The Mills Building

Horrible. They REFUSE to turn on ANY heat to the building unless it is lower than 60 degrees outside. Yet the inside of the building is much colder than the outside. It makes it very difficult to work, and is incredibly uncomfortable. They also ask that you do not use a space heater. Do not rent an office here!!!

I used to work here, back in the day. Classic building, and the Louis Sullivan-​style arch did not escape this Chicago boy’s attention. What a great commute i had. I could leave my home in The Mission at 7:45, take the always-​punctual BART and be at my desk at 8. AM.

My office is located in this building, and no office building has ever felt so homey and comfortable. As you enter from the Montgomery Street side, it smells like you’re in a hotel. The odor of delicious food wafts down the corridor from one of two restaurants. There’s a gift/​news shop, a magazine, a dental clinic, and a legal library all on the first floor.
I haven’t had any experiences with building management, aside from a smile and a nod from the security people, but I’ve enjoyed my experiences here at 220 Montgomery.

My office is right next door to this building and I probably jet through there at least once per week. It has some storefronts via Bush (affectionately known as ‘Dictator’ Street), most of which also have a back access into the building’s main public corridor, which (drumroll) is indeed a make-​shift art gallery! I get the occasional sandwich from the deli in Mills or from Café Venue, as well as buy my Fast Pass from their little snack store, and it really is cool to wander through the ongoing exhibit that changes out every few months while running these errands. Makes this pile of bricks rather unique.

Well, since my work building is listed, I might as well toss in my 2 cents as well. So the building itself is pretty nice — 4 different entrances (2 on Bush, 1 on Montgomery, 1 on Pine), an art gallery of sorts inside (constantly rotating new artwork in, occasionally displaying tenant artwork as well), Café Venue, a sandwich shop and a small convenience store (where I buy my Fast Pass every month). Great location and great history in this building as well. It was built pre-​1906 quake (and its still standing!)
So now onto the not so nice — #1 on my list is the lack of central air! Considering this is San Francisco, this usually isn’t an issue with our temperate weather, but as of late, the weather has been quite warm and without any AC, it can get hot and stuffy in here. The elevators can be a bit finicky sometimes, but with it’s close location to Muni/​Bart (2 blocks away), it’s convenient getting to work.

Why am I reviewing an office building? Go here and find out. Ok, fine I’ll tell you, then go. If you walk through the lobby of this building, you’ll come across all kinds of cool artwork on display. It’s a great way to bring some beauty into your dreary work day, whether you have any real business being in the building or not is another story (the lobby is open to the public, so you can just stroll on through on your way to lunch or whatever).
Currently, there is a fantastic «The Art of Recycling Returns» exhibit up, which is made up of selections from the The Artist in Residence Program at SF Recycling & Disposal (an awesome program in and of itself. You can read a bit about the art here:
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Now go, visit and enjoy.
The art changes every couple of months