The Baldwin Block, Part 1

The article below is copyrighted by Yreka (Historic) Preservation and reprinted by permission.  It originally appeared in the February/March 1984 edition of Yreka Echoes Newsletter.  Please note some of the businesses are no longer at the locations mentioned.

An eventful year in our historic past was 1871, when a fire ravaged nearly one-third of the town of Yreka.  The fire started in a Chinese wash house west of Second Street (Broadway), pinpointed by the old-timers as approximately where the Yreka Flower Shop is now, 208 West Miner Street, and in one hour’s time left the town in ruins due to shifting winds carrying the fire from street to street.  It was ten years before rebuilding began on what became known as the Baldwin Block, where Ohlund’s Office Supply and the Miner Street Meat Market now resides.  

            In 1881 contractors J. W. Riddle and Al Smith began construction on the building for Mrs. W. I. Nichols, whose father was Rev. J. T. Baldwin, a Presbyterian minister and graduate of Princeton University in the class of 1823.  Her husband was a local attorney.

            The building was a large 100 by 80-foot brick structure, with a space in back designed for offices or sleeping rooms.  Work progressed slowly, since they worked through the winter and mortar and plastered walls did not dry well due to freezing temperatures.  An outstanding feature of building in that era was the substantial board walks constructed in front of the building; and the basements were large and well drained by deep sewers running into Yreka Creek.

            The first business to open where Ohlund’s Office Supply is now located was a saloon.  On June 3, 1882 the Portuguese Billiard Saloon opened its doors for business, operated by Frank Roberts and A. S. Oliver.  They spared no effort or expense in making it one of the “handsomest” places of “public resort” in the country.  The bar, made by Mr. Oliver, was located on the east side of the saloon and a shooting gallery, at 25¢ for six shots, attracted local sportsmen on the west side.  A Virginia pool table was the center focal point.  Quoting from the Yreka Journal of June 3, 1882: “No boys under 18 permitted as a preventive of becoming a hoodlum resort.”

            The building was sold by Mrs. Nichols (Jennie T. Nichols) to N. B. Julien October 20, 1882 for the sum of $5,084.50, and in 1885 the saloon was known as the Roberts Saloon.  By 1892 the building was being used as a sample room for the Clarendon Hotel across the street.

            A new steel roof was put on the entire Baldwin Block in 1899 by Mr. Julien, the owner, who hired Iunker Brothers to cover the 9,000 square foot space.  New chimneys were made, and new skylights coated with iron sheeting.  The rear portion above the brick wall was covered with iron to make the block as near fireproof as possible.

            The Walker-Avery Drug Store was the next business in this location.  Extensive improvements were made before the proprietors occupied the store in May, 1900, which made the store “the most beautiful, modern building north of Sacramento.”  A new façade was erected with a plate glass front and two doors, and a beautifully refurbished interior.  Quoting the Yreka Journal of May 26, 1903, “C. W. Avery has a cozy and neat arbor or tent in the center of his drug store, where partees [sic] can enjoy refreshments during warm days in the way of ice cream, ice cream soda, and various kinds of temperance beverages.”

Look for Part 2 of this article in the next blog post...

Bella Union Saloon & Grace Hospital

The former Bella Union Saloon and former Grace Hospital were located where the two story building viewed at the center of the photograph is at 325 West Miner Street, Yreka. The Bella Union was a local "watering hole" in 1852 and Charles Iunker and a Louis Rapi became the owners in 1859. Iunker also operated a brewery on Oregon Street. In 1861 the former Bella Union building was replaced by a two story residence and provided space on the ground floor for businesses. ~ This information is provided on a plaque placed on the wall of the building.

It is curious to note, however, that earlier pictures of this section of buildings there isn't a noticable two story building... whether it was later rebuilt, burned in a fire, or what is not clear to this author. It may appear further research is in order.

It is known, however, that in late 1916 this building on the top floor became the Grace Hospital. It was in 1916 when the county high school burned to the ground and the students were relocated for the remainder of the year to the building on Oregon Street known as The Mount Shasta Hospital (built by H. B. Gillis, and currently known as the DeClerk Offices). The Siskiyou News dated October 19, 1916 ran an article on page one about this new Grace Hospital. Apparently a Dr. G. W. Hathaway decided to open this hospital to fill a need since the Mount Shasta Hospital was given to the high school.

