McAllister Tower Apartments vs 140 New Montgomery Building

Comparing the McAllister Tower Apartments and the 140 New Montgomery Building is interesting because they both stand in San Francisco, CA, and were completed within 5 years of each other, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

These two towers present an interesting contrast in their proportions. The 140 New Montgomery Building rises higher at 459ft (140m), while the McAllister Tower Apartments reaches 308ft (94m). However, the McAllister Tower Apartments accommodates more floors with 28 levels above ground, compared to 26 floors in the 140 New Montgomery Building.

This suggests different approaches to interior space design. The 140 New Montgomery Building has an average floor-to-floor height of approximately 5.4m, while the McAllister Tower Apartments has more compact floors averaging around 3.4m each. The taller building's more generous floor heights might indicate grander interior spaces, higher ceilings, or different programmatic requirements.

These different proportions likely reflect the specific needs each building was designed to serve, whether driven by zoning regulations, client requirements, or the intended use of the spaces within. The contrast shows how architects can achieve different spatial experiences even when working with similar overall building scales.

Both the McAllister Tower Apartments and the 140 New Montgomery Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Lewis P. Hobart and Miller and Pflueger followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The McAllister Tower Apartments is primarily residential, while the 140 New Montgomery Building is primarily commercial.

Originally, the McAllister Tower Apartments was designed for hotel, but over time it was converted to residential. The 140 New Montgomery Building by contrast has maintained its original role.

Both the McAllister Tower Apartments and the 140 New Montgomery Building rely on a Frame structural system.

A frame structure uses a grid of columns and beams to carry the building's loads. This frees the walls from structural duties, allowing for flexible floor plans and larger windows.

They also employ the same type of facade, a Masonry facade.

A masonry facade gives the building a heavier, more traditional appearance. It often conceals a frame structure behind it, creating the look of solid walls without carrying the main loads.