Prior to the 20th century, dry farming and cattle raising had been the major industries of the Bakersfield area.

In 1902, Standard Oil Company entered the petroleum business in Kern County with the completion of an eight-inch pipeline from the Kern River and Coalinga fields to the Richmond Refinery, at the time the most important oil pipeline in California.

For more than twenty-five years, Standard Oil Company was the largest taxpayer in Kern County.

The Jastro Building was built in 1917 and enlarged in 1921 after Standard Oil moved its Central Valley offices from Fresno to Bakersfield in 1920.

The building is constructed of hollow tile and faced with vitrified brick. With its boxed cornice and ornate terra cotta on the second storey balcony, the building is a fine example of the Second Renaissance Revival architectural style. It is one of the few remaining Second Renaissance Revival buildings in the Bakersfield area.

Source: NRHP nomination submitted in 1983.