Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego in San Diego County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

San Diego Trust & Savings Bank Building

Bank Building Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 5, 2025

1. Bank Building Marker

Inscription.
Former home of San Diego Trust and Savings Bank

Constructed in 1928

William Templeton Johnson
Architect

This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1928.

Location. 32° 42.95′ N, 117° 9.568′ W. Marker is in San Diego, California, in San Diego County. It is in the Gaslamp Quarter. It is at the intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue, on the left when traveling east on Broadway. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 530 Broadway, San Diego CA 92101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Peninsular Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds

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itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Samuel I. Fox Building (a few steps from this marker); The Watts-Robinson Building (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lawyer's Block Building (about 500 feet away); US Grant Hotel (about 600 feet away); The Onyx Hotel (about 600 feet away); Louis Bank of Commerce (about 600 feet away); St. James Hotel (about 600 feet away); Nesmith-Greely Building (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Diego.

Also see . . . National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. Statement of Significance:<blockquote>The San Diego Trust & Savings Bank Building qualifies for the National Register of Historic Places under "Criterion C: Design/Construction," as an excellent example of an San Diego Italian Romanesque Revival style commercial building, the only one of its kind, designed by noted San Diego master craftsman and architect William Templeton Johnson. It has been said that Johnson, who spent forty-four years practicing architecture

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 5, 2025

2. Bank Building Marker

exclusively in San Diego, "has most shaped the character of San Diego in the first half of the twentieth century principally tlirough his public buildings. In this respect he had few peers, if any, among his contemporaries.Known primarily for designing some of San Diego's most spectacular and popular public buildings, Johnson also designed many private individual residences, as well as a number of buildings for the business community. Of the latter, the San Diego Trust & Savings Bank Building, is arguably his finest downtown design.

The San Diego Trust & Savings Bank is only one of three banks ever designed by Johnson. It is by far the most architecturally significant and aesthetically pleasing. Over the course of Johnson's career, his design projects tended to reflect a preference for Spanish Colonial styles. However, he was not adverse to using or experimenting with different architectural styles. The San Diego Trust & Savings Bank Building is most significant as it represents the only commercial structure designed by Johnson in a purely Italianate Renaissance Revival style. When completed in 1928, the San Diego Trust & Savings

Building and Markers image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 5, 2025

3. Building and Markers

The plaques are on either side of the entrance facing Broadway.

Bank Building represented a milestone in San Diego's architectural development, as it was not only San Diego's tallest structure, but had the most technologically advanced, modem features to date. (Submitted on July 28, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon.)

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 5, 2025

4. Lobby

The building is currently home to Marriott.

Mural in Lobby image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, July 5, 2025

5. Mural in Lobby

Credits. This page was last revised on July 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 108 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 28, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.