In 1890 , M. H. de Young , owner of the '' San Francisco Chronicle '' , built San Francisco 's first skyscraper , the Chronicle Building , to house his newspaper . In response , John D. Spreckels and his father Claus Spreckels purchased the '' San Francisco Call '' in 1895 and commissioned a tower of their own that would dwarf the Chronicle Building . In September 1895 , '' The Call '' wrote : The building eventually stood 315 feet ( 96 m ) tall with an ornate baroque dome &mdash; which housed the offices of Reid & Reid , the building 's architects &mdash; and four corner cupolas when construction finished in 1898 . It was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River for many years . The structure was badly burned and damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , although the building did not collapse
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Central Tower (San Francisco)