2520

San Francisco,CA - 1850 and 1851 - James King of William Lease Collection :

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 1,000.00 USD
San Francisco,CA - 1850 and 1851 - James King of William Lease Collection :
Indenture – lease – on 9 March 1850 between John Marrow and William Newton Meeks and Atlantic W. Renshaw for a parcel of land at the corners of Union Street and Union Place. Signed by all parties and H. S. Gates. Marrow and Meeks leased James King of William a room at 276 Montgomery Street in February of 1850.
A lease on blue paper stating that William Hammond of Van Dyke and Belden is leasing to James King of William “all that lot of land on Montgomery Street” for $300.00 per month due on the first of the month in advance. The lease was drawn up on 9 May 1850 and cancelled on 20 June 1850. Van Dyke and Belden were general merchants in the City who had several previous buildings burnt in fires, so in 1850, they were embarking on building a fire proof three story brick building at the corners of Montgomery and Clay Streets [http://yesteryearsnews.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/san-francisco-fire-june-14-1850/].
A work agreement on white lettersheet signed by Isaac Van Winkle, Wm. Towne, Charles M. [illegible – perhaps McKay] by his attorney Richard Hammond. Contains eight clauses. The agreement is for work to be done on a lot on Battery Street. The parties of the first part are to “plank, and to erect the accessory bulk-heads.” Also, on another portion of the lot, the parties are to create a natural slope for the earth used in filling the lot. Other clauses describe how the dirt on the lot should be firm and compacted when the job is finished. Battery Street is on the east side of Montgomery Street toward the bay, and during the 1906 earthquake, that area was hit hardest because of the fill dirt. Even though this agreement makes careful stipulations about how to compact the dirt, history proves that builders, whoever they were, and however careful they were, could not overcome the impact of mother nature.