Body found in landmark's elevator shaft

Police in San Francisco say that a man whose body was found in the elevator shaft of a historic office building apparently fell accidentally.

The body was in the shaft for almost a week before repair workers found it Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Daniel Kliman, 38, of Oakland, Calif., was a student at the Pacific Arabic Resources School on the seventh floor of the Sharon Building. A security camera showed him waiting for an elevator in the lobby last Tuesday evening, the building manager, Brad Bernheim, said.

Bernheim told the newspaper that the school did not hold classes last week, and investigators were trying to determine why Kliman was in the building. He said the elevator was out of service.

Sgt. Wilfred Williams of the San Francisco Police Department said that police and safety investigators are examining whether Kliman could have forced the elevator doors open.

The Sharon Building, designed by George Kelham, a prominent architect, was built in 1912 across from the Palace Hotel. Kelham originally came to San Francisco to supervise the rebuilding of the Palace after the 1906 earthquake.