Downtown Hollister Historic District: 140 5th Street

Reflected in this window is one of the oldest commercial buildings in the Downtown Hollister Historic District. Built around 1880, the single-story building at 140 5th Street looks like quite small and compact. Go around the corner to East Street and you can see that it's nearly half a block long.

I'm linking up with Weekend Reflections. To see reflections that other bloggers have caught with their cameras, please click here.

Downtown Hollister Historic District: 725 San Benito Street

This two-story, reinforced concrete historic building in the Downtown Hollister Historic District was constructed around 1915. It is listed as 725 San Benito Street on the National Register of Historic Places registration form. The second floor shows its original face, while the first floor has been remodeled.

The registration form notes that the building was once the Winneville Hotel. Was it that originally? I have no idea. Does anyone? During the 1990s, the building was home to the Family Bargain Center. Today, the storefront is divided into three businesses:

• Smokey Pete's Smoke Shop, 727 San Benito Street
• Bella Mia Salon, 729 San Benito Street
• Eclectic Treasures, 731 San Benito Street

The ceiling in Eclectic Treasures still has the original tin tiles. Click here to see how gorgeous they look. Better yet, head over to the store. The other two shops may have the original ceiling, too.

Downtown Hollister Historic District: 101 Fifth Street

Today, most people in San Benito County know 101 Fifth Street as being the home of Pat's Place, a very cool thrift shop that raises money for the Community Food Bank of San Benito County.  Originally, the historic two-story building was a laundry called the Model French Laundry. It was constructed around 1934 by Joseph and Marie Latapie, according to Welcome to Historic Downtown Hollister, a walking tour pamphlet by Sharlene Van Rooy. The Latapies moved from San Francisco to Hollister after the 1906 earthquake and operated their laundry in two other locations previously to settling at 101 Fifth Street.

This is a contributing building to the Downtown Hollister Historic District. It was noted in the registration form submitted to the National Register of Historic Places for its parapet with a zig-zag band at the top to building and the tiled cornice with false vigas a foot or so below the parapet. The alluring arched doorway on the right side of the building was mentioned, too. I think the light fixture beside the doorway also gives the building its pizazz.

The storefront, with its anodized aluminum door and windows, was remodeled in the 1980s.

When I was a kid in the 1960s, I was fascinated with the Model French Laundry. The name always made made me think of the Eiffel Tower and I thought all French buildings had to look like this cute one. I never went into the laundry, but that did not stop me from imagining people inside speaking  French and having a special way of making the clothes they laundered look chic and ooh-la-la.

Downtown Hollister Historic District: 542 San Benito Street

One of the contributing historic buildings to the Downtown Hollister Historic District stands at 542 San Benito Street. Until a few years ago, it was home to Enterprise Electric. Several decades before that it was the K&S Market.  Today, the building is empty and up for sale.

The two-story commercial edifice was built around 1915, with the first floor being remodeled around 1970. The storefront has a modern look, while the second floor, which has four apartments, retains its original architectural style.

The ornamentation on the top of the second floor is quite handsome. Here's a partial description of the second story design from the registration form that was submitted in 1992 to the National Register of Historic Places:

". . .The parapet, which is the front (east) elevation, is divided into two curved sections. The cornice has a paneled band, a dentil course, and decorative brackets that appear to re-emerge above the paneling and give the effect of clamps. . . ."

Downtown Hollister Historic District

 

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting photos of the buildings that are part of the Downtown Hollister Historic District, which encompasses San Benito Street and intersecting streets between Fourth Street and South Street.

In 1992, the Downtown Hollister Historic District was entered into the National Register of Historic Places, which is administered by the National Park Service.  The district was nominated by the California Office of Historic Preservation for its pre-World War II look and character of a small city's downtown area. At the time, 54 buildings, constructed between 1880 and 1942, contributed to the historic nature of Downtown Hollister. Unfortunately, several of the buildings on San Benito Street were destroyed during two arson fires a few years later.  The nomination papers also cited 29 noncontributing buildings in the district, of which some were constructed during the significant time period.

If you'd like to read the registration form that was submitted in 1992 to the National Register of Historic Places, please click here. The document provides a description of the Downtown Hollister Historic District.

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