The Carson Mansion

As I have read countless times, the Carson Mansion is perhaps the most recognizable historical landmark on the North Coast and the most photographed Victorian house in California and perhaps even in the United States. If this is true, then wouldn't it stand to reason that The Pink Lady across the street is just as popular and could lay claim to the same? How could anyone photograph one without the other?

Lumber magnate William M. Carson built this "over-the-top" Queen Anne style Mansion in 1884 and hired San Francisco's famed architects Newsom and Newsom to create most of what we see today. Apparently, Carson gave the brothers free rein in the designing of the mansion and this could explain a lot! No plan for the house has ever been discovered among the Carson papers or the Newsom Brothers collection. The Newsom Brothers also designed "The Pink Lady" and the "Carter House".

The mansion was built on a bluff overlooking Carson’s lumber mills and docks with a tall cupola so Carson could oversee and observe his workers from the mansion. I have also read that Carson built this mansion to keep 100 of his workers employed during a slump in the timer industry, but this is only a myth according to this website. http://www.times-standard.com/restore/ci_11020871

The mansion combines several different styles including Italianate, Eastlake, Stick and Queen Anne. Redwood was used in the construction along with 97,000 feet of imported honey colored primavera from Central America and other woods and onyx from the Philippines, East India, and Mexico. The interior consists of 18 lavish rooms fitted with stained glass windows, plasterwork, and carved ornaments in exotic woods.

It is said that Sarah Carson, who was a simple woman, never felt truly comfortable in the mansion and preferred their previous two story cottage to the mansion. She lived in the mansion 18 years until her death in 1904. William died in 1912 and the house was then left to the Carson's son Milton and his wife Mary Bell Carson. They lived there for some 30 years until their deaths. Their daughter then sold the mansion to the Ingomar Club members and a private men's club was established at the mansion.

The Eagle House Victorian Inn

The Eagle House was built on 2nd and C Street by Finnish emigrants Henry and Elvira Tornroth in 1886. Originally it was a modest hotel and restaurant until additions began in 1888 to compete with the upscale Grand Hotel that was built across the street. In 1893 the building was split in half with one half moved north along C Street and the other half moved west along 2nd Street. A three story edifice was built using the original portions of the Eagle House as wings. The end result was a stick-style building with Victorian details.

In 1907 after Henry Elvira's death the building was sold to a group of business partners who leased it out. It was opened as The Buon Gusto Restaurant and Tavern. The rest of the building was used as a boarding house. The building was again resold in the 1960’s and then remained empty during most of the 1970's. In the 1980's the building was again sold and purchased by a set of partners. Restoration and reconstruction began adding back the 2nd Street wing addition and a new roof tower. In 1994 the guest rooms were redecorated and antiques from around the world were purchased for Eagle House. A fourth floor for a private penthouse was added for the owner's, giving the building 32,000 square feet.

The Pink Lady of Eureka

Located on 2nd Street and M and across the street from the Carson Mansion in Eureka is this Classic Queen Anne Eastlake style Victorian home known as "The Pink Lady". Designed by the famed San Francisco Newsom Brothers and architects of the Carson Mansion, the Pink Lady was built in 1889 by William Carson as a wedding gift to his son J. Milton Carson. During the 1940's the property left the Carson family and became a boarding house and eventually fell into disrepair. In 1963 the property was purchased by Robert Madsen, a local real estate broker and former city councilman and mayor of Eureka. It was immediately restored to its former glory and has been looked after and maintained by the Madsen family ever since. During the restorations in 1963-1964, a decision to paint the mansion bright pink was made in order to contrast its color with the dark color of the Carson Mansion.

I've also read on the internet that over the years the house had many owners. It was sold by J. Milton Carson in 1920 and was operated as a boarding house by two sisters in Germany who had inherited the property. In 1942 it was seized as Nazi property by the U.S. government and later sold at public auction in 1951 to Lloyd Bridges and Associates. He was the father of actor Lloyd Bridges.


