San Jose Downtown Historic District
Also known as: San Jose Commercial District
Why it's listed
Two blocks of downtown San Jose make up this commercial district, bounded roughly by East Santa Clara Street, East San Fernando Street, and South First and Third Streets. Its buildings range from the 1870s to the early 1940s and show how the city's business core changed over time. The Italianate Oddfellows Building of 1883 is the best surviving example from the 1870s and 1880s. Romanesque buildings along South First Street, including the Knox-Goodrich, Letitia and Security buildings, reflect the orchard-era prosperity of the 1890s and were designed by local architects such as Levi Goodrich and Jacob Lenzen. After the 1906 earthquake, Edwardian, Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival buildings appeared, followed by Moderne designs in the 1930s and 1940s. The 1926 Bank of America Building, San Jose's first skyscraper, anchors the district. Parking lots and altered buildings are counted as non-contributing, but the historic buildings remain the dominant presence. The district was recognized as the county's best concentration of varied commercial architecture.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be significant as the mercantile and financial center of the Santa Clara Valley for about 100 years. It holds the broadest range of historic California commercial architecture in Santa Clara County, from 1870s Italianate to 1920s skyscraper construction and 1930s Moderne. It is also the densest remaining group of older buildings in downtown San Jose.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83003822, listed May 26, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | E. Santa Clara, South First, Second, Third and E. San Fernando Sts., San Jose |
|---|---|
| County | Santa Clara County |
| Listed | May 26, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83003822 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | H. A. Minton (Bank of America Building); local architects Levi Goodrich and Jacob Lenzen |
| Architectural style | Mixed commercial styles including Italianate, Richardsonian and Romanesque Revival, Edwardian, Mission and Spanish Colonial Revival, Renaissance detailing, and Moderne |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as occupied and in good condition but altered; several buildings are non-contributing, and some owners are rehabilitating older buildings. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 37.33582, -121.88871 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83003822.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5303460
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.