Bank of Italy Building, Historic high-rise in Downtown San Jose, California
The Bank of Italy Building is a 14-story, 77.72 m (255.0 ft) Renaissance Revival high-rise at South First Street and Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose. Its light gray or beige masonry exterior has vertical bays of dark windows between slightly projecting piers, a cornice, and a small arched cupola with a needle-like spire and a tall green light. A red-and-white sign at the lower corner advertises office condos of 971–1200 SF.
The structure was completed in 1926 as the second location for the Bank of Italy, the institution that later became Bank of America. It remained the tallest building between San Francisco and Los Angeles for several decades before being surpassed in 1970.
The building's name recalls the Bank of Italy, which opened San Jose's first branch in 1909 and later became Bank of America. Its cupola carries a needle-like spire with a tall green light, a detail visible from several downtown streets. The ground-floor retail space has housed a pawn shop and a nightclub.
The building stands at the corner of South First Street and Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose. It is a contributing property to the National Register Historic District, and its street-level retail space has housed a pawn shop and a nightclub. A residential conversion of the upper floors began in early 2024, so access inside is limited while work proceeds.
The 2017 purchase by Gary Dillabough and Jeff Arrillaga for $27.04 million ended years of condominium-style partial ownership. Plans changed repeatedly: a 2021 mixed-use concept with garden terraces, then a 2024 residential conversion, and in 2025 a sale to Canada's Westbank for 110 housing units, with facade restoration and completion expected in 2027.
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