So, it could be said that this building was shaped by fire. Originally built as the Great Eastern Building for the Great Eastern Dry Goods
Company of San Francisco, owned by L. Levinsky, it was gutted by fire on January 24, 1898, leaving only the outside walls standing. The gutted building was purchased by "Colonel" Isaac N. Peyton for $42,000, who rebuilt using the remaining walls, naming the building after himself. In 1902 the adjacent three-story Hogan Block to the south was incorporated into the building. The Hogan Block's floors were raised to be level with those of the Peyton Building. Its front (west) façade was changed to match the Peyton Building's façade and two stories were added to make it the same height as the Peyton.
The Peyton Annex (724 W. Sprague Avenue), constructed in 1908, was added to the south end of the Peyton Building and is on the northeast corner of Sprague Avenue and Post Street. It was built to seven storeys in height, so two more floors were added to the Peyton Building to make it the same height. The original occupant of the Annex was the
Scandinavian American Bank. It leased the premises until the crash of 1929 caused its failure, along with countless others. Since the date of its construction the building has had a variety of occupants, to wit:
1908 Peyton Annex: Scandinavian American Bank through 1929 (failed in the Depression); C.M. Youle Company (clothing).
1927-1933 Liggett Co. Drugs (replaced Murgittroyd's at the corner location).
1929-1935 Marugg Cigars
1929-1966 Schulein's (women's shoes)
1967-1984 Nagler's Shoes (Nagler owned Schulein's since 1960)
1931 -1936 Whipple Restaurant
1937-1942 Tostwich Restaurant
1936-1947 Peyton Cigars
1937-1956 Luppert's Clothiers
1949-1954 Peyton Coffee Shop
1955-1974 Peyton Pit Restaurant
1973-1979 Noble Art and Office Supplies
1977-1979 Peyton Building Coffee Shop
From The Register
A minimum of four architectural firms had a hand in the building with Herman Preusse designing the original Great Eastern Building. Cutter & Malmgren then designed the Peyton Building interior when it was built within the walls of the Great Eastern building. Robert Sweatt designed the 1908 Peyton Annex and Archibald Rigg designed interior repairs after another fire in 1916.