From the bluff to Pacific Avenue the land is level, but Commerce and Broadway form terraces on the steep hillside.

Fire destroyed the original structure on this site, a business block stylistically cohesive with those to its north along the western side of Pacific.

The railroad wharfs were located in the plains below the hill where the Northern Pacific Headquarters building sited.

[2] Old City Hall and Spanish Steps The utilitarian brick and glass facades of the garage buildings along Commerce and Broadway represent an important type of structure.

[2] Of even greater significance at this time, when the proximity of a residential neighborhood to the north of the Elks Temple is understood, is the Spanish Steps to the south of this edifice.

Were these not to exist, pedestrian access to the City Hall from Broadway would have constituted a lengthy detour around business blocks.

These stairs were built to satisfy city fire code requirements for a second story exit from the Elks Temple, and it is unknown if pedestrian access was noted as a determining factor of their design.

However, in 1936, when the Elks Club attempted to close the stairs to the public, city officials intervened as legal owners of the dedicated street, thus emphasizing the importance of the steps to foot traffic.

The Second Renaissance Revival design rises in reinforced concrete from Commerce Street on a heavy water table.

The first story is rusticated and has its principal approach through the south wall from the terrace level of the Spanish Stairs, midway between Broadway and Commerce.

Each second story window is provided with a small iron-railed balcony supported by a scrolled bracket or keystone and decorated with pancarpi.

A quote from a 1928 news article explains it best: From the manager on down through the ranks of the many employees> the organization is Northwestern in character and not Californian.

The greatest mass of the Second Renaissance Revival building is executed in a tan brick on a U-shaped plan.

The space between the windows of the eighth and ninth floors is decorated with a swag and the facade itself executed in a lighter shade of brick.

It is of a still lighter shade of brick and is finished with such refinements as pilasters, rusticated brickwork, quoins and swag ornaments; a balustrade caps the penthouse cornice.

Major changes occurred in 1924 with a layer of stucco or gunite covering the decorative panels and the removal of two bays at the northern end.

By remembering that the City Hall was completed the previous year, we can see the outer rim of the District connected and Whiskey Row encircled.

Sometimes the treatment is minor, such as the unification suggested by the owner's sign spanning the dissimilar facades at 722–726 Pacific.

[2] Some alterations, such as the loss of a cornice (Olympus Hotel and 718-20 Pacific, for example) are not immediately noticeable and appear related to seismic considerations.

The typical intrusion is an emasculated historic building finished with an applied facade material (819-23 Pacific and 738 Broadway).

[2] Intrusive modern construction and the disruption of the original facade lines are, therefore, the major features, which separate the District from its surroundings to the south, particularly along Pacific Avenue.

Late 19th century eclectic styles blend to present a street view of an earlier date than the surrounding area.