San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building
Structural Designer
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.
Client Name
San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center
Location
San Francisco, California
ARCHITECT
City and County of San Francisco
HISTORIC ARCHITECT
Carey & Co. Inc.
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Charles Pankow Builders, Ltd.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
SJ Engineers
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Glumac Associates
CODE CONSULTING
The Preview Group
THEATRICAL AND LIGHTING CONSULTING
Auerbach Consultants
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Designed by prominent American architect, Arthur Brown, Jr., the Veterans Building is among the last buildings in America designed in the Beaux-Arts style. This is the building where President Harry S. Truman signed the Charter of the United Nations.
The building had suffered damage during the earthquake of 1989 and had not been well maintained for many years. The seismic strengthening involved inserting shotcrete shear walls round the Herbst Theater without causing damage to the famous murals, and new structural steel bracing in the roof and across the large skylights.
Judge's comment:
This fine Beaux-Arts building had suffered in an earthquake in 1989 and was in urgent need of a seismic upgrade. Shotcrete walls were introduced behind the historic murals on the walls of the theatre in a careful sequence of operations, the walls designed to allow some flexibility to limit foundation forces. This difficult work was carried out with exemplary care and respect for the historic importance of the building.