The historical Clay Building in downtown Oakland

The Clay Building is a historical three-story brick building in downtown Oakland, California. Built in 1901, the structure suffered major damage during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1978.

The building has served various industrial and commercial purposes over the years. It was once a Levi Strauss factory and later served as the Levi Strauss headquarters following the earthquake. In later years, the ground floor housed the Le Cheval restaurant and the Tigrai Cafe.

Commercial activity on the third floor began in 1909 with the Eliopoulos Hellenic Company, an Egyptian cigar manufacturer owned by Theodore Eliopolous, before the company moved to Webster Street. The building also housed an auction house owned by David Bercovich for some years, and a cigar shop opened by Harry Bercovich in 1924. The building was repaired after sustaining damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons