

Hotel St. Francis

Hotel Sir Francis Drake

Howard's Clothing Co.

left bottom lines and

Hunter & Hunter Agency

.... front cover, left side lines and

60 91 67 98 10

Commercial Union-Ocean Group right bottom lines and Complete Bookkeeping Co. . right side lines and

Cook H. & M. Co.

. right side lines and 87

Corbin's Physicians Telephone Exchange. . . left top lines and 112 Credit Bureau The

Creditors Service Bureau

Crosetti Bros., Inc.

right side lines and

Daily Pacific Builder . right side lines and 28

Daini Bros. left side lines and 46

Davidson Holbrook

right side lines and

Dean Witter & Co.

DeGuire & Son

left side lines and 11

Del Monte Lodge

.left top lines and

Denault & Co. . . left bottom lines and

Devine National Detective Bureau

Doctors & Nurses Outfitting Co., Inc.

Handy List Services insert and left side lines

Doelger Henry Builder, Inc. . left bottom lines and 95 53 Dohrmann Hotel Supply Co. 34

Acme Filter Materials

right side lines and 29 38 38

Elworthy & Co. right top lines and El Drisco Hotel left bottom lines and 57 17 Empire Roofing Co. 102 left top lines and 31 Erpedio Inc. right bottom lines and 70 68

Emporium Capwell Co., The

94 40 Evergreen Mortuary ... insert at beginning Classified Section Executone Co. of Northern California .... right side lines and Exposition Fish Grotto . back cover and 101

F. & L. Van Lines, Inc. . back cover and 81 72 Farber Gus Feder Jack M. 96 48 2

Finn John Metal Works, The . left bottom lines, B and

Foster and Kleiser Co. . . left top lines and

Franklin Savings & Loan Assn. . left side lines and 106

67 Fraser & Johnston Co. . right top lines and

69 45 20 97 97 52 103 92

Hulting F. B. Co.

left bottom lines and 20 right side lines and 57 left top lines and 55 left bottom lines and . right side lines and 56 77 97

Hurst James Co. . . front cover, right bottom lines and

Index Underwriters, Inc.

. back cover and 26 27

Buckbee, Thorne & Co. . left top lines and 94

Page

Acme Industries

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Page

McLorin E. L. Realty right side lines and

Merchants Credit Assn

San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

San Francisco Examiner left top lines and 84

San Francisco News, The

San Francisco Real Estate Co. right side lines and 99

San Francisco Roofing Co. right side lines and 103

Sartorio Louie Concrete Construction Co.

right side lines and

Schmidt Lithograph Co. .left side lines and

Schwabacher & Co. right top lines and

Scott Refrigeration Co. .right side lines and 100

Seeley & Co. . left bottom lines and 64

Skyscraper Services, Inc.

Speedy Office Service . left side lines and 108

Standard Oil Co of California . left side lines and

Suhr H. F. Co., Inc. right top lines and

Suhr & Wieboldt left side lines and 43

Swett & Crawford left top lines and

Tax & Business Service Co.

. Handy List Services insert and right side lines

Tesluck Co. left bottom lines and 99 36

Thomas G. W. Drayage & Rigging Co.

Trans-Bay Federal Savings & Loan Assn.

right side lines and 107

Trevor & Co. . left top lines and

Turner Lou-Realtor

right side lines and

United Undertakers

Valente, Marini, Perata & Co. right bottom lines and

VanEtta Motors, Inc.

Veneto Restaurant right side lines and 102

Viales B. Studio right side lines and Vogel Les Chevrolet Co. top edge, right top lines and

Waters James F., Inc.

. insert at beginning Street Guide, left top lines and

Waters Wm. E., Inc.

Weill Raphael & Co. right top lines and

Wells-Fargo Bank . back cover and

West M. G. Co.

Western Mortgage Corp.

Western Title Insurance & Guaranty Co .. . right top lines and 112 White House, The . right top lines and

William & Frederick Motors

Winston's Moving & Storage Co. . left side lines and

Yellow Cab Co. right side lines and 110

Y. M. C. A. Hotel . left side lines and 57

Zweegman School for Medical Secretaries 108

ASSOCIATION OF

PRO

Pi BONO UBLICO

NORTH AMERICAN

ORGANI

ATy

----

1898

....

