You’ll have no excuses for lateness in this San Francisco clock tower penthouse, which has hit the market for the first time in 23 years.

David Baker Architects converted the 1900s former factory of label printer Schmidt Lithograph into homes back in 1993. The clock tower and penthouse – which were later additions to the original structure – form the crowning jewel of the industrial site in San Francisco’s SoMa neighbourhood.

Brick walls, vaulted ceilings and exposed steel beams in the 3,000 sq ft property give a nod to the building’s past life. The four-storey penthouse, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, also offers 360-degree views of the city, including the nearby Bay Bridge and AT&T Park – homes of San Francisco’s baseball team, the Giants.

Its current owner, Tom Burkhart, describes the city vistas the property provides as a ‘piece of moving art’.

‘You’re high enough to not have the lights shining into the space. You see the tail lights of the cars slowly moving east returning to Oakland, and the headlights coming into the city,’ he told SF Gate.

‘We’ve watched 300,000 people a day commute to and from the East Bay. It’s fun to be a part of this living art.’

The Clock Tower penthouse is available for $8.5 million via Sotheby’s.