B is for . . .

Buildings. Historic commercial buildings.

Many of the buildings on Hollister's main street are part of the Downtown Hollister Historic District, which is in the National Register of Historic Places. Here are just a few of the historic buildings. To see more, check out this link.

The two Italianate style buildings were erected in the late 1800s.

The Masonic Lodge built in 1908

This commercial building went up in 1915.

The once-upon-a-time Bank of America building,
constructed around 1930.

The old Elks Lodge built in the early 1920s.

Click here to find other A to Z challenge participants.

A Sunday Flashback: A Once-Upon-a-Time Bank

As you look at the photo, imagine it's the 1960s. A bank counter goes across the floor, which is parallel with the wall, just a few feet in front of the reflections on the floor. Equally spaced across the counter are teller windows and behind the windows are female clerks helping Bank of America customers.

Once upon a time that's what took place in this building on the northwest corner of San Benito and Fifth Streets. Bank of America built the building in the early 1930s.  Today, it's home to The Vault, which rents out the first and second floors for social and business events.

The One and Only Hollister

I like how the orange banners are a bright pop of color in Downtown Hollister. How about you? The Hollister Downtown Association is responsible for their creation and posting them up. If you look closely, you'll see a name of a Hollister business on each flag. You can also see the HDA's logo—(The Original™) Hollister California.

When the HDA's logo first came out, I thought that it was weird to see the parenthetical original. Is it suppose to be a whisper?  "Ssssh. We're Hollister California, not that fake place that's plastered on clothing. Ssssh."

Today, I read the parenthetical original differently. It's more like "We are the one and only Hollister, California!" Yup.

Ocean Mural in Downtown Hollister

The biker's mural on the Wentz Alley side of Johnny's Bar and Grill  is a familiar sight. Hundreds of bikers and tourists take photos of it as they visit Hollister, the "Birthplace of the American Biker." Not so familiar is the ocean mural on Johnny's patio.

Today, I'm linking up with Monday Mural hosted by Oakland Daily Photo. To see other murals from other parts of the world, please click here.

Walking Through Wentz Alley

As some of you dear readers know, I like to walk with the Husband through the alleys of Hollister. In some alleys, we get a sense of a time gone by. In the alleys in the Downtown Hollister Historical District, we see perspectives and angles of the buildings that are rather interesting and exciting. So, today, I'm sharing a few sights that we recently saw in Wentz Alley, between Monterey and San Benito Streets.

The Original Sanctuary

The Hollister United Methodist Church started as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in 1862. Ten years later, the church constructed its first building, a wooden structure, on the corner of Fifth and Monterey Streets. When the brick building was raised in 1910, the wooden structure became the church's social hall, which is visible from Wentz Alley.

Industrial Doors

Quickly take a look at these historic buildings on Fifth Street. At which building do you think you would find these handsome heavy industrial doors on its backside? Go ahead, I'll wait.

Did you choose the Ross Building (345 Fifth Street)? The building looks so delicate and petite to have these doors, but yet that's where you'll see them. The original owner configured the office building so that it could easily be turned into a supermarket if, at anytime he, or a future buyer, wanted to do so.

Lines

I like this alley view of Downtown Hollister from behind Johnny's Bar and Grill. It's an interesting intersection of lines of the various buildings, don't you think?

Shopping at Muenzer's Keys & Teez

Yesterday, the Husband and I brought some out-of-town friends over to Muenzer's Keys & Teez on Fifth Street to show them what truly Hollister, California tee-shirts look like. Yup, they purchased themselves a couple of original designs by Jan Muenzer Holthouse.

Have you been by the shop lately? If you haven't, or never have, check it out the next time you're in Downtown Hollister.  By the way, if you're looking for items that the Muenzers once sold at their old store, you might check out Muenzer's Ebay store at this link.

Aren't these bags cool? They're also original designs by Jan.

Yes, these are keys! Can you find the sugar skull?

Be sure to check out the historical display while at the shop. 

Rain Clouds over Downtown Hollister

The weather has been beautiful the last several days that if it weren't for this photo I would've forgotten that we did have a few days of rain. Were the rain clouds gathering or breaking over Downtown Hollister? I can't recall. Hopefully, we'll have a lot more early spring rains to lessen the drought.

Today I'm hooking up with Skywatch Friday. Click here to check out the skies around the world.

A Neighborhood Walk -- Seventh Street

One gorgeous afternoon, the Husband and I had eaten a tummy full of yummy burgers and fries at Third Base Burger Bar on San Benito Street. Afterwards, we chose not to get back into our car but ramble down Seventh Street to the end and back. The walk did us well. These photos show a few of the delightful sights that we saw. Did you know there are redwood trees on Seventh Street?

The Afternoon Light

Walking east on Wentz Alley the other afternoon, I got excited as I approached the Biker mural at San Benito Street. No garbage cans! Finally, I could get an unobstructive view of Johnny's Bar & Grill mural. But, then, I noticed the light. Oh, well. It still was a great photo opportunity. 

