Did you know that the Flood Building in San Francisco is rumored to be haunted?
The Flood Building, with its high-ceilings and iron-railed stairways, is one of San Francisco’s most well-known landmarks.
However, the marble hallways of the building hide a few dark secrets… Some of which we will explore in this article!
Where is the Flood Building?
The Flood Building sits on the corner of Market and Powell Streets in San Francisco.
The 12-story highrise is located right next to Hallidie Plaza and the Powell Street cable car turntable.
Address: 870 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA
What Do People Use the Flood Building for Today?
The Flood Building used to serve as the headquarters of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Today, the Flood Building is one of San Francisco’s premier office buildings for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Currently, the building is home to 35 diverse businesses.
Some recent major tenants include Anthropologie, Gap, and Urban Outfitters.
It looks like a great place to do business… As long as you don’t stay there after dark.
Is the Flood Building in San Francisco Haunted?
While it may look like an ordinary office building from the outside, the Flood Building is most definitely haunted by the ghosts of its gruesome past.
The ghosts of the Baldwin Hotel
The Flood Building rose from the ashes of the Baldwin Hotel, which was destroyed in a fire in 1898.
The Baldwin Hotel used to be a destination resort for the upper classes.
Complete with a swimming pool and an ice-skating rink, it seemed like an amazing place to visit.
The building’s security officer, Max Canton, says he can often hear people, including young children, crying out at night.
He believes it is the ghosts of the people who remained trapped inside as the Baldwin Hotel burned to the ground.
The earthquake victims
The Baldwin Hotel was replaced by the Flood Building as we know it today.
It is one of the few buildings that survived the destructive force of the Great Earthquake that rocked San Francisco in 1906.
The building’s inhabitants weren’t so lucky.
Many of their spirits remained trapped inside the building and can still be heard roaming the hallways today.
The restless criminals
During the 1920s, the building housed the offices of Pinkerton Detective Agency.
They employed Dashiell Hammett, an American author known for his tough, unsentimental style of crime writing, as an operative.
Rumor has it, some of the Agency’s more unsavory visitors (and Hammett’s inspirations) are still hanging out the building’s marble hallways.
Therefore, if you want to catch a glimpse of their ghosts, Room 314 is where we’d look first.
The Haunt Experience
The Flood Building is not the only haunted place in San Francisco… Far from it.
Led by experienced San Francisco locals – Mary, Sebastian, and Iris – our Haunted San Francisco Ghost Tour will show you a different side of our beloved city… One that you are not likely to forget anytime soon.
Who knows, you might even run into a ghost or two!
Ready to discover the dark side of San Francisco?