456 Montgomery Plaza

456 Montgomery was constructed in the mid-1980s on the site of the Italian American Bank (designed by Albert Pissis in 1907) and A. Borel and Company (designed by Howard and Galloway in 1908).[3] The modern tower retains the classic temple facades at its base.[4]

The original bank facade architects are incorrectly attributed in the earlier comments.[5]

456 Montgomery, completed in August 1985, is a 26-story steel frame high-rise office tower rising above two circa 1907 landmark granite banking facades. Serving as the primary building entrance at 456 Montgomery is the former Borel Bank (then 440 Montgomery (Albert Pissis)) while at the corner of Montgomery and Sacramento Streets is the original Italian American Bank headquarters (John Galen Howard) that now fronts a leased commercial banking space at 460 Montgomery Street.[6]

Preserving the two landmark facades took advantage of a new, and at times controversial, urban design precedent as illustrated by other similar projects such as 353 Sacramento and One Sansome Streets. All three of these projects serve to varying degrees of success as examples of a design strategy intended to resolve conflicts between the architectural preservation and development communities.[7]

• List of tallest buildings in San Francisco