San Francisco

Lore & Background

The game's building designs are drawn from four distinct architectural eras. The earliest era is based on early office towers from Chicago, Illinois, in the 1890s. The second era encompasses an Art Deco-based set from New York City based on the 1940s. The third includes a modernist/international style based on buildings from Houston, Texas in the 1990s. The final is a modern European architecture based mostly around Germany in the 2000s. Within these styles, specific San Francisco buildings appear: the Shell Building appears as "Wren Insurance," 450 Sutter Street appears as "Vu Financial," and the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Building (140 New Montgomery Street) appears as "The Galvin Corp." The May Company store (now LACMA West) in Los Angeles appears as "Dennis Department Store." The game also includes famous landmarks from various cities, such as the Empire State Building from New York City.

In Their Own Story

When players zone for commercial development in SimCity 4, they may see the distinctive silhouette of the Shell Building rise from the lot, renamed "Wren Insurance" in the game's world. Nearby, 450 Sutter Street's unique stepped facade appears as "Vu Financial," while the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Building at 140 New Montgomery Street is reimagined as "The Galvin Corp." These buildings populate the city alongside structures from Chicago, New York, Houston, and modern European architecture, creating a diverse urban fabric that draws from real-world architectural history.

Reader's Guide

To see San Francisco-inspired buildings in SimCity 4, players should zone commercial areas and select the appropriate architectural style. The game allows players to choose individually or simultaneously from four architectural styles for buildings to be built from. The San Francisco buildings appear within these styles, though the source does not specify which style they belong to. Players can also use the Building Architect Tool (BAT), an external tool that allows custom third-party buildings and content to be added to the gameplay. The game's graphics use a 3D engine, with small buildings and props drawn as flat images pasted onto billboards, while larger buildings use a hybrid approach with simple polygonal models and added textures for detail. The camera is restricted to a fixed trimetric orthographic projection for performance reasons.

Did You Know?

• The Shell Building in San Francisco appears in SimCity 3000 as 'Wren Insurance.'
• 450 Sutter Street in San Francisco appears in SimCity 3000 as 'Vu Financial.'
• The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Building (140 New Montgomery Street) appears in SimCity 3000 as 'The Galvin Corp.'
• The May Company store (now LACMA West) in Los Angeles appears in SimCity 3000 as 'Dennis Department Store.'
• SimCity 3000's building designs are based on four distinct architectural styles from Chicago (1890s), New York City (1940s), Houston (1990s), and modern Europe (2000s).

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