The Letitia Building, with a history dating back to the Gold Rush, is a classic reflection of San Jose's nineteenth century business community. The building was first mentioned on a deed of sale dated 1848, but was not completed until the fall of 1889 by prominent San Jose lawyer and businessman Caius T. Ryland. Designed by San Jose architect Jacob Lenzen, whose works appear throughout the San Jose area, The Letitia was named after Ryland's wife, Letitia Burnett Ryland, daughter of California's first governor.
Remarkably, in 1892 The Letitia Building was credited as San Jose's savior, when it served as a fire break by blocking an out-of-control blaze that destroyed more than 40 nearby structures. In another testament to its structural integrity, The Letitia survived both the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes.
In its early years, The Letitia housed several professional businesses in the upper-floor offices. Part of the building served as a comfortable rooming house. Two retail stores occupied street-level portions of The Letitia. Shively's Dry Goods House, a center of local commerce, was touted as the best lit establishment in the Santa Clara Valley due to the building's magnificent skylight above the large atrium. Both the skylight and atrium have been restored to their original striking beauty.
In 1922, Frank Marten and Nicholas A. Pellerano purchased The Letitia Building from the Ryland Estate for what was then the significant sum of $200,000. Marten, a long-time South First Street property owner and investment broker, and Pellerano, a well-known local druggist, continued to rent office space to local professionals until the late 1920s.
Unfortunately, following the Marten-Pellerano purchase, the building and its surrounding neighborhood began a period of decline. By August of 1928, the upper floor was vacated, and only street-level retail outlets and Marten's second-floor office remained in use. With the exception of Marten's office, the upper floor suites were unoccupied for over 70 years.
After Marten's death in 1969, his daughter, Margery Richard, managed The Letitia. In 1976, it was sold to Holland-born engineer and builder Robert Van der Toorren and a group of local investors known as Letitia Ventures. Retailing at street-level closed in the late 1970s and the entire building remained vacant for more than 20 years.