Roos Brothers Building - Oakland

Describe Roos Brothers Building here

The building was designed and built by William Knowles in 1922-1923.

On July 8, 1986 the Roos Brothers Building was designated Oakland Landmark #102, under Zoning Case #LM 86-36. It is part of the Downtown Oakland Historic District.

The Roos Brothers building, is a four-story early 20th century commercial building with Gothic ornament, rectangular in plan, on a corner lot. It is reinforced concrete clad in glazed pink terra cotta. Ornament on the upper stories is Gothic with thin ribbed terra cotta pilasters, piers, and mullions that culminate in finials against the parapet wall, and spandrel panels with decorative tracery and ogee arches in relief. Upper stories have tripartite Chicago-type windows. The building was designed originally as a department store with one store occupying the main corner
ground floor space and all of the upper floors, and two smaller stores occupying separate ground floor spaces at the north end on Broadway. Ground floor storefronts have been totally remodeled with brown tile facing and new doors and windows. The upper floors are now joined internally with 1530-32 Broadway next door, and the upstairs entry is through that building.

The original occupant was Roos Brothers clothing store, and the building is an excellent example of a daylight department store building of the 1920s. Its Gothic terra cotta ornament was a favored style of its architect William Knowles, whose other buildings in the district at 512 - 16th Street and 416-20 - 15th Street use similar vocabulary.

The location had previously been the site of the Albany Hotel.