Many buildings gain recognition for their aesthetic appeal – and for their illustrious tenants.
None more so than the elegant Lawyer’s Block, also known as the “Attorney’s Headquarters.”
The lot was originally sold by Alonzo Horton to George Phillips Marston of Wisconsin. Marston, an asthmatic, claimed he would not spend another harsh winter in Wisconsin.
On Oct. 4, 1870, he arrived in San Diego by steamer with his entire family: his wife and three children. One of those children, George White Marston, grew up to be one of early San Diego’s most prominent businessmen, civic leaders, and founder of the Marston’s department stores.
After George P. Marston’s death in 1877, the property was leased and subleased several times.
Pacific Livery Stables occupied the space until 1886, and in 1887, six months before her death, Harriet Marston sold the property to A.G. Gassen and Aaron and Charles Pauley.
On Sept. 27, 1888, the San Diego Union prematurely broke the story that the new owners planned to build a structure on the corner of 4th and E, which would cost $700,000. J.C. Sloan was hired as a contractor, and the firm of McDougall and Sons, from San Francisco, was appointed as architects.
The contractors said that the building would be completed by July 1, 1889, and would-be tenants immediately signed up.
Lawyers made up many of the tenants
Twenty spaces on the second floor were rented by lawyers, which gave rise to the notion that Gassen and Pauley intended to make their building the unofficial headquarters for San Diego’s prominent lawyers.
They included Colonel Chalmers Scott, former State Attorney General, Harry C. Titus, City Attorney, William J. Hunsaker, son of a former sheriff and mayor, and prominent attorneys A.E. Cochran , Eugene Britt, Cassius Carter, and Judge J.M. Robinson.
At least seven firms were represented before the builders even broke ground. Hunsaker and Britt also leased several rooms to house an extensive law library.
Other tenants included the Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Union, a drugstore, a pharmacist, and six architects. The well known architects were represented by D.P. Benson (New County Courthouse), A. Reif ( new Catholic Church & the Marshall Law block), and John B. Stannard (Louis Bank of Commerce, Grand Pacific, Nash Block & the Cole Block).
Additionally, other tenants included a stockbroker, three insurance agents, magazines The Golden Era and The Great Southwest, and the business office for the San Diego Union. The Union housed its presses in the basement and the linotype machines on the second floor.
Also, a liquor store, two barber shops and a paint store made the Lawyer’s Block their home.
The Italian Renaissance rectangular building, which was completed on schedule, was a two-story, plus basement, structure built with bricks made at the Rose Canyon brickyard.
The composition was stucco over brick with a flat roof. A horizontal band frieze runs along the edge of the roof line. The facades on both sides were symmetrical with evenly spaced doors and windows on each floor.
The first floor had regularly spaced openings for shop entrances with recessed doorways. Large rectangular windows provided light and were accented by multi-paned, narrow windows above the main window.
The windows on the second floor were single, double-hung sash-style, and shaped in the form of Roman arches. These were alternated with narrow windows with less curved arches. Pilasters along the facade were painted in darker tones to contrast with the lighter-colored stucco.
Property changes hands at the turn of the century
After Aaron Pauley’s death, the property changed hands on May 6, 1900.
It was purchased for $115,000 by John H. Gay, who was listed in the City Directory as a capitalist.
Gay, son of a Louisiana state senator, came to San Diego for his health, and upon his arrival, immediately started buying property. Some of his properties included the Dare Mansion, the Lakeside Inn and Racetrack, and a ranch at Linda Vista Mesa. His elaborate home on Fifth and Juniper was known as “Bluebeard’s Castle.”
Throughout the years, several abstract and title companies moved in, as well as many stenographers and notary publics. Almost all of the stenographers and notaries were women, an indicator that more diverse professional opportunities were becoming available to females.
When John Gay died, his widow, Jeanette T. Gay, inherited the property.
His estate was valued at $650,000 in real estate and $285,000 in personal assets. The Gay family – 18 to 20 people – contested the will on the grounds of his mental state. For eight years prior to his passing, he had been an alcoholic, paralyzed, and exhibiting an impaired mental capacity.
Seven years earlier, he had hired Jeanette as a housekeeper and then married her. The family claimed she had coerced, dominated, and controlled him completely.
They were awarded large amounts of the estate, but Jeanette kept the Lawyer’s Block property, which she sold to L. M. Carey, H. G. Jones, George F. Boehing, and L. M. Steinmetz in 1920.
The last upstairs tenants vacated the offices in 1972, and the income for the property was then derived from the lower floor leases.
Currently, the property is available for lease.
The elite address
The Lawyer’s Block Building (1889), 901-927 4th Avenue & 414-420 E Street
4th AvenueArchitect: McDougall and Sons
Architectural Style: Italian Renaissance
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