San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....Tower Building 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 27, 2006, 6:26 pm

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THE TOWER BUILDING 
848 Higuera Street, San Luis Obispo

History and Description:

The Tower Building, originally the H. M. Warden Building, was built in the
summer of 1904.  The building, at the time of its design, was supposedly the
largest, most elegant building between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The now non-existent tower with its four clock faces was a landmark of San Luis
Obispo.  The clocks were a convenience that were enjoyed by all who shopped or
worked in the downtown area.  In 1925, a severe earthquake hit Santa Barbara and
caused many citizens of San Luis Obispo to be concerned about earthquake safety
in their own town. As a result, around 1930, much of the ornamentation that
decorated buildings were removed for reasons of safety.  Some ornamentation on
the roof overlooking Chorro Street was removed at this time as was the clock tower.

The Warden Building was sold just before World War II and it was then that the
name was changed to the Tower Building.  It was then a commercial building, as
it is presently, prior to that time it was an office building.

The two-story building was primarily made of exposed yellow brick on the
exterior. After it began being used for stores and small business the building
rapidly began losing its character. A row of windows at the first-floor ceiling
level has been completely stuccoed over.  The entire first-floor exterior has
been done over with billboards, stucco, and bright red paint.  The interiors of
the first floor are now separated into five different places of business, each
taking remodeling into his own hands for maximum monetary advantage.  The second
floor, both inside and out, still retains much of the original design. A long
straight stairway rises from Higuera Street to a mezzanine with a twenty-foot
ceiling height. A row of clerestory windows runs around where the clock tower
once was.  The upstairs rooms, though now used as small businesses, remains in
much the same way as when it was built.  The interior of this floor is entirely
of wood and plaster.  Brick was apparently used only on the exterior walls.

Sources:
Louisiana Dart, Curator, San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum
Mr. Robert Corcoran, owner of Corcoran*s Restaurant 
The Warden family


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow


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