Take a moment to inspect this the green-toned building you see across the street. This is the Pacific Building built in 1907, right after the devastatingearthquake. At the time, the city was looking for an architect who could build earthquake-resistant structures. Charles Whittlesey, who presented himself as an expert in reinforced concrete architecture, took on the project. This was the first building to be rebuilt as part of the city's reconstruction effort. The lower floors are clad in red tiles, the upper floors in green tiles decorated with white. The architect described his work as a woman dressed in her finest attire, wearing a satin scarf. He explained that he didn't want to build yet another white building in San Francisco, because, and I quote, "this town is so shady in color as well as morals that a little spot of white attracts attention like a diamond dropped in the mud."