Old United States Mint

The bronze says the Mint came through 1906 intact and leaves out how. Superintendent Frank Leach crossed from Oakland that morning against the flow of refugees, and his men held the building with water it drew for itself: an artesian well in the courtyard, a steam pump and hose lines installed shortly before. When the fire reached the walls the window glass melted and the stone flaked off with reports like artillery. Inside sat about $300 million in gold, a third of the nation's reserve. The bronze hangs just inside the front door.

What the plaque says

Old United States Mint The Old Mint (1869), San Francisco's second, is California's only such Federal Greek Revival structure. Due to unsurpassed productivity, it became a sub-treasury in 1874. Intact after the 1906 disaster, it served as clearinghouse-bank, thus aiding in the city's reconstruction. Closed in 1937; restored 1972-76 by Mint director Mary Brooks. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 875 Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, January 28, 1977.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Muir Beach Overlook — 11 mi
  A cliff edge on Highway 1, and the concrete dugouts where two-man crews watched the sea after Pearl Harbor.
• Muir Woods National Monument — 12 mi
  A redwood canyon saved from a reservoir by a gift, and named for a man who had been there once.
• Earthquake Trail — 28 mi
  A short loop along the San Andreas, where a broken fence shows how far Point Reyes moved in under a minute in 1906.
• Kule Loklo — 28 mi
  A Coast Miwok village built in the 1970s to honour a people its builders were told had died out. They had not.

More markers nearby

• City of Paris Building — 0.3 mi
• Union Square — 0.3 mi
• California Theatre — 0.6 mi
• Site of First California State Fair — 0.6 mi