Leslie, James

J. [James] Leslie was shown as a property owner ("brick store") on the 1866 Santa Cruz map, in "Block No. 1" (Mission Hill) of the core downtown area. This was a small lot on the southeast corner of the plaza, probably split from the William Thompson property, and now part of Holy Cross School. Leslie also owned four "residence" lots on the south side of Mission Street (Block No. 3), including one directly across Mission Street from the "brick store". According to an 1886 Sentinel item which paraphrased comments by Leslie himself, his brick store was "opposite the mission plaza", which seems to indicate a location across Mission Street. We definitely know that there was an old brick building across Mission until 1989, when it was fatally damaged in the quake. Could Leslie have built a second brick store?

• "The Official Survey of Santa Cruz", Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 23, 1866, 2:4.
• Santa Cruz Sentinel, December 29, 1886, 3:1.