Hart's Department Store

Leopold Hart opened the downtown store in 1866, becoming the city's premier shopping destination for decades. Alex Hart Jr. believes the warehouse dates back from the early 1920s. At the time, the Harts owned three adjacent buildings, including the one with the outdoor logo, that served as warehouses. The idea for the insignia, he says, is obvious.

A crime that put San Jose in the national spotlight involved the tragic kidnap and murder of the son of the prosperous owner of the Hart department store downtown.