U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, for whom Lazarus once worked, and her California colleague Barbara Boxer on Friday introduced a federal bill that may help provide some of the funding. It calls for a commemorative coin honoring the Old Mint, which could raise $8.5 million or more for the museum Lazarus now heads.

In addition, he hopes to raise $12 million privately, obtain $10 million in state and federal grants, and finance the rest of the cost for seismic upgrades and refurbishing through loans. The seismic upgrades alone add up to $10 million to the restoration quotient.

Hala Hijazi, a member of the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, who serves as project manager, notes that the building, with its classic stone Greek Revival exterior, sits near the San Francisco Shopping Centre in a part of midtown that is ripe for revival.

Opened in 1874, in part because of the gold and silver discovered on the West Coast, the mint was active for decades before being replaced in 1937 by a larger facility that still hovers above Market and Dolores streets.

The Old Mint served as offices for a while and then a museum from the early 1970s until it was found seismically vulnerable around 1994.

But with its high ceilings, chandeliers and graceful staircases, the Old Mint is still "magnificent," Hijazi notes. "There's something about it, this grandiose feeling," she says.

At a meeting on Thursday, the city staff favored the museum bid as the best plan. However, it gave all of the bids low marks for financial feasibility. In addition, an economic consultant said the museum's prediction of 350,000 annual visitors was "very optimistic." Lazarus says the advisory panel won't vote on the proposals until Jan. 29, however, and then the committee's recommendation goes to the mayor and Board of Supervisors. The supervisors are expected vote on the matter in February. If all goes well, Lazarus said the museum could be open by 2006 - exactly one hundred years after the Great Earthquake of 1906.SAN FRANCISCO-The city says it wants to choose a developer for San Francisco's Old Mint this month and appears to be leaning toward a museum proposal, which would allow a great deal of public access.Michelle SavageSAN FRANCISCO-San Francisco lawyer Jim Lazarus says he's feeling "very positive'' about his museum proposal for the Old Mint, as he has learned that a key staff recommendation favors his idea.

All he needs now are a series of official approval votes in the coming month or so and $50 million.

Lazarus says the now-vacant 77,000-sf building South of Market would be great as the site of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society because the late 1800s structure is located near downtown and is itself historic. "It really brings history to life,'' Lazarus says, noting that much of the interior has been preserved as it was, right down to the gas light fixtures that have been converted to electric.

His is one of three groups that made a formal bid for reviving the vacant but still stately building on Fifth Street. The other two plans would convert the structure known as the "Granite Lady'' to low-income housing or an upscale time-share hotel.

Lazarus points out that the museum proposal offers the greatest amount of public access, one of the main priorities of the federal government, along with historic preservation, if the property is to be handed over to San Francisco.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, for whom Lazarus once worked, and her California colleague Barbara Boxer on Friday introduced a federal bill that may help provide some of the funding. It calls for a commemorative coin honoring the Old Mint, which could raise $8.5 million or more for the museum Lazarus now heads.

In addition, he hopes to raise $12 million privately, obtain $10 million in state and federal grants, and finance the rest of the cost for seismic upgrades and refurbishing through loans. The seismic upgrades alone add up to $10 million to the restoration quotient.

Hala Hijazi, a member of the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, who serves as project manager, notes that the building, with its classic stone Greek Revival exterior, sits near the San Francisco Shopping Centre in a part of midtown that is ripe for revival.

Opened in 1874, in part because of the gold and silver discovered on the West Coast, the mint was active for decades before being replaced in 1937 by a larger facility that still hovers above Market and Dolores streets. The Old Mint served as offices for a while and then a museum from the early 1970s until it was found seismically vulnerable around 1994. But with its high ceilings, chandeliers and graceful staircases, the Old Mint is still "magnificent," Hijazi says. "There's something about it, this grandiose feeling," she said. At a meeting on Thursday, the city staff favored the museum bid as the best plan. However, it gave all of the bids low marks for financial feasibility. In addition, an economic consultant said the museum's prediction of 350,000 annual visitors was "very optimistic." Lazarus says the advisory panel won't vote until Jan. 29, however, and then its recommendation goes to the mayor and Board of Supervisors. The supervisors are expected to vote in February. If all goes well, Lazarus said the museum could be open by 2006 - exactly one hundred years after the Great Earthquake of 1906.