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.

Today is Our World Tuesday, and that's where I am parking today's post. Click here to check out what's going on in other parts of the world.

Glancing Through a Cranny

Sitting between the Juan de Anza House and La Cosa Rosa Restaurant on Third Street in San Juan Bautista is a cute little fenced-in garden. Sometimes wild chickens like to roost there. That's what got me looking through the fence when I took this photo. I heard the chickens, but I wasn't fast enough to take a picture of them. This wooden dude, however, was going no where. He reminds me of Paul Newman.

Today is Monday Mellow Yellows, and that's where I'll be.  Come check out other mellow yellows with me by clicking here.

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.