508 4th Street

The historic Central SoMa building at 508 4th Street, which is currently home to Drake, is being shopped for sale or lease with the furniture and furnishings available as well.

508 4th Street Interior

Built to house a steel foundry in 1925, the 10,000-square-foot Murschen and Hoelscher Building, which wraps around the adjacent Hotel Utah, underwent a two-year and $4 million renovation directed by Zack de Vito Architecture and opened as Elizabeth Falkner’s Orson in 2008.

Orson was shuttered in 2011, Falkner moved to New York, the space was remodeled, and Drake opened in late 2012.  The operators of Drake purchased the building, in front of which San Francisco’s new Central Subway line will run, from Orson Partners LLC for $4.3 million last year.

21 thoughts on “Drake Looks to Be Done”
        1. No, even in Realtor(r)-speak, 4th Ave is the boundary between Bryant and Townsend.

          I’ve never in it is Drake, but as Orson I thought the space was too large to support a restaurant. Some retail/restaurant subdivision mix might be better, with daytime service to take advantage of the weekday work crowds.

  1. I CAN’T HELP MYSELF

    Started PDR and now we here
    Started PDR and now tech bros up in here
    Started PDR and now we here
    Started PDR but artisanal fancy drinks up in here

    We done kept it molten from the jump
    Purpose built space for single place and time
    Now you try to sell it on your own
    Selling booze to beards make you wanna call home
    Supervisor calling me like where ya at?
    Used to be blue collar jobs, but they ain’t never coming back
    People I just think it’s funny how it goes
    How steel turn to sashimi for the local tech bros

    Started PDR and now we here
    Started PDR and now tech bros up in here
    Started PDR and now we here
    Started PDR but artisanal fancy drinks up in here

    (…)

    No new housing, people we don’t feel that
    Forget a new neighbor, legacy votes is where it’s at
    We don’t like to do too much explaining
    ‘Hood stay the same won’t ever change it.
    No new neighbors people we don’t feel that
    Six figure job get you a tech bus pass
    We don’t like to do too much explaining
    Story stay the same bout the capital gains

    Cause we started PDR and now we here
    Started PDR and now tech bros up in here
    ……

      1. Prolly most of y’all don’t get the gist
        Pounding on the table now you all got Futuwrists
        Cause it started PDR and now we here.

          1. OMG Futurist….you don’t understand a joke? At your advanced age I’m not expecting you to note the specific musical reference, but you do understand parody don’t you? Soccermom da best.

          2. Oh, you mean smoms meager attempts here to add mindless humor to interesting and relevant topics while trying to mimic another mediocre hip hop singer who can’t speak good English?

            You mean THE best, don’t you?

  2. Historic ??
    Sure, it’s nice older building in a pseudo-Mission style – a once commonplace type fast disappearing – but “historic” seems a stretch.

    1. That’s the same mentality as the “what’s one little pebble taken from this beach going to do?” belief. Yes, this particular building may commonplace and not worthy of preservation or saving. But eventually we’ll be looking around wondering where they all went. One-by-one they will disappear and there will be nothing left.

      1. I never said it wasn’t worth preserving – heck, I was the one who lamented Cesar’s passing – I just don’t think misdescription is helpful: “attractive”, “survivor”, or “a-type-sadly-becoming-uncommon” would have served just as well w/o embellishment.

        1. Embellishment? Misdiscription?

          The building is an “A” rated historic resource which “appears to be individually eligible for local listing or [a landmark] designation through survey evaluation,” based on the City’s South of Market Area Historic Resource Survey.

          We don’t use words like ‘historic’ when we simply mean old. And we do our research before hitting the keyboard.

          1. Lack of proper documentation and failure to cite references…I accept your apology! 😉

            Seriously, though I still stand by my statement: I’ve yet to see any evidence of “historic” events associated with this specific building (and if someone can produce some, then I’ll recant). Even the report I referenced describes it pretty much as I did “It is an excellent example of the Mediterranean Revival style and retains a high degree of integrity, including its multi-light storefront transom”.

            (And I would point out the report – pp67 – also notes the use of “subjectively defined characteristics ” to support a claim).

          2. But your opinion doesn’t matter as far as planning is concerned. All that matters is that the building is classified as a historic resource, which is the context in which the term is used here. That has implications for future use/development of the site.

          3. As an architect, I do have respect and understanding for selective and appropriate preservation of “historic” buildings and locations, but I am also cautiously skeptical of the preservationists as well:

            The often cite historic preservation as a way of slowing progress, as well as sometimes preserving facades ONLY and other less than worthy structures.

  3. Very cool SM. Love it. (I was thinking more ‘Just Hold On, We’re Going Home.’)

    BTW, is it me or is it becoming really difficult to enter the reCAPTCHA when posting?

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