It only took a cataclysmic earthquake, a catastrophic fire, and a sensational murder on the other side of the country for a woman to get the commission for San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.

After 75 years as a residential hotel, the Crane's owners tried to force out the tenants, was sued by the city, settled, and have left it vacant ever since—its 110+ units part of the 15,000 SRO units SF lost between 1970 and 2000.