Background
W. C. Lean was established as the H. Morton Jewelry Company in 1888, purchased by Lean circa 1904, and operating at 99 South
First Street in the W. J. Wilcox building. W. C. Lean worked for jewelers in San Francisco before coming to San Jose and purchasing
Morton's business. Morton's apprentice, William H. Jung, stayed on to help run the business, soon becoming a partner. The
two bought the Wilcox Block in 1920.
Jung's son Bill took over the business with his wife Ruth after his father's death in 1939. With the deterioration of downtown
San Jose in the 1970s, the business steadily lost its clientele and closed its doors in 1984.
Built in 1867, the E. J. Wilcox building was left empty after 1999, purchased in 2002 by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency,
and re-sold in 2007 to developers to be renovated.