Location 15

Kress Building

ADDRESS

20 N. Sutter St.

Stockton, Ca 95202

HISTORY

The Kress building was built in 1930 in the Art Deco style. Many design movements through the years have had political or philosophical beginnings, but Art Deco is purely decorative. The building is decorated with brick and terracotta elements. Samuel H. Kress, the founder of Kress Stores, wanted all of his buildings to be seen as works of public art. The Kress Stores were a turn-of-the-century equivalent of a modern-day Rite Aid stores. The Stockton Kress Store went out of business in 1992. The building was remodeled and the interior lobby features a large mural designed by Russell J. Buckingham in 2005. If you find yourself on Sutter Street on a rainy afternoon, situate yourself across the street from the Kress building, and if you’re fortunate, you’ll catch the sun as it peaks through the clouds, and the windows of the Kress Building will give you a show of colors in purples, reds, and blues.

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