Holzwasser-Walker Scott Building and Owl Drug Building
historic place
In downtown San Diego, the Holzwasser-Walker Scott Building and the Owl Drug Building are recognized as a historic place. The Holzwasser Building was constructed in 1919. Architect John Terrel Vawter designed this Spanish Colonial Revival style building. It first housed Holzwasser's department store, which opened in 1920. Holzwasser's closed in 1933. In 1935, the Walker Scott department store opened in the building, becoming a flagship for the local chain. The Owl Drug Building, constructed in 1913, was used as a department store annex between 1926 and 1936, and again from 1945 to 1970. In 1954, Walker Scott expanded into the Owl Drug Building. The Walker Scott store introduced the first escalator in Southern California within this building. These structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 for their importance in San Diego's retail history.