I much preferred this smaller pink mansion with its domed turret to the large and ostentatious Carson Mansion. While both are exquisite and beautiful, the Pink Lady seems a bit more unpretentious and homey! The mansion is a private residence and tours are not available.

I shot these images near sunset and like the way the golden light makes the pink glow!

Eureka's Old Town Plaza

Eureka's Old Town Plaza features a gazebo with an Asian flair surrounded by red inlayed brick. A fountain winds its way down and around the gazebo which is a local hot spot for feeding the pigeons! In the center of the plaza is a compass rose design that looks to have been somewhat copied by the city of Tehachapi, California for their downtown esplanade. The compass rose is inlaid at the foot of the F Street Plaza and points the way north.

The area is so visually appealing that I felt relaxed just being in the moment and happy to able to enjoy Old Town Eureka for a couple of hours before getting back on the road to Trinidad.

Eureka's Farmer's Market

Beginning June 6th until Oct. 26th on Tuesdays and Thursdays the Old Town of Eureka features a Farmer's Market. We were there on a Tuesday when the market was near the gaze on F St. between 1st and 3rd. We walked the market and drooled over all the fresh and colorful fruits and vegetables! The brilliant displays of different colored peppers were a definite eye pleaser. However, I don't know that I would have been able to eat the hot ones, but they sure looked pretty! While walking through the market I wished that I had brought my juicer with me! Several vendors were selling flowers from their private cutting gardens for a few cents a stem and I had to remind myself that I was too far from home to partake of all the wonderful goodies! I was going to have to settle for "window shopping"!

Historic Vance Hotel, Eureka, Ca.

The historic Vance Hotel at 525 Second Street in Eureka, Ca. was built in 1871-1872 by John Vance, pioneer Humboldt County Lumberman. In 1879 Eureka's first electric lights in a commercial building were installed in the Vance Hotel. The Vance Hotel was renovated in 2000 by owners Kurt and Kim Kramer and Rob and Cherie Arkley. The building's elements are Italianate and is the second largest timber-framed structure remaining in California. The Vance Hotel now houses various shops and restaurants and the rooms are used as office spaces.

The Oberon Grill, Eureka, Ca.

We ate brunch at the Oberon on Tuesday morning after a late start . I had their mushroom & sausage omelet with country potatoes and a scone. It was divine!

The Oberon was originally built in the 1860's by C.S. Ricks. The building has changed faces many times over the years. It has been a hardware store, tin smith store, speak easy, YMCA, antique store, pet shop, housewares store, and a saloon. Businessman Dick Tierney leased the property in 1905 and opened the most upscale drinking establisment.of the time. The Oberon became the choice for travelers staying at the Vance Hotel situated across the street. At one time a lady named Ruby owned and ran a brothel located above the Oberon Saloon. Such a colorful history!




There is an old photo in a gold frame hanging on the wall in the dinning room that shows just how well the Oberon's details have been restored. I noticed that the light fixture in the photo and the one hanging in the dinning area are almost identical except for a few minor changes to the class shades. The custom tilework for the original saloon can still be seen along the sidewalk in the front of the building.

516 2nd St
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 443-3663
http://www.oberongrill.com/

Carter House Inns & Restaurant 301, Eureka, Ca.

The original Carter House was built in San Francisco and known as the Murphy House. It was designed by the famous Newsome Brothers of San Francisco in 1884-1885, the same architects who designed the Carson Mansion and The Pink Lady for William Carson. The 1906 San Francesco earthquake and fire destroyed the structure and it was never rebuilt. Now flash forward to 1978 when Mark Carter found the plans in a Eureka antique store and decided to build this house in Eureka as a home for his family. The house was completed in 1982 with the building taking longer to build than anticipated and coming in over budget. To help offset some of the costs incurred, the Carters decided to open the doors of their new home as an Inn and a restaurant.


The Carter House Inns & Restaurant 301 is comprised of four Victorian style buildings set alongside Humboldt Bay on 301 L Street. www.carterhouse.com. All four buildings are very pleasing to the eye and architecturally stunning!.

