{"nrhp_refnum":"92001278","name":"Lettunich Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"406 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Watsonville","county":"Santa Cruz County","state":"CA","lat":36.91032404500004,"lon":-121.75640071599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-09-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story, L-shaped reinforced concrete commercial block at 406 Main Street, facing the historic plaza in downtown Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, California. It was built in 1914 to designs by architect William Henry Weeks, with contractor James Patterson, and remodeled on the ground floor in 1928.","why_significant":"The building is significant under Criterion A for its link to Watsonville's 1910-1915 economic boom, driven by the apple industry. It is significant under Criterion C as the work of master architect William H. Weeks and his best surviving example of the Commercial Style. It is also the only early commercial building facing the plaza to survive the Loma Prieta earthquake.","narrative":"Rising four stories on Main Street facing Watsonville's historic plaza, this L-shaped reinforced concrete block opened in November 1914 for the Lettunich family, whose apple business helped drive the town's growth. Architect William H. Weeks gave it a Renaissance/Baroque commercial design with terra cotta and sheet metal ornament, a projecting cornice, and an entry arch garlanded with apples. It was the largest and most modern business block in town and quickly became a professional center for lawyers, doctors, banks and retailers. In 1928 architect Henry A. Minton remodeled the ground floor for the Bank of Italy, replacing the glass storefronts with rusticated piers and Ionic pilasters. The upper floors remain largely as built, including the entry hall, marble wainscoting, mail chute and a 1914 lighting system of 123 bulbs that still works. After the Loma Prieta earthquake it became the only early commercial structure facing the plaza still standing, and it was listed for its commercial importance and for Weeks's architecture.","period_of_significance":"1914","architect_builder":"Weeks, William Henry/Patterson, James (1914); Minton, Henry A./Ralley, OR (1928)","architectural_style":"Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in commercial and professional use; seismically retrofitted in 1990 and retains a high level of integrity, with the terra cotta entry arch damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake and slated for repair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.656653-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/92001278.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001278/fb69fdbbca-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001278/fb69fdbbca-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Eugene Zelenko","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA-Watsonville-Lettunich_Building-5.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Eugene Zelenko</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA-Watsonville-Lettunich_Building-5.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123861871","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q76890412"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/santa-cruz-county/lettunich-building-92001278/"}