AKA: Louis Bank of Commerce Building, Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego, CA

Structure Type: built works - commercial buildings - banks (buildings)

Designers: Stannard, J.B., Architect (firm); John Bills Stannard (architect)

Dates: constructed 1887-1888

4 stories

view all images ( of 3 shown)

835 5th Avenue
Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego, CA 92101

OpenStreetMap (new tab)
Google Map (new tab)
click to view google map
The Louis Bank of Commerce occupied the storefronts at 835-845 5th Avenue.

Building History

German-born real estate man Isador Louis commissioned architect John Bills Stannard to design this four-story Queen Anne Style building to house the Bank of Commerce and the Maison Dorée, an ice-cream parlor. (In 1892, Louis was also a notary public and manager of the Louis Opera House. He also lived in the Louis Block at the time. See San Diego, California, City Directory, 1892-1893, p. 136.) The bank left the building in 1893, after about five years of tenancy. In 1899, Louis operated a jewelry store at 540 5th Avenue. (See San Diego, California, City Directory, 1899, p. 307.)

Louis worked as a shoemaker in San Diego in 1880, but got into real estate investments by the 1890s. He became a naturalized US citizen on 11/02/1864 in San Francisco, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll Number: 39; FHL Roll Number: 977094, accessed 05/14/2018.)

In 1971, Seymour and Woodrow Ratner owned the Bank of Commerce Building, in which they operated a store selling televisions, radios, lamps and lighting fixtures.

Alteration

The two grand towers extending above the parapet were taken down before 1971, but were replaced.

San Diego Historical Landmark: ID n/a

PCAD id: 8798