450 Sutter Street, also called the Four Fifty Sutter Building, is a twenty-six-floor, 105-meter (344-foot) skyscraper in San Francisco, California, completed in 1929. The tower is known for its "Neo-Mayan" Art Deco design by architect Timothy L. Pflueger. The building's vertically faceted exterior later influenced Pietro Belluschi in his similarly faceted exterior of 555 California, the former Bank of America Center completed in 1969. The building's tenants are largely dental and medical professional offices.

History

In the 1960s, endocrinologist and sexologist Harry Benjamin, known for his pioneering clinical work with transgender people, opened a summer practice in the building, with many of his patients coming from the nearby Tenderloin neighbourhood.

In popular culture

In the director's commentary of influential 3D adventure game Grim Fandango, game designer Tim Schafer credits the building as a major aesthetic influence. Schafer said he became familiar with 450 Sutter because his dentist's office was located on one of the upper floors, and that he had modeled the Department of Death, one of the game's most important locations, on the building. The building is also modeled in the 2003 Maxis video game SimCity 4 as the fictional "Vu Financial" commercial office tower.

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