Mystery Buyer Acquires Infamous Hibernia Bank Building

Posted On: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - 9:00am | Posted By: Kevin Koerner
Topics: Community Information | Tags: commercial real estate, Hibernia Bank building, Patty Hearst, Symbionese Liberation Army | Neighborhood: Downtown, San Francisco: Profile and Properties for Sale, South of Market, San Francisco: Profile and Properties for Sale, Tenderloin, San Francisco: Profile and Properties for Sale

In 1974, heiress Patty Hearst, daughter of newspaper mogul Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped and tortured by the anti-establishment Symbionese Liberation Army or SLA in Berkeley, California.  Hearst then acted as an accomplice when the machine-gun-toting SLA held up the Hibernia Bank, all of which was caught on video.   Hearst was later acquitted of the crime, citing Stockholm Syndrome as her defense.  Located at One Jones Street in San Francisco, just a few blocks from City Hall, the infamous bank building later fell into disrepair and sat vacant for years.  Recently a mystery buyer scooped up the baroque landmark for something less than $4,000,000.00 and began the necessary evaluations for seismic retrofitting and health-code updating, including asbestos removal.  The name of the buyer and the future of this architectural treasure remain uncertain for now.

Sources:  (content) San Francisco Chronicle; (photo) Paul Chinn & San Francisco Chronicle, (video) Exotericate & YouTube

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Kevin Koerner

Kevin Koerner has been a San Francisco Real Estate Agent since 2001.
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