Downtown Hollister Historic District

Downtown Hollister's historic core is a district of 83 buildings, 54 of them contributing, arranged along San Benito Street and the cross streets between 4th and South streets. Most are one- or two-story retail buildings with flat or parapeted rooflines, stucco siding, recessed entrances and flanking display windows, built right up to the sidewalk. Few follow a defined style, though Italianate, Late Gothic Revival, Neo-Classical and Mediterranean Revival examples appear among the larger buildings. Anchors include a Masonic Lodge with a domed corner cupola, the Tiffany Motors showroom, a former post office in a subdued Spanish Colonial Revival manner, a brick Methodist Church, and a four-story hotel, Hollister's tallest building. The district was listed for its commercial, governmental and social importance between 1880 and 1942. Many storefronts have been modernized, but upper floors generally keep original cornices and windows. The 1989 earthquake removed several buildings, yet the area still reads as a traditional downtown.