This converted 1867 warehouse is why you should still love lofts

Outside of the spectacular Oriental Warehouse, a plaque reads: “Built in 1867, the Oriental Warehouse is all that remains in San Francisco of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., a firm that was the first to establish regular mail, passenger and trade service between the U.S. and the Orient. The building played a central role as the primary storage and distribution point for imports of tea, rice and silk from Asia and was designated a landmark by the city of San Francisco in 1977.”

Problematic word choice notwithstanding, there’s still so much to love about this 66-unit building, an official San Francisco landmark, that underwent an industrial conversion to housing stock in 1996.

Today, a unit inside the historic building lands on the market, a two-bedroom, two-bathroom loft lands on the market for $1,795,000. The spacious unit comes with corrugated steel ceilings painted white, a dining area, a kitchen with concrete counters and wine fridge, a catwalk lounge area, and exposed brick.

It also has a private patio butted up against the building’s original brick wall.

And unlike other SF lofts whose err on the side of antiseptic, this home comes with color galore, including custom artwork by Austin-based artist Josef Kristofoletti.

The listing is through Wendy Storch of Sotheby’s International Realty.