"The first business to advertise in city directories under the heading of “automobile repair”
was, in fact, a bicycle shop, and it was located within the study area of this report. This
was the shop of Leavitt and Bill, owned by John W. Leavitt and John T. Bill, at 307-309
Larkin Street. These two men imported several brands of bicycles to sell, and in 1904
they also began to sell Reo automobiles and to offer general auto repair services. In that
year they had a staff of at least one, a machinist named George H. Woodward. John W.
Leavitt went on to become an important automobile dealer in San Francisco, selling
Oldsmobile, Oakland, Willys, and other major brands through the 1920s. Woodward
later worked in auto repair and opened his own auto parts machine shop in the study area."

https://sfgov.org/sfplanningarchive/ftp/files/DPRforms/Van%20Ness%20AutoRow%20ContextDraft%20Feb2010.pdf

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