{"nrhp_refnum":"82002265","name":"Building at 27-29 Fountain Alley","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"27--29 Fountain Alley","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Jose","county":"Santa Clara County","state":"CA","lat":37.337590282000065,"lon":-121.91397188999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-03-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick commercial building on a 23.5' x 57.15' lot at 27-29 Fountain Alley in downtown San Jose, California, built around 1884 by an unknown builder.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is architecturally significant as the last representative of its late Victorian Italianate commercial type in downtown San Jose, with distinctive paired, two-tiered slanted bays. It is also noted for its association with Fountain Alley, one of the city's oldest streets. The reviewer's note says it meets Criterion C as an unusually late and unique interpretation of the Italianate commercial style.","narrative":"Squeezed between a large 1927 bank building and a small 1889 commercial structure, this three-story brick building on Fountain Alley in downtown San Jose dates to about 1884. Its facade is dominated by two-tiered slanted bays, with minimal trim and prominent cornices. Local foundry Kuchenbeiser and Son cast the iron columns uncovered on the ground floor during rehabilitation. Inside, a pressed tin ceiling and turned stair balusters survive. The building went up after part of the larger McLaughlin and Ryland Building was removed. Italianate design was generally associated with the 1870s in San Jose, so it was an unusual choice for the 1880s, and the paired bays recall San Francisco building types. Uses included lodging above and a restaurant from 1905 that ran for thirty years. It was valued as the last of its stylistic type in the city and for its link to one of San Jose's oldest streets.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate commercial","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Undergoing rehabilitation for office use at the time of nomination; upper floors vacant since 1950 and the ground floor most recently a beauty shop.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.949128-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/82002265.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002265/39c91fd63b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82002265/39c91fd63b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Elan5","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fountain_Alley_Office_Building,_on_30_E._Santa_Clara_St..JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Elan5</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:Fountain_Alley_Office_Building,_on_30_E._Santa_Clara_St..JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861647","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27%E2%80%9329_Fountain_Alley","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123755383"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-clara-county/building-at-27-29-fountain-alley-82002265/"}