© Mark Hertzberg (2026)

When your 11 year old grandson mentions that next year’s Pokémon extravaganza will be in San Francisco, why not offer him a trip there for his next birthday? And so I found myself photographing Frank Lloyd Wright’s VC Morris Gift Shop (1948), off Union Square in August, for the first time since the 2016 Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy conference. The rub this time is that this lovely diminutive space is now home to Isaia, a luxury clothing brand from Naples, Italy and the doors are open only by appointment. I could not get inside.

I offer you a plethora of photos, making our way from streetscapes to views of the inside taken from the doorway. The final photo, from inside, was taken during the Building Conservancy tour in 2016. Maiden Lane, the one block street on which the store is located, is closed to vehicular traffic. San Francisco has a significant challenge with great numbers of unhoused people. One, it seems, was camped out by the store one of the two times I stopped there in August.

I called the listed phone number to gain admittance, explained my background and interest and was told I would get a call back with a yay or nay answer. That was in August. What do you think? Should I still expect that call back?

Links: Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy:https://www.savewright.org

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