SIMPSON/JONES BUILDING ca 1894

Doria Deighton Jones built what is now known as the Simpson/Jones Building in 1894.  The site which had formerly contained a large adobe which she, her husband John Jones and their children occupied.  The adobe was torn down when Bath Street was widened in 1886 to become an extension of Main Street.  The Simpson/Jones Building was constructed to house William Gregory Engines, also known as Moline Engines.  Later tenants were the Diamond Shirt Company and the Soochow Restaurant.

When Doria died in 1908 her property was divided among her three children and her daughter, Constance Jones Simpson inherited the three buildings close to the Plaza on Main Street.  Mrs. Simpson opposed Christine Sterling’s idea of closing vehicle traffic on Olvera Street and fought the matter all the way to the California Supreme Court. In 1960 the Simpson/Jones Building was altered to create the appearance of a Mexican banco.