Clift Hotel

The Clift is a luxury hotel located two blocks from Union Square at the intersection of Geary Street and Taylor Street, San Francisco, California. In 1913, Frederick C. Clift, an attorney from a large family in the Sierra foothills, commissioned the 300-room hotel on a lot the family had inherited. The hotel was to open in time for the Pan Pacific Exposition. The architect, a former student of Ecole de Beaux Arts, was George Applegarth of McDonald and Applegarth, who also designed the Palace of the Legion of Honor. Advertised as the first hotel in San Francisco to be fire and earthquake proof, Clift has held up to its expectations. With its 1924 addition of 3 floors, it became the largest hotel in the state. The Clift was purchased from...