Old Transamerica Building (old Fugazi Bank Building)

Constructed in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, the Fugazi Bank Building is designed in the classical revival style and faced with terracotta. The 1909 building was originally three stories high with a cupola atop the corner point, but the cupola was removed sometime after 1924. The Transamerica Corporation was founded in 1928 by A.P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy (later Bank of America) and a former director of Fugazi Bank. Giannini used the Fugazi Bank Building as a headquarters for his financial services companies beginning in 1938, with the building taking on the name of the company. In 1972 the firm completed construction of the Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper on the block to the southeast, which became the new headquarters for the company. Today the Old Transamerica Building is occupied by the Church of Scientology, who restored the building in 2003. The building is a San Francisco Designated Landmark (1973) and part of the National Register-listed Jackson Square Historic District (1971).

Fugazi Bank (Fugazi Banca Popolare Operaia Italiana) was incorporated in San Francisco on November 2nd, 1906, seven months after the earthquake and fire destroyed four square miles of the city. Giovanni ("John") F. Fugazi, a native of the Milan region of Italy, was the first president of the bank, which began operating on November 20th. Frank N. Belgrano was the cashier; Belgrano had been the cashier at Columbus Savings & Loan until he resigned to take the new job. Fugazi also founded Columbus Savings & Loan in San Francisco in 1893, the first Italian bank in the heavily Italian-American North Beach neighborhood. The Columbus was located on the first floor of the Drexler Building on Washington St., on a triangular lot at the intersection with Montgomery Street and Montgomery Avenue (later renamed Columbus Ave.).

The Transamerica Corporation is essentially a holding company for a multitude of life insurance and investments firms that do business primarily in the US. It was founded by Amadeo Peter Giannini, who created the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904, later becoming the Bank of America. Giannini was born in San Jose to immigrants from Genoa, Italy. Giannini was previously on the board of Fugazi Bank, but resigned in 1904 after his suggestions for expanding the bank's customers to more locals from across the economic spectrum were repeatedly ignored. Giannini purchased the property of a saloon owner who wanted to retire, next door to the Drexler Building, and renovated it for his new bank. He also managed to acquire the entire Drexler Building, and promptly tripled Fugazi's rent. Fugazi was livid and moved the Columbus Savings & Loan across the street, on a triangular lot bounded by Columbus Ave. and Montgomery St. Giannini also lured away Fugazi's assistant cashier, Armando Pedrini, by doubling his salary; Bank of Italy opened in October 1904. Both banks' buildings were heavily damaged by the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Fugazi apparently decided to start fresh by founding a new bank after the quake. The Fugazi Bank building was built in 1909 of reinforced concrete faced with white terra cotta and was finished inside with Greek marble; the architect of the Classical Revival building was Charles P. Faff. The bank occupied the first floor; at least one physician, Dr. Scaparone, and an architect, C. Fantoni, had offices in the "Popular Bank Building." The Bank of Italy's building was one block south at Montgomery and Clay. Bank of Italy acquired a number of other California banks. John F. Fugazi's sons, James and Samuel B., were added to the board of the Bank of Italy in 1913; the Bank of Italy had grown so much by then that it was no longer a rival of Fugazi Bank. In 1916, John F. Fugazi passed away after a brief illness; by then, Fugazi Bank also had branches in Oakland and Santa Barbera. In 1928, Giannini decided to put his banks into a holding company - the Transamerica Corporation; one was the newly acquired Fugazi Bank. Banking continued in this building until 1931; it became the headquarters of Transamerica in 1938.

In 1930 the company acquired Occidental Life Insurance Company, which had been founded in 1906, and renamed it Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company. Over time, the company became more diversified and included film studios, airlines. and even a budget rent a car. By the time Giannini died in 1949 at age 79, he was chairman of both Transamerica and Bank of America, which had grown to over 500 branches. In 1972 the company completed construction of the Transamerica Pyramid skyscraper which became the new headquarters for the company.

Anonymous. Items about Banks, Bankers and Trust Co.'s. The Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. LXXXIII. November 3rd, 1906. 1071 - 1073.

Anonymous. Items about Banks, Bankers and Trust Co.'s. The Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. LXXXIII. December 3rd, 1906. 1386 - 1388.

Anonymous. "Trasloco d'ufficio." L'Italia (San Francisco) January 3rd, 1913. 3-3.

Anonymous. "Head of Italian Bank Dies in North." Morning Press (Santa Barbera) June 6th, 1916. 3-3.

Anonymous. Mortuary Record of Association Members Reported During July, 1196. Bulletin of the American Institute of Bankers. August 1st, 1916. 137 - 137.

Anonymous. "Nation to Pay Final Tribute to A. P. Giannini, Banking King." Oakland Tribune (Oakland) April 6th, 1949. D sec, 1, 4.

Bonadio, Felice A. A. P. Giannini: Banker of America. Plunkett Lake Press, 2024.

California State Banking Department. Annual Report of the Superintendent of Banks of the State of California. Sacramento, CA. California State Printing Office, 1915.

James, Marquis. James, Bessie R. The Story of Bank of America: Biography of a Bank. Washington, DC. Beard Books, 1954.

San Francisco Landmark #52 Fugazi Bank Building. Noe Hill. Accessed May 13, 2017. http://noehill.com/sf/landmarks/sf052.asp.

Scaparone, Dr. "Dr. Scaparone Office." Hispano America (San Francisco) August 15th, 1914. 4-4.

Todd, Frank Morton. San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce Handbook for San Francisco. San Francisco, CA. San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, 1914.