The article describes the accommodations for this new 12 room hospital. It had an operating room as well as maternity room which both faced Miner Street, as well as a "optical dark room" and two wards for men and two wards for women as well as private rooms. There was also a large sun room, nurses room, Dr. Hathaway's office, reception room and living rooms. The newspaper article described the new hospital as "a model of convenience". The hospital was expected to be opened about November 1, 1916.

It was not uncommon for small hospitals to be available, Yreka may have had three or four in operation at one time in addition to the county hospital. Many times a doctor would open their own hospital for the treatment of their private patients. Small hospitals like this were not uncommon up through the 1950's. During the 1960's many small hospitals found it difficult to obtain expensive equipment and laboratories and many were merged into community hospitals, county hospitals, and larger private hospitals.

Today the lower portion of this building is home to a shop that caters to health care workers and their "scrubs". A portion of the ground floor is home to the Miner Street Arthouse.

Copyright: Claudia East, 2008

DeWitt and Peters Building 1897-98

Currently standing on the corner of Miner and North Oregon Streets, The DeWitt and Peters Building broke ground in the fall of 1897 and the building was completed in 1898 at a cost less than $7,000. Prior to this building being constructed a portion of the lot was vacant and the east half of the lot was occupied by the old Yreka Brewery owned by G. H. Peters. In the 1850s the original Yreka Bakery stood on the west half of this lot on Miner and Oregon Streets according to research conducted by Robert Noonan in 1976 in his publication Yreka's West Miner Street Buildings, Blocks 200 - 300, 1851 - 1900.

The Yreka Journal on September 24, 1897 ran an article on this "new" building designed by Architect, G. W. Cooper. They described the layout of the building to have two new stores on the bottom floor, and a large assembly hall (rented by the Knights of Pythias and other orders...) and offices on the second story. "Mr. DeWitt of the Bee Hive store will occupy the corner and Peters will rent the other portion of the building downstairs." The building was also described as having a large cement cellar to be built in connection with the original cellar once used by the Yreka Brewery on the back portion of the lot. It was also stressed that there would be sidewalk elevators for "lowering and raising goods when wanted." In addition, the paper pointed out that the upper story would likely not be finished until spring as the cold weather might damage the plastering.

The exterior of the building is from red sand stone taken from a quarry at Little Shasta, according to a news article from the Yreka Journal ~ it was the first time this stone was utilized for building purposes in the area. According to further Noonan research (see above) a Mr. Ed Armstrong was in charge of the masonry, and the roof was constructed by the Iunker Brothers.

Today this fine building still stands and is proudly owned by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks as a lodge. The photo above shows the building as it was in about 1905. Today the lower portion of the building is covered with board and batten siding to conceal the large windows.

You might wish to look at the SketchupbyDawn Blog for the August 14, 2008 post, he has a nice 3-D drawing of the original building. You can link here or check out the Blogs I am watching on the side panel: http://sketchupbydawn.blogspot.com/

For those of you with our book, Yreka, Images of America by Arcadia Publishing you can find other images with this building in the photos on pages 35, 52,and 115.

Copyright: Claudia A. East, 2008.

Charles Iunker Home 1861

Located at 322 West Center Street, Yreka, California, stands the brick Charles Iunker Home built in 1861. Charles Iunker was a German immigrant who was an early settler in Yreka, arriving in 1855. Mr. Iunker started a brewery on South Oregon Street and it was known as the Iunker Brewery or Pacific Brewery. He also was the owner of the Bella Union Saloon on Miner Street. The Iunker Brothers ~ Charles and Albert, also owned a successful hardware store on Miner Street. When the Oregon-California Railroad originally decided to bypass Yreka local prominent businessmen organized the Yreka Railroad Company to build a connecting line. Mr. Iunker was one of the large stockholders according to historical notes.

There is a early residence photograph of this home in one of the Siskiyou County Historical Society Publications, specifically the 2003 The Siskiyou Pioneer issue on a Photographic History of Siskiyou County. (This may still be available at the Siskiyou County Museum) It is noted in the publication that when the home was first built Mr. Iunker had gas lines and water on both the first and second story. In earlier days the home was surrounded by a white picket fence, had a yard and two trees in the front. There was a covered porch on the East side of the building. The two chimneys apparent in the photograph are original to the home.

Today this fine building no longer serves as a home but still serves the community as business offices. Center Street is located just South of Miner Street and just North of Court House Square. It has wonderful historic presence, but is often overlooked by tourists or local history buffs because it is not directly in the National Historic District and sits amongst other newer business buildings.

Copyright: Claudia A. East, 2008