‘Mr. San Francisco’ Magnin Dies

Cyril I. Magnin, a business tycoon who wielded clout with Presidents and governors and helped improve U.S. relations with China and the Soviet Union, has died at 88, it was revealed today.

Magnin, known locally as “Mr. San Francisco,” had been hospitalized under an assumed name since May 1. He died this morning at the University of California Hospital of an undisclosed illness. Magnin served as the city’s chief of protocol, had a street named after him and helped shape the city’s culture and style for more than half a century. After building a chain of Joseph Magnin stores in the West from one family store in San Francisco, Magnin pursued his avocation of civic and national service.