The WoODeN SCULPTURE GARDEN of RoMANo GABRIEL

We came upon the exhibit of Romano Gabriel's Wooden Sculpture Garden as we strolled down Second Street in downtown Eureka looking for a place to eat. The exhibit is visible from the sidewalk and is on display 24 hours a day behind a large glass storefront display case. I had a hard time getting a good view of the exhibit due to the reflections of light bouncing off the glass and due to the fact that you're unable to get right up close to the glass because of a pesky iron fence that's in the way! Needless to say, I had an even harder time photographing it! I recently read that the City is planning to give the area a face lift in order to make the exhibit more visible and enjoyable for onlookers and tourist.
.


Romano Gabriel was born in Mura, Italy, in 1887. He worked with his father as an apprentice furniture maker. He came to America in 1913 and later served in WWI. After the war he moved to Eureka, California where he worked as a carpenter and gardener. In 1940 and throughout the next 30 years of his life, he began creating a wooden sculpture garden to decorate his yard out of vegetable crates. The garden was built in layers with larger pieces dominating the background and smaller pieces in the front. Over time his garden grew so large that it eventually obscured his house on Pine Street. Romano cut and painted thousands of wooden pieces and fitting some with moving parts using little motors. Along with painting flowers and trees, he also painted people for his garden. Some of the faces took on caricatures of politicians and famous people. Being somewhat of a loner, Romano Gabriel's wooden sculpture garden became a way for him to express himself.

Romano Gabriel died on March 17, 1977 ten years after he put the final touches on his garden. Shortly after his death the California Arts Council declared that the wooden sculpture garden had been designated as an important piece of folk art. The garden was dismantled and stored in boxes to protect it until the Vellutini family of Eureka purchased the entire wooden sculpture garden in an auction as a gift for the City of Eureka. The garden was restored and installed almost to its original set-up in a custom built storefront structure that was designed by the architectural firm of Trump and Sauble. The opening dedication was on April 3, 1982.

The Samoa Cookhouse, Eureka, Ca.

Our trip to Eureka, California began on September 7, 2009. After being on the road since 3:00 am, we arrived in Eureka in the late afternoon and headed for the Samoa Cookhouse for some lumber camp style chow! We were quite tired and famished by the time we arrived in Eureka and on a recommendation from my mother, we decided to dine at the historical big red cookhouse. We took the Samoa bridge off Hwy 101 and turned left onto Samoa Blvd and then took the first left into the parking lot.

The Samoa Cookhouse was founded in 1893 for mill and dockworkers and is one of the last lumber camp style cookhouses still in operation in North America. The cookhouse was originally opened as part of Samoa, which was one of the last company owned towns in the United States and established by the Vance Lumber Company. It began serving the public in the late 1960's.

The cookhouse serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Beware, there are no menus! Everyone eats the same meal which is prepared "family style" or as the cookhouse refers to it "lumber camp style". Family and strangers sit together in simple lumber camp style surroundings that include long wooden tables covered with red & white checkered table cloths. After your server takes your drink order, your food is served to you in courses. The first course is soup and bread, followed by salad. The main dishes are served after the soup & salad course and if you still have room left, it's time for desert!

The food is served hot in large serving bowls and platters that are ready to be passed around the table and shared. The servers come by often to ask if anyone would like seconds and inquire if you're ready for the next course. On the evening we were there we were served vegetable soup with bread, a dinner salad, boneless fried chicken, roasted pork, bake potatoes, gravy, and corn. We had to pass on the desert, as we were stuffed and completely satisfied!

There is also a museum inside the cookhouse that we browsed through while we waited to be seated. The museum consists of antique logging artifiacts, lumber camp and cookhouse ware, and old photos. There's also a guest book inside the museum where folks can sign their names and comment on their experience at the cookhouse.

I highly recommend the Samoa Cookhouse for their great food and a fun change of pace!