The original Battery Street building, two blocks from the current site, was a three-story brick structure built in 1851 to house the Merchants Exchange, an association of city traders and businessmen.
It had a library and a meeting room with bulletins on arriving ships and cargoes.
Watchmen on the roof would relay messages of arriving ships to the merchants in the meeting room below, so they could then rush to the docks to meet them.

The second structure, on California Street, was also three-story building, but in the Beaux-Arts style.
Since it was situated more inland than its predecessor, it had a tower for the purpose of observing ships.
This was succeeded by a fifteen-story skyscraper in 1904, which still stands today.
The original Battery Street building, two blocks from the current site, was a three-story brick structure built in 1851 to house the Merchants Exchange, an association of city traders and businessmen. It had a library and a meeting room with bulletins on arriving ships and cargoes. Watchmen on the roof would relay messages of arriving ships to the merchants in the meeting room below, so they could then rush to the docks to meet them.
The second structure, on California Street, was also three-story building, but in the Beaux-Arts style. Since it was situated more inland than its predecessor, it had a tower for the purpose of observing ships. This was succeeded by a fifteen-story skyscraper in 1904, which still stands today.
Merchants Exchange Building (San Francisco)