DIRECDIREC DIREC

PUBLISHERS

Page

98 Sanderson Construction right side lines and 28

Meyer Milton & Co.

left top lines and

Mohrdick Electric Co. left side lines and

Montgomery Pest Control Co.

front cover, right side lines and

Motor Sales

back cover, right bottom lines and

Mutual Realty System . right side lines, 66 and

New Frontier Hotel

C and

Nippert Paul M. Co.

North American Air Lines

right side lines and

Northern Counties Title Insurance Co. ... right top lines and 115

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.

left top lines and 68

O'Brien M. F. & Co. left side lines and

Ocean Shore Iron Works

Office Lunch & Coffee Service right side lines and 21

Ostrow Bob Distributing Co. left side lines and 29

Otto's Florist. . Handy List Services insert and right side lines Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Pacific Pump & Supply Co right top lines and

Patrick and Co.

110

Physicians Telephone Exchange left top lines and 112

Pierce-Rodolph Storage Co., Ltd. . left side lines and 82

Pischoff Sign Co.

Z and 109

Piver School of Insurance and Real Estate

left side lines and 107

Porter James William

. right side lines and 21

Pound's Refrigeration & Appliance Service

right side lines and 100

R. C. A. Communications, Inc. 111

Rainbow Garage right bottom lines and 12

Ravetti Sil . left side lines and 68

Regal Roofing Co., Inc. right top lines and 102

Retailers Credit Assn. . back cover and 26

Reynolds & Co 18

Richmond Radio & Television Co. right bottom lines and 112

Rose Exterminator Co. . right side lines and

Royal Liverpool Insurance Group left top lines and 63

St. Germain & Co. . . Handy List Services insert and left side lines Salvation Army The left side lines

NIZED

DIRE DIRECDIREC

DIRECTORY

Merrill's Transfer & Storage Service .. right bottom lines and

Merwin, Holtzen & Fiora . right side lines and

Messersmith Ray L. left side lines and

93 99 46 44 6

87 7 8

. left side lines and 12 33 Y 86 79

33 9 83

MORE GOODS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD THROUGH THE

CLASSIFIED BUSINESS LISTS OF THE DIRECTORY THAN ANY OTHER MEDIUM ON EARTH

INTRODUCTION and GENERAL INDEX

R. L. POLK & CO., publishers of more than 750 city, county, state and national Directories, present to subscribers and the general public, this, the 1955-56 edition of the San Francisco City Directory.

Confidence in the continued growth of San Francisco's industry, population and wealth, and in the advance- ment of its civic and social activities, will be maintained as sections of this Directory are consulted, for the Directory is a mirror truly reflecting San Francisco to the world.

The enviable position occupied by R. L. POLK & CO.'S Directories in the estimation of the public through- out the country, has been established by rendering the best in Directory service. With an unrivaled organization, and having had the courteous and hearty cooperation of the business and professional men and residents, the publishers feel that the result of their labors will meet with the approval of every user, and that the San Francisco Directory will fulfill its mission as a source of authentic information pertaining to the city.

Four Major Departments

The four major departments are arranged in the following order :-

I. - THE ALPHABETICAL LIST OF NAMES of residents and business and professional concerns is the first major department, printed on white paper. This is the only record in existence that aims to show the name, marital status, occupation and address of each adult resident of San Francisco, and the name, official personnel, nature and address of each firm and corporation in the city.

II. THE DIRECTORY OF HOUSEHOLDERS, INCLUDING STREET AND AVENUE GUIDE, on pink paper, is the second major department. In this section the numbered streets are arranged in numerical order, followed by the named streets in alphabetical order; the numbers of the residences and business concerns are arranged in numerical order under the name of each street, and the names of the householders and concerns are placed opposite the numbers. The names of the intersecting streets appear at their respective crossing points on each street. Special features of this section are the designation of tenant-owned homes and the listing of tele- phone numbers.

