Yuma Building, Victorian Italianate Revival building in Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego, United States.
The Yuma Building is a three-story brick structure at 631 Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter. It began in 1882 as a single-story brick edifice, among the first in San Diego built entirely of brick, and was expanded to three stories after Captain Alfred Henry Wilcox's death in 1883, under his widow Maria Antonia Arguello.
Captain Alfred Henry Wilcox built the Yuma Building in 1882 as a single-story brick structure, among the first in San Diego built entirely of brick. After his death in 1883, his widow Maria Antonia Arguello oversaw its expansion into the present three-story form. Wilcox named it for his maritime work along the Colorado River around Yuma, Arizona.
The name comes from Yuma, Arizona, where Captain Alfred Henry Wilcox ran maritime operations on the Colorado River. A Japanese bazaar was among the businesses housed here, and in 1912 the building was one of the first closed in the Stingaree District raids. In November 2024 Ruth-Ann Thorn of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians became its owner.
The building stands at 631 Fifth Avenue, on the east side of the street in the Gaslamp Quarter, within walking distance of the convention center and Petco Park. Its ground floor opens directly onto the sidewalk, so the facade can be examined from the street at any hour.
The building played a key role during a local police raid in 1912 targeting illegal operations in the neighborhood. This episode shaped the area's history and remains part of local memory.
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