By the way, the Hollister Freedom Rally is set for July 3, 4, and 5.  For more info about the rally, head over to it's official website. 

Today, I'm hooking up with NatureFootstep's Digital Art Meme. Click here to see awesome work by bloggers from around the world.

Downtown Hollister Historic District: The "New" Buildings

You've probably noticed that Downtown Hollister has several "new" and large buildings on its main street, which are quite compatible in look with the historic buildings. These modern buildings were constructed in the 1990s after the original buildings were destroyed by an earthquake or fire.

The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake changed the face of Downtown Hollister in a very big way. The original buildings on the northwest corner of San Benito and Fourth Street collapsed in the earthquake and the commercial buildings that once stood on the lawn in front of the Briggs Building were so unsafe that they were razed a few days later. The structural integrity of a few other buildings was found to be poor so they were demolished, too. The following year, more commercial buildings in Downtown Hollister were destroyed by arson fires.

Obviously, the devastation, along with a drought and economic recession, did not stop the people of Hollister back then. With the help of redevelopment and other grants, they constructed the following handsome buildings in the Downtown Hollister Historic District, which is in the National Register of Historic Places.

The 500 Block of San Benito Street

The 600 Block of San Benito Street

The 700 Block of San Benito Street

The Downtown Hollister Historic District series comes to an end with today's post. I hope you've enjoyed the series. To check out past posts of the historic commercial buildings in Downtown Hollister, please head to these links:

• Contributing historic buildings to the district
• Non-contributing historic buildings

Hollister Through an Artist's Eyes

Original painting by Pen King
The photo is courtesy of Cindy Mackie.

Okay, dear Take 25 to Hollister Readers, you certainly recognize this block in downtown Hollister. That's right. It's the east side of San Benito Street, between 4th and 5th streets. Isn't the painting beautiful?

This oil painting of Hollister is owned by Cindy Mackie, who bought if from Ebay about two years ago. She said that she plugged in "Hollister California" in Ebay's search box and Voila!

The painter is Pen King. Through Google, I learned that the artist was born in China in 1964 and is now based in the United States.  He studied at the Guangxi Arts Institute in Nanning and became a full-time professional artist in the mid 1980s. Pen King creates original-knife textured paintings and does custom commissioned work from photos. Click here to read an article about the artist. 

Thank you, Cindy, for sharing the painting with us.

Clothing for Little Princes and Princesses on San Benito Street

Today is Worldless Wednesday. To check out posts from around the world, please click here.

Robots and Reflections

Doesn't it look like the camera-spider robot is taking a photo of the building across the street? Which building, you ask? Maybe both.

The robot and several others are currently on display in the windows at ArtSpace, 240 Fifth Street (corner of Fifth and San Benito Streets). The robots were created by Paul Loughridge who builds them out of everyday trash. To see more of his awesome work, check out his Pinterest page.

Today, I'm linking up with Weekend Reflections. To see photos of amazing reflections caught by bloggers around the world, please click here.

The Holiday Sparkle in Downtown Hollister

One of the lovely holiday traditions of Downtown Hollister is the sparkle, sparkle that brightens up San Benito Street at night.

Happy Holidays, One and All!

The View through the Vault's Windows

It's Wordless Wednesday.

Late Afternoon Light

I like how the late afternoon light looks in downtown Hollister as the sun makes its way home for the night.  It pays to look up and see buildings bathed in yellow light. This is the southern face of the once-upon-a-time Pendergrass Hotel on Fifth and San Benito Streets.

Today is Monday Mellow Yellows. Click here to check out how bloggers around the world feature the color yellow.

Waxing Gibbous Moon

This past week, the moon has been in a waxing gibbous phase. That means it gets lit more each day by the sun as it approaches Full Moon. And, that is tomorrow!

I took this photo on Monday by the Methodist Church on Fifth Street in Hollister. The word gibbous comes from the Latin word gibbosus, which means humpbacked.  What do you think? Does the moon look like it's a humpback?

Today is Skywatch Friday. Click here to check out how the sky looks in other parts of the world.

Appreciating Local Military Men and Women

Lined around the Veterans Memorial Building and nearby streets in downtown Hollister are signs honoring local U.S. military men and women currently deployed overseas. The signs went up this past Veterans Day.

I'm linking up at the weekly meme Signs, Signs. To check out posts by other bloggers around the world, please click here.

A Late Afternoon Flight Around Downtown Hollister

Today is Wordless Wednesday.

The Yuletide Trees in Hollister

Decorate a Tree was one of the wonderfully generous projects of the 2014 Lights on Celebration that took place last Saturday, November 29, 2014. More than two dozen trees were donated by Bourdet Christmas Trees and decorated by various non profit organizations, such as the Girls Scouts and the Friends of the San Benito County Library.

The Christmas trees were on display in front of the Briggs Memorial Building at the corner of Fourth and San Benito Streets. They were recently distributed to families in need within the community.

The 2014 Lights on Celebration is an annual event, sponsored by the Hollister Downtown Association.

Today, I'm linking up at Our World Tuesday. To check out blogs from other parts of the world, please click here.