[3] John King, the architecture critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, has described the Flood Building as "twelve stories of orderly pomp with a rounded prow that commands the corner of Powell and Market Streets ... Every detail is rooted and right, from the tall storefronts that beckon cable car daytrippers to the baroque cliff of the sandstone façade with its deep-chiseled windows.

[3] In 1906, it was one of the few major buildings to survive the San Francisco earthquake and the fire that followed;[3] full restoration of the interior took two years.

[3] From 1952 to 1993 the Woolworth's store at the base of the Flood Building was the largest in the chain; its size was then reduced, occupying only the basement level, and it closed in 1997.

[8] More recently, flagship stores for Gap, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie have been located in the building's retail space.

The Gap store closed in 2020;[3][14] as of July 2024[update], following COVID-19, Urban Outfitters is the only first-floor retail tenant, and there are a number of office vacancies.