Historic Clock Tower's Penthouse Hits Market for $8.5 Million

Wow. The Clock Tower Building at the nexus SoMa and Rincon Hill is a wonder to behold. You can see it while heading to a Giants game, or heading home from work down Second Street. And for those of us who live in the area (your editor included), it's a great way to catch the time durning morning jogs sans mobile phone.

Now if you have always wondered what the penthouse looked like from the inside, wonder no more. For the first time in over two decades, the historic Clock Tower's top-drawer floor, which comes with a room smack-dab inside the clock itself, is on the market.

Located at 461 Second Street, the two bedroom, two bath residence has approximately 3,000 square feet. The space boasts hardwood and concrete flooring, as well as original brick and concrete walls, steel structural beams, wrap around deck, and more.

Constructed in 1907, the site became the headquarters of the Schmidt Lithograph Corporation, once the largest printer on the West Coast, in 1921. Company founder Max Schmidt built the rooftop-accessible penthouse so that his company’s professional lithographers could take advantage of the natural light. (Nice boss, indeed.)

In the 1930s, the city planned on demolishing the tower during Bay Bridge construction. Schmidt threatened to move his company out of the city, so the clocktower stayed.

Years later, in 1992, long after the factory had closed, the site underwent massive reconstructive work when San Francisco architect David Baker and the McKenzie, Rose, & Halliday development firm transformed the building into 127 sleek live/work condos and office spaces.

The current owners of the penthouse, Tom and Carol Burkhart, who at one time lived directly across the street, used to daydream about residing in the historic timepiece, telling SFGate, "We'd just sit there in our living room, salivating thinking it would be amazing to live in that tower."

Now the historic penthouse hits the market at $8,500,000.

• 461 Second Street [Sotheby's]
• A penthouse in San Francisco's historic Clock Tower goes on the market [SFGate]