Original construction took eighteen months and cost $1,200,000 for the headquarters for the Fidelity Branch of the Pacific-Southwest Trust and Savings Bank.

[3] Originally, a beacon on top of the tower served as a frost warning to farmers within a 30-mile radius.

[4] Fresno banker William Sutherland was instrumental in the planning and construction of the building.

In 1925, the Pacific Southwest Trust and Savings Bank, with Sutherland as its president, moved its offices there.

[5] The building is currently owned by Beverly Hills-based developers, Sevak, Hrayr and Serko Khatchadourian.