We are pleased to announce that on February 1, 2021, the Buon Gusto Sausage Factory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (National Register). Located at 535 Green Street in San Francisco’s North Beach District, the Buon Gusto building is purpose-built, industrial structure that operated as a meat production facility from 1948 until 1978. It remains as a direct visual link to the Italian heritage of the North Beach community during the 20th century.
The building is an intact, representative example of International/Modern architecture, and the subtlety of the design is seen in the use of simple reveals and recesses, ribbed tiles and textured glazed panels, repetition of rectangular proportions, and other customized architectural embellishments accented with red, green and white striping, known as “il tricolore,” the national colors of Italy. The original signage remains, and a fabulous intact example of an analog clock with neon letters spelling out “Buon Gusto Sausage” is found on the east side of the façade.
Heritage is proud to have supported the nomination of Buon Gusto Sausage Factory for the National Register through our Landmark Fund, a program that aims to ensure that the diversity of the city’s architectural and cultural inheritance is more fully recognized, remembered, and preserved. The nomination was prepared by Katherine Petrin on behalf of Telegraph Hill Dwellers, and funded by a grant from Heritage’s Alice Ross Carey Preservation Fund.
Read the full National Register nomination here.
