{"nrhp_refnum":"05000072","name":"Holzwasser-Walker Scoot Building and Owl Drug Building","other_names":["073766","37-0153"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1014 Fifth ave. and 402-416 Broadway","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.71799401000004,"lon":-117.16156811199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-02-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two connected commercial buildings in downtown San Diego: the eight-story Holzwasser/Walker Scott department store at 1014 Fifth Avenue (built 1919-1920) and the four-story Owl Drug Building at 402-416 Broadway (designed 1913).","why_significant":"The two buildings worked together as one department store and are nominated under Criterion A for their role in San Diego's commerce. Holzwasser's and later Walker Scott's served shoppers from the 1920s through the mid-1980s on a prime downtown corner. The Owl Drug Building's upper floors served as an extension of the store.","narrative":"At the corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in downtown San Diego, two joined buildings once formed a single department store. The eight-story Holzwasser building, designed by John Terrel Vawter and opened in 1920, has Spanish Colonial Revival upper floors. Its lower two floors received an Art Deco facade in 1935 when Walker Scott took over. Next door at Broadway and Fourth Avenue, the four-story Owl Drug Building, designed in 1913 by the Quayle Brothers and Cressey, is Neo-Classical Revival with pilasters topped by Ionic-style volutes. Its upper floors served as extra department store space from 1926 to 1934 and again from 1945 until the store closed in the mid-1980s. The buildings are recognized for their role in San Diego's retail history, serving shoppers through the Depression and World War II on what was called the city's best corner. A recent rehabilitation created retail, restaurant, residential and parking uses.","period_of_significance":"Holzwasser/Walker Scott 1935-1955; Owl Drug 1945-1955","architect_builder":"Holzwasser/Walker Scott: John Terrel Vawter; Owl Drug: Quayle Brothers (and Cressey)","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival and Early 20th Century Neo-Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Recently rehabilitated through a certified project: retail and residential use, with parking on the upper floors of the Holzwasser/Walker Scott Building; restaurant and residential use in the Owl Drug Building.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.705903-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/05000072.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000072/e8cbbfb0f5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000072/e8cbbfb0f5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jeffrey Beall","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holzwasser-Walker_Scoot_Building_and_Owl_Drug_Building.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Jeffrey Beall</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holzwasser-Walker_Scoot_Building_and_Owl_Drug_Building.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860882","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5818132"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/holzwasser-walker-scoot-building-and-owl-drug-building-05000072/"}