This historical photo, circa 1880, captures the Hills Bros. Arabian Coffee & Spice Mills at the corner of Sansome and Sacramento Streets. The building’s bold painted advertising—“Hills Bros. Arabian Coffee”—dominates the wall, while a large illustrated “Arabian Coffee Mills” sign anchors the corner entrance and adds striking period detail.
Along the sidewalk, a line of men in late-19th-century attire stands near the storefront, creating a vivid slice-of-life view of an urban commercial district. A horse-drawn wagon waits at the curb on a rough, cobblestone street, emphasizing how goods and deliveries moved through the city before motor vehicles reshaped everyday business.
Rich with signage and street-level activity, this image offers a window into historic coffee roasting and spice milling commerce, as well as the look and feel of a busy city corner in the 1880s. It’s an evocative glimpse of early branding, storefront advertising, and workday scenes that helps bring vintage Sansome and Sacramento Streets to life.