The Old and New U.S. Mint in San Francisco

The old U.S. Mint (below) was built in 1874, the "Granite Lady" is a rare San Francisco landmark that survived the earthquake and fire of 1905. It provides a starting point for discussing the Gold Rush and the birth of modern San Francisco as an American city as well as the 1906 disaster. The new U. S. mint, (above) is located on Market Street and still in operation today.

A California Mint
On July 8, 1852, President Millard Fillmore signed an act authorizing a branch mint in California. Within a short time, Treasury Secretary Thomas Corwin chose San Francisco as the site.

The Treasury Department signed a contract with Joseph R. Curtis in April 1853 to construct the mint by February 1, 1854. Mint Director James Ross Snowden, who had taken office in 1853, was in charge of putting the mint into operation. However, slow communication plus the problems of acquiring suitable building materials prevented speedy completion. A building on Commercial Street owned by Moffett & Company was acquired in the interim and modified, probably at a cost of at least $93,000.

Birth of the Granite Lady

By 1869, Congress had appropriated $300,000 to acquire a new site at Fifth and Mission Streets and construct a building. Plans were drawn under the supervision of Alfred B. Mullet, Supervising Architect of the Treasury Department from 1866 to 1874. Mullett's design was Classical Greek Revival, Doric columns and Roman scale and proportions. Sandstone from Newcastle Island in British Columbia was shipped in by three schooners for the facing of the upper floors and for the six colossal columns on the portico. The basement walls were of granite from the Griffith Quarry in Penryn, Placer County, California. On May 26, 1870, the cornerstone of the Mint was laid. The building opened on a rainy Saturday, November 5, 1874.

The Architect: Alfred Bult Mullett (1834-1890)

Alfred B. Mullett was born in England in 1834. His family immigrated to Glendale, Ohio in 1845. A couple of years later he began work in the Cincinnati office of architect Isaiah Rogers. Mullett later moved to Washington, D.C. and in 1863 began work for the Treasury Department. He rose to be Supervising Architect in 1866 and for eight years oversaw the design and construction of over forty federal buildings across America. Many are still standing, including the Mint in Carson City, NV, the Mint in San Francisco, CA, and the State, War and Navy Building (now the Old Executive Office Building) in Washington, D.C.

Granite Lady Saved

Mullett knew well that the Pacific Coast was subject to earthquakes, and with remarkable foresight he designed the Old Mint to "float" on its foundations in an earthquake, rather than shatter. His vision was validated when the mint rode out the severe earthquake of Wednesday, April 18, 1906, practically undamaged. Heroic efforts by Treasury Department employees, using only a one-inch hose connected to wells that had fortunately been built just weeks earlier, saved the mint, and $200 million in gold in its vaults, from the fire that destroyed commercial San Francisco after the earthquake. With the downtown area and its banks destroyed, the San Francisco Mint was the only financial institution able to open for business in San Francisco and it became the depository and treasury for the city's relief fund.

By 1934, one third of the United States' gold reserve was stored in the vaults of the San Francisco Mint.