The Endangered 8: 2025 

Today known more commonly as the “Dr. Eu Building” after its beleaguered owner since 1986, the Beach and Bassler-Haynes Buildings are actually two distinct structures with equally storied pasts, now both embroiled in legal controversy. The Bassler-Haynes Building, reportedly the first three-story brick building in all of San José, was constructed in 1876 and underwent an Art Moderne remodelling in 1936. Next door, the Beach Building was originally a Victorian-style hotel built in 1887 and remodelled with an Edwarian facade in 1913. Despite a multi-million dollar restoration in 2008 funded in part by the San José Redevelopment Agency, the buildings have been vacant ever since. The City of San José is currently pursuing legal action against the owner and has suggested that ground contamination from the building’s previous use as a dry cleaner may require the structures to be leveled.