Smith Tower was completed in 1914 and opened to the public on July 4, 1914. It is named for Lyman Cornelius Smith, a New York industrialist known for firearms and typewriters. He died in 1910, before construction began, and his son Burns Lyman Smith oversaw it. Gaggin & Gaggin of Syracuse, New York designed it.
It was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River until the Kansas City Power & Light Building was finished in 1931.
On the top floor, the Chinese Room has a carved teak ceiling and blackwood furniture said to be furnished by Empress Cixi. The tower kept elevator operators longer than most West Coast buildings. Elevators were automated starting in 2017.