architecture in San Jose.

Craftsman / Bungalow

Arthur Monroe Free House

The Arthur Monroe Free House at 66 South 14th Street (formerly 66 South Priest Street) is a Craftsman-style house listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 for its association with Arthur Monroe Free, a United States Congressman who lived there from 1919 until his death in 1953. The house was actually commissioned in 1905 by Donald and Annie Palmer from residential designer Emily Williams, their "adopted" daughter and partner of their daughter, metal artist Lillian McNeill Palmer.

Photo: EugeneZelenko , CC BY-SA 4.0

Greek Revival

Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

1877

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in downtown San Jose serves as the cathedral for the Diocese of San Jose and carries the distinction of minor basilica. It is named for Saint Joseph, patron saint of the Catholic Church and namesake of San Jose. The site's history reaches back to 1803, when the original St. Joseph's Church, San Jose de Guadalupe, was built there as the first non-mission parish in California built for Spanish settlers rather than the Mission Indians. In 1835, prominent Californio businessman Antonio Suñol donated land at the northeast corner of the Plaza del Pueblo for a new, larger adobe church, overseeing construction with his brother-in-law Antonio María Pico, then Alcalde of San José.

Photo: unknown , CC BY-SA 3.0

Neoclassical

East San José Carnegie Branch Library

Jacob Lenzen · 1907

The East San Jose Carnegie Branch Library, designed by Jacob Lenzen and built for $7,000 in 1907, opened in 1908 as the only library in East San Jose before the area was annexed into the city system. It is the last Carnegie library in Santa Clara County still operating as a public library, part of the San Jose Public Library today. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Photo: LPS.1 , CC BY-SA 3.0

Romanesque Revival

First Unitarian Church of San Jose

George W. Page

The First Unitarian Church of San Jose, at 160 North Third Street across from St. James Park, was designed in Richardsonian Romanesque style by architect George Page, who also designed the Hayes Mansion. The congregation purchased the site in 1888, and the cornerstone was laid in a ceremony on September 23, 1891. Unitarian services in San Jose began earlier still, first held in City Hall in November 1865 with 100 people attending. The building is listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the list of California Historical Landmarks.

Photo: Eugene Zelenko , CC BY-SA 4.0

Art Deco

Hotel De Anza

W. H. Weeks

The Hotel De Anza is a ten-story Zig Zag Moderne (Art Deco) hotel in downtown San Jose, one of the city's few examples of the style. It was funded by the San Jose Community Hotel Corporation, a group of local business leaders who spent three years planning it and raised subscriptions from more than 200 local citizens, arguing that modern accommodations would help draw conventions to the city. Architect W. H. Weeks designed the building and Carl Swenson served as contractor; groundbreaking took place February 27, 1931, presided over by corporation president Alexander Hart. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1982.

Photo: EugeneZelenko , CC BY-SA 4.0

International Style

Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda

Richard Meier · 2005

The Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda is the glass rotunda component of San José City Hall, designed by Richard Meier and completed in 2005 as part of the City Hall complex in Downtown San Jose's Civic Plaza. It sits alongside the 18-story tower and city council chamber wing that together make up the complex, which rises 285 feet and ranks as the fourth tallest building in San Jose.

Photo: HarshLight , CC BY 2.0

Richardsonian Romanesque

Old San Jose Post Office

1895

The Old San Jose Post Office is an 1895 federal building in downtown San Jose built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It is recognized as both a California Historical Landmark and an individually listed entry on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo: EugeneZelenko , CC BY-SA 4.0

Renaissance Revival

Sainte Claire Hotel

Weeks and Day · 1926

The Sainte Claire Hotel, now the Westin San Jose, is a six-story landmark hotel in downtown San Jose built in 1926 and designed by the prominent San Francisco firm Weeks and Day, known for their theater and hotel work across California. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and ranks among the city's most recognized architectural landmarks. Tawny brick sheathes the steel-and-concrete frame on floors two through six, with rusticated buff-colored stone below.

Photo: Eugene Zelenko , CC BY-SA 4.0

International Style

San Jose Central Fire Station

The San Jose Central Fire Station, also known as San Jose Fire Station One, was the central fire station for the San Jose Fire Department in downtown San Jose. Designed by the architectural firm Binder & Curtis in the International style and built in 1951, it served as the city's central fire station and command center, equipped with a new communication system serving emergency services citywide. The building now houses the San Jose Fire Museum on Market Street and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 2015.

Photo: ECTran71 , CC BY-SA 4.0

Second Empire

San Jose City Hall

1887

This 1887 San Jose City Hall was built in the Second Empire style, serving as the city's seat of government before later relocations. Its ornate Second Empire detailing marked a Victorian-era civic architecture on the streets of downtown San Jose.

Contemporary Modern

San José City Hall

Richard Meier

San José City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of San Jose, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier. The complex, opened in 2005, includes an 18-story tower, a glass rotunda, and a city council chamber wing, arranged within the two-block San José Civic Plaza. The tower rises 285 feet, making it the fourth tallest building in San Jose. Its construction capped a period of rapid growth during the dot-com bubble and marked the city government's return downtown after half a century in an office park setting.

Photo: Coolcaesar , CC BY-SA 3.0

Gothic Revival

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

1863

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real, built in 1863 in the Carpenter Gothic style. It houses the oldest Episcopal congregation in San Jose and is the oldest church building in continuous use in the city, as well as the oldest Episcopal cathedral church in California.

Photo: EugeneZelenko , CC BY-SA 4.0

Landmark

Roberto Adobe & Suñol House

The Roberto-Suñol Adobe is a historic adobe dwelling on the former Rancho Los Coches, built in 1836 by Roberto Balermino, a Tamien man of the Ohlone tribe, fourteen years before California joined the Union. In 1847, Spanish-born Antonio Suñol added the adjoining brick Suñol House. The California Pioneers of Santa Clara County later acquired the property to establish a free public museum, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 1977.

Photo: Eugene Zelenko , CC BY-SA 4.0

Victorian architecture

Houghton–Donner House

1881

The Houghton–Donner House is an 1881 Victorian house in downtown San Jose, individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a San Jose City Landmark.

Photo: David Sawyer from Rancho Murieta, California, United States , CC BY-SA 2.0

Edwardian

State Meat Market Building

Frank Delos Wolfe · 1913

The State Meat Market Building is a 1913 Edwardian-style commercial building designed by Frank Delos Wolfe, individually designated a San Jose City Landmark and listed as a National Register of Historic Places contributing property.

Photo: Mxn , CC BY-SA 4.0