Cy Peletz
And indeed he is. Born in Stockton, California, in 1919, Cy attended Stockton High School, and apprenticed in a bakery. He liked the work, and was all set to go to a baking and pastry arts college, in fact, when a teacher talked him into attending UC Berkeley.
At the University, he earned a degree in civil engineering and graduated Phi Beta Kappa; he then served as a major in the army during World War II. After the war, he took a job with a construction company—and the rest is San Francisco history.
Today, the C.M. Peletz Company is widely known and respected for having built numerous striking luxury homes, as well as schools and other California standouts, including the Spanish Bay townhouses at Pebble Beach, the Stanford Barn, the Hermitage apartments at 1020 Vallejo Street, the Sierra Club headquarters, and the French Hospital office buildings in San Francisco.
We met in the Russian Hill condo Cy shares with his gracious wife, Roma. A modest man with contagious warmth, Cy chatted cheerfully and laughed often, exuding abundant positive energy.
Merla Zellerbach: Let’s start with your daily routine and how you keep so young.
Cy Peletz: Well, when I get up in the morning, we go down to the Caffe Greco on Columbus and have coffee. Then I drop Roma at her office—she’s writing a book but won’t tell me what it’s about [laughs]. Then I go to my office where I do a little writing and communicating, and read the paper. It’s mainly to get out of the house.
At noon, I come home or go to lunch with friends. Then I spend some time doing the New York Times crossword puzzles.
Those are hard!
[Chuckles] I even do them in ink. I know the telly’s supposed to be nonintellectual, but I enjoy watching it. I used to exercise, but I can’t any more. I’ve had three open-heart surgeries and a hip replacement. My cardiologist, Dr. Chattergee, is wonderful. He just touches me, and I feel better. He’s the key to my having survived this long. But to finish my daily routine—we have dinner out three or four times a week.
Do you have a favorite restaurant?
We love Postrio and Allegro—sometimes Sam’s. And we travel. That’s another secret of longevity. Roma and I go to Europe every year, especially Rome and Paris. That invigorates me and keeps me young. [Laughs] Just planning it for three months before we leave invigorates me.
What are some of your favorite causes?
I had to give all that up. I used to sit on several boards.
Then let’s talk about your accomplishments.
What I’m proudest of are my children. Nan’s the oldest. She’s an architect, but now she’s painting, and her work is good. Mike’s a successful anthropologist, and Steve started in construction, but got out of that, and he’s doing well in real estate. [He talks a bit about his grandchildren.]
In your bio, I read that you did some construction for Laurance Rockefeller in Hawaii, and “even remodeled a whorehouse for some people in San Francisco.” Did you know what it was at the time?
Sure. This architect friend of mine was working there and asked if I’d help. It’s down in South Park—or it was; I doubt it’s still there. I remember taking down some walls. They were just like cardboard against the dresser in the next room.
Did it bother you that prostitution was illegal?
No. Construction was legal. [Laughter] That reminds me, I used to give lectures to architectural students in Berkeley, and one time, one of them asked, “Is there any building you wouldn’t build?” I said, “No.” And then a hand went up in the back of the room. It was my daughter! She said, “Well, you wouldn’t build something that wasn’t ecologically sound.” I said, “Yes, I would.” [Chuckles] But that was quite a while ago. Today my answer would be different.
Excluding the house of ill fame, what was your greatest accomplishment?
Marrying Roma! Back in 1977, I’d been divorced for eight years, was enjoying the hell out of being a bachelor, and didn’t want to get married. But a friend, Georgeanne Conley, called and said she’d like me to meet this wonderful woman…just perfect for me. So Roma and I met for cocktails, and within two months we were married. It was very romantic.
How lucky for both of you! What about career accomplishments?
I formed my own company of general contractors in 1952. In 2002, I sold the business to David Markham, who’d been with me sixteen years. For a while I went into property investing, but now I’m retired.
I’ve done nearly every kind of building there is, high-end houses, warehouses, schools. I guess I’m proudest of the 350 Parnassus medical building we built jointly with Swinerton & Walberg.
It seems that architects are the ones who usually get the credits for buildings. Yet you and your construction company have a remarkable reputation all over the state.
The one key thing, and David carries on our policy very nicely, is that we pride ourselves on the highest quality workmanship, and our integrity. It doesn’t matter what style—modern, classic, whatever—we maintain our insistence on quality.
We’ve worked with top architects—Joe Esherick and his partner George Homsey; Dan Volkmann; Adolph Rosekrans… I can’t remember all the buildings we’ve done. But when I drive around the city and see so many, I’m very proud.
Do you have a last thought for our readers?
[Thinks for a moment.] When you get older and have no job, you sort of become irrelevant, and I don’t like that part of it.
But you know, years ago, when I was struggling, I read Dale Carnegie’s How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. That book convinced me that even if you have financial troubles and other problems—if you have your health, your family, and your friends, you’re still ahead of the game.
Merla Zellerbach was a Chronicle columnist for twenty-three years and is the author of twelve books. She was a TV panelist, and the Nob Hill Gazette editor for twelve years. Her new novel, Secrets in Time, is available online at Amazon, and at your local bookstore.
