Market Center (San Francisco)
Buildings in San Francisco, California
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Market Center, formerly known as the Standard Oil Buildings and later the Chevron Towers, is a complex comprising two skyscrapers at 555–575 Market Street in the Financial District of downtown San Francisco, California. It served as the headquarters of the Chevron Corporation until 2001.[8] As of 2025, it is owned by the Flynn Group.[9][10]
San Francisco, California
| Market Center | |
|---|---|
555 Market (left) and 575 Market (right) | |
  Location within San Francisco  Location within California  Location within the United States | |
| Former names | Standard Oil Buildings |
Alternative names | Chevron Towers |
General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Location | 555–575 Market Street San Francisco, California |
| Coordinates | 37.78955°N 122.4003°W |
Completed | 1964 / 1975 |
| Owner | Flynn Group |
| Height | |
| Roof | 94.79 m (311.0 ft) 174.65 m (573.0 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 22 / 40 |
| Floor area | 283,000 sq ft (26,300 m2) 487,000 sq ft (45,200 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | Hertzka & Knowles |
Structural engineer | H.J. Brunnier Associates |
| References | |
| [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] | |
575 Market Street is a 40-story, 175 m (574 ft) building completed in 1975, the taller of the two towers. 555 Market Street is the shorter tower at 95 m (312 ft) with 22 stories, and was completed in 1964. Architect for both buildings was Hertzka & Knowles. The two buildings are situated on a large mid-block property with a central, landscaped plaza. Both building exteriors are precast terra cotta panels above a granite base.[11]
History
Built by Standard Oil of California, later rebranded as the Chevron Corporation, Market Center was originally constructed and named Standard Oil Building Number 3 (555 Market) and Standard Oil Building Number 4 (575 Market). Chevron occupied the Market Center complex from 1965 until 2001 when it moved its headquarters to its campus in San Ramon, California.[12][13] In 1999, Chevron sold the two buildings to Tishman Speyer and Travelers Real Estate Ventures for US$189.1 million and leased back the office space.[12]
At the time the company officially moved its headquarters, it had already moved most workers to San Ramon, leaving only about 200 employees in San Francisco.[12] By 2003, the complex was 83 percent vacant, and a joint venture between DivcoWest Properties and RREEF Management Company bought the property for US$79.5 million. In 2010, RREEF Management Company sold the complex to John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, for US$267 million.[13] In 2016, Manulife Financial sold the property to The Blackstone Group for US$489.6 million.[14]
In November 2019, Paramount Group, Inc. agreed to purchase the complex from Blackstone for US$722 million,[15][16] a deal that was finalized the next month.[17] Paramount announced in 2024 that it would sell the US$402 million in debt that had been placed on the buildings. The company had previously written off its entire investment in the property, valuing its ownership stake at zero.[18][19] The Flynn Group offered to take over the US$416 million loan in January 2025,[20][21] and Flynn agreed to buy the buildings for US$177 million—the remaining balance on the loan—in May 2025.[9][10]
