Top 5 List of Most Important Buildings in San Jose, CA

Since I'm in the real estate business I thought I would have a little fun. Here is my list of the Top 5 Most Important San Jose Buildings (in my opinion).

Let's start with Number #5 - Tower Hall at San Jose State University. This is a campus landmark and one of the oldest buildings on campus which dates back to 1881. This building survived the 1906 earthquake and has been renovated numerous times. As a SJSU alumni I remember when I first stepped foot on the campus and took in the Tower Hall view. It really is a San Jose icon and a thing of beauty.

#4 - Mark's Hot Dogs Orange building - Mark Yuram was the original owner of Mark's Hot Dogs which has been a San Jose restaurant since 1936. It is important to note that Mark originally had a hot dog stand in downtown San Jose and then moved his hot dog business to 1920 Alum Rock Ave. It was there on Alum Rock Ave that grocer Frank Pohl designed and built the 37 ft round Orange which is 15 ft tall. It is estimated that this orange structure was built somewhere in the mid 1947. The Orange structure was moved to the current location 48 South Capitol Expressway in San Jose in 2003.
If you have not taken a trip to this place you are really missing out on some real San Jose history. I wish I could say that these are the best tasting hot dogs in the world but I can't. They do taste good though, really good. The thing I remember was driving up to the Mark's Hot Dogs and having the service girls come out to the car with a tray full of goodies. My favorite was the chili cheese dogs and bbq chips with a root beer float. As a young boy I thought that was cool to have a tray hanging from the driver's car window. It's worth a trip to Mark's Hot Dogs just to see the giant orange!

#3 - San Jose Center For The Performing Arts - The location of the building is 255 Almaden Blvd, San Jose. One of the reasons I think this building is great is because it was designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. This 2,665 seat auditorium is designed for live theatre, symphony music, and the performing arts. This is the place that my graduating class had our graduation ceremony. So it means alot to me.

#2 The Old Bank of America Building - The Old Bank of America Building is located at 12 South 1st Street in San Jose. Originally it was the San Jose branch of the Bank of Italy built in 1925. The Old Bank of America Building is also one of the oldest skyscrapers in greater San Jose area, and was designed by architect H.A. Minton. This building is iconic and always pictured on San Jose postcards. As a child I remember a flourescent green light at the top of the building. My parents told me that this is where the bank stored all the money. I believed them.

#1 The Winchester Mystery House. It is located at 525 South Winchester Blvd in San Jose. Its is a beautiful Queen Anne Victorian originally built in 1884 by Sarah Winchester. Sarah's husband was William Wirt Winchester who amassed a fortune because he was the inventor of the winchester rifle. Sarah believed that in order to thwart evil spirits away she needed to continually make noise. So she kept carpenters there and paid them to build on and make noise with saws and hammers. Sarah kept adding and adding to the house without a master plan. This went on for 38 years from 1884 until she died in 1922. Some say that the house is haunted, however, I think it's a significant building with some serious San Jose history. This is why I chose the Winchester Mystery House as my #1 Most Important building in San Jose, CA. If you ever get the chance you should visit the Winchester house. I enjoy walking around the estate gardens and taking in the beautiful architecture. This home is a San Jose treasure.