The hotel stands on the site of San Jose's first Chinese enclave, the
Market Street Chinatown, which existed from 1866 until its destruction by arson in 1887. A plaque on the hotel's exterior commemorates the racist attack. The hotel was planned in the 1980s as part of an urban renewal project funded by the
Redevelopment Agency of San Jose, which also included the
Silicon Valley Financial Center and
Circle of Palms Plaza; it was developed by
The Swig Company. Construction led to a hasty
salvage excavation of artifacts from the former Chinatown. The hotel opened on October 5, 1987 as the Fairmont San Jose, part of the
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts chain. It was purchased in 1996 by Light Tower Associates, led by developer Lewis Wolff. Designed by
Gensler and Associates and
Moore Ruble Yudell Architects, This second tower was built on the site of the historic
Hotel Montgomery, which was moved to the south and restored; it is now the Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown hotel. In January 2018, the Fairmont San Jose was sold to SJ SC Holdings, an investment group led by Eagle Canyon Capital. The hotel reopened in April 2022 as Signia by Hilton San Jose, a
Hilton property with 805 rooms. The owners subsequently downsized, vacating the south tower annex and selling it in 2023 to Throckmorton Partners, a developer. That tower was converted the following year into a residence for
San Jose State University students, Spartan Village on the Paseo, which opened in August 2024. The university is leasing the building for 25 months and will then purchase it. On October 31, 2024, workers at the Signia ratified new labor contracts. This occurred in the aftermath of a three day strike which took place at the Signia over the 2024 Labor Day weekend in September. The hotel filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a second time in November 2024. ==References==