III. THE BUYERS' GUIDE, the third major department, printed on goldenrod paper, contains the ad- vertisements of leading manufacturing, commercial and professional interests of San Francisco. The advertise- ments are indexed under headings descriptive of the business represented. This is reference advertising at its best, and merits a survey by all buyers eager to familiarize themselves with sources of supply. In a great metropolis and port city like San Francisco, the necessity of having this kind of information immediately available, is obvious. General appreciation of this fact is evidenced by the many reference users of this City Directory service.

IV. THE CLASSIFIED BUSINESS DIRECTORY is the fourth major department, printed on yellow paper. This department lists the names of all business and professional concerns in alphabetical order under appropriate headings. This feature constitutes an invaluable and indispensable catalog of the numerous interests of the com- munity. The Directory is the common intermediary between buyer and seller. As such it plays an important part in the daily activities of the commercial and professional world. More buyers and sellers meet through the Classi- fied Business Directory than through any other medium.

Municipal Publicity

The Directory reflects the achievements and ambitions of the city, depicting in unbiased terms what it has to offer as a place of residence, as a business location, as a port, as a manufacturing site and as an educational center. To broadcast this information, the publishers have placed copies of this issue of the Directory in Direc- tory Libraries, where they are readily available for free public reference, and serve as perpetual and reliable advertisements of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Directory Library

Through the courtesy of the publishers of the San Francisco City Directory, a Directory Library is main- tained at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, for free reference by the general public. This is one of more than 700 Directory Libraries installed in the chief cities of the U. S. and Canada by members of the Association of North American Directory Publishers, under whose supervision the system is operated.

The publishers appreciatively acknowledge the recognition by those progressive business and professional men who have demonstrated their confidence in the City Directory as an advertising medium, with assurance that it will bring a commensurate return.

R. L. POLK & CO., Publishers.

SAN FRANCISCO

"CENTER OF WESTERN INDUSTRY, TRADE AND COMMERCE"; "THE NATION'S WESTERN CAPITAL" (Prepared by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce)

STATISTICAL REVIEW

Form of Government-The City and County of San Francisco is a municipal corporation known as San Francisco. San Francisco has a consolidated city and county government, with legislative powers vested in a board of supervisors of 11 members, 5 and 6 being elected every 2 years for four-year terms. The mayor, treasurer, assessor, city attorney, public defender, dis- trict attorney, sheriff, and superior and municipal court judges are elected by the people for terms of 4 years. The chief administrative officer is appointed by the mayor and has permanent tenure. The controller is appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the board of supervisors, and has permanent tenure.

Population-1950 U. S. Census, 775,357; estimate in 1955, 807,000. Predominating nationalities of foreign- born residents: Italian, German, Irish and Canadian.

Area-44.82 square miles.

Altitude-Sea level to 933.6 feet city datum.

Climate-Average temperature, 56.5 degrees F. Daily mean maximum, 62.6 degrees F. Daily mean minimum, 50.4 degrees F.

Parks-53; also 71 recreation units. Total acreage, 3,640.

Assessed Valuation-$1,964,613,798, all property, with $6.85 tax rate (1954-55).

Bonded Debt-$188,632,000 (June 30, 1954).

Financial Data-21 banks, 16 under State super- vision, and 5 national banks. Total deposits, $12,872,- 889,000 (1954); resources, $14,417,100,000 (1954); debits to individual accounts, $37,964,134,000 (1954) ; clearings, $28,019,576,000 (1954); time deposits, $6,340,503,000 (1954); demand deposits, $6,532,386,000 (1954).

Postal Receipts-$33,317,363 (1954).

Photo by R. L. Copeland, released by San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

Aerial View of Downtown San Francisco

INTRODUCTION

Telephones in Service-474,376 (1954). Churches-430.

Building and Construction-Value of building per- mits. $57,745,732; number, 8,605 (1954).

Industry-Number of units, 2,055 (1954). Total em- ployees 76.000 (March, 1955). Estimated value added by manufacture in 1954, $720.000.000.

Trade-Territory (retail) includes 3,120,800 people (1954) within the 9-county area covering San Francisco Bay. Metropolitan Area jobbers can serve over 5,500,000 people in northern California. Many firms distribute to the 11 Western states, as San Francisco is Western head- quarters for hundreds of companies with regional and national distribution.

Hotels-521, with total of 45,136 guest rooms, third highest in nation.

Transportation-Converging in San Francisco are 4 Class I railroads operating more than 27,000 miles of line. There are numerous trade routes served by the steamships calling at San Francisco. Some 70 shipping lines link San Francisco with at least 300 of the world's ports. There are nearly 100 common-carrier truck lines and several transcontinental bus services. San Francisco is the major air terminal of the Pacific and accommodates a constantly-increasing flow of air traf- fic to and from all parts of the nation and the world. Daily scheduled services for passengers, mail, express and freight are available. San Francisco Airport re- ported 2,191,135 passengers off and on during 1954.

Amusements-Approximately 80 theatres, with total seating capacity of 83,674 persons. Largest audi- torium in city seats about 12,000 persons.

Hospitals-30 (A. M. A. accredited).

Education-123 public schools, including 11 junior high and 7 senior high schools. There also are many parochial and diocesan schools. Number of pupils in daily attendance at public schools, 84,720; in private schools, 26,652 (1954).

Public Libraries-669,753 volumes.

City Statistics-Total street mileage, 914.36, with 782.75 miles paved. Miles of gas mains, 1,163.2; sewers, 800. Local transit lines operate 723.61 round-trip miles of service, including 10.5 miles of cable-car service. Storage capacity of water supply system, 180,563,578,000 gallons (June 30, 1953).

CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT SAN FRANCISCO METROPOLITAN AREA (6 COUNTIES)

Industry Group

April, 1940

Number

Percent

April, 1955 Number Percent

Agriculture, forestry, fishing.

19,400

3.31

19,300

1.91

Construction

33,100

5.65

64,700

6.40

Finance, insurance and real est

38,000

6.48

63,500

6.28

Government

39,300

6.71

87,500

8.66

Manufacturing

121,400

20.71

207,200

20.51

Retail

104,300

17.80

166,900

16.51

Wholesale

25,200

4.30

70,600

6.99

Service

131,000

22.35

218,800

21.65

Transportation, public utilities

63,500

10.83

110,200

10.90

All others

10,900

1.86

1,900

0.19

Total

586,100

100.00

1,000,500

100.00

SITUATION

San Francisco, "City by the Golden Gate," whose City Hall is geographically situated at 37 degrees 47 minutes north latitude and 122 degrees 25 minutes west longitude-on a hilly peninsula with altitudes ranging from sea level to 933.6 feet U. S. Base, is bounded on three sides by water. Of a total of 93.1 square miles, only 44.82 are land. It is among the few world cities with the distinction of having more than half of its en- tire area washed daily by the ocean's tidal currents.

San Francisco has within its boundaries three islands-Yerba Buena, Treasure and Alcatraz-besides the Farallon Islands group some 32 miles west of San Francisco, which have been included in the City and County of San Francisco since 1872.

HISTORY

Discovery

San Francisco owes its discovery and much of its history to the daring and adventure-loving early Portu- guese, English and Spanish explorers. The romance of those early days clings to the city and lends charm to its atmosphere even today.

Though San Francisco's heritage is rightly credited to the Spanish, more than two centuries before Por- tola's arrival, Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo in 1542 discov- ered the Farallon Islands (now a part of San Fran- cisco); next Sir Francis Drake, famed English explorer, passed by the Golden Gate and in 1579 discovered Drake's Bay, a few miles north of San Francisco, where the first church service in the English language on the Pacific Coast was held.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Polk's San Francisco (San Francisco County, Calif.) city directory, 1955-56, Part 1

Author: R.L. Polk & Co Publication date: 1953 Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : R.L. Polk & Co. Number of Pages: 2410

Author: R.L. Polk & Co
Publication date: 1953
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : R.L. Polk & Co.
Number of Pages: 2410