An elevated view of central Mendocino probably taken from the water tower belonging to the Sempione Hotel, formerly the Lisbon House, 1909-1912. This is a view to the east, looking across Kasten Street and down Albion Street. On the left, the roof of the John Dougherty House is visible, with its small water tank in the back yard to the right. Behind the John Dougherty House is the first