The Shell Building features a white terra cotta facade that rises twenty-nine stories into a gothic spire, capped by a crown of sculptural shell motifs. Completed in nineteen twenty-nine, the tower served as the regional headquarters for the Shell Oil Company. Architect George Kelham designed the building to evoke the company logo, integrating stylized shells into the bronze entrance doors and the stonework above the windows. It remains a striking example of the transition from gothic ornamentation to the streamlined forms of early art deco.
Shell Building (San Francisco)
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