Pioneer Building (San Francisco)

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Pioneer Trunk Factory--C. A. Malm & Co.

| nrhp_type =

| image = Pioneer Trunk Factory-C- A- Malm & Co- 2012-09-01 15-43-33.jpg

| caption = The Pioneer Building in 2012

| location = 2185--2199 Folsom and 3180 18th Sts., San Francisco, California

| coordinates = {{coord|37.7623|N|122.4148|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = United States San Francisco County#California#USA

| built = {{Start date|1902}}

| architect = Welsh, Thomas

| architecture = Italianate

| added = March 5, 1987

| area = {{convert|0.4|acre}}

| refnum = 86003727{{NRISref|version=2010a|refnum=86003727|name=Pioneer Trunk Factory--C. A. Malm & Co.}}

}}

The Pioneer Building, also known as the Pioneer Trunk Factory - C. A. Malm & Co. building is a historic building in San Francisco, California. The building is located at 2185-2199 Folsom and 3180 18th Streets. It was designed by San Francisco architect Thomas J. Welsh and built in 1902. It was originally two buildings that stood next to each other along 18th street. They were joined into one during rehabilitation in 1985-1986.{{cite web|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/86003727.pdf|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form#86003727}} It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, as "Pioneer Trunk Factory--C. A. Malm & Co."

The former factory is located just outside the area destroyed by the 1906 fire, and is one of the few remaining examples of the kind of large wooden structure that was once characteristic of industrial buildings in the Mission district. Its use of Italiente style wooden details resembles many Victorians built in San Francisco at the time. However, the style is unusual for factory buildings, and was perhaps chosen to better fit with the residential buildings that surround it.

The factory originally manufactured trunks for automobiles, which were sold in two stores in downtown San Francisco (before trunks became a standard part of the car.) In addition to the eponymous factory, the building originally also hosted a corner storefront.

After the factory went out of business in the 1930s, the building was used as a warehouse and a machine shop. In the 21st century, the building once housed the office of Stripe.{{Cite web|date=2014-01-30|title=Harvest Properties and Kinship Capital Complete Sale of The Pioneer Building in San Francisco, California|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140130006084/en/Harvest-Properties-and-Kinship-Capital-Complete-Sale-of-The-Pioneer-Building-in-San-Francisco-California|access-date=2021-03-16|website=BusinessWire}} In 2020, it housed the offices of OpenAI and Neuralink.{{Cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/17/844721/ai-openai-moonshot-elon-musk-sam-altman-greg-brockman-messy-secretive-reality/|title=The messy, secretive reality behind OpenAI's bid to save the world|last=Hao|first=Karen|date=2020-02-17|website=MIT Technology Review|access-date=2020-08-06}} OpenAI vacated the building in August 2024,{{cite web|url=https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2024/08/26/openai-exits-san-francisco-hq-after-split-with-elon-musk/|title=OpenAI exits San Francisco HQ after Elon Musk stops paying rent}} and rival xAI moved in in October 2024.{{Cite web |title=at @xAI's open house in the pioneer building |url=https://x.com/marvinvonhagen/status/1841309172547346939}} In 2024, Elon Musk claimed to own the building.{{Cite web |last=Musk |first=Elon |date=October 2, 2024 |title=X.com |url=https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1841536639639679375 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002175651/https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1841536639639679375 |archive-date=October 2, 2024 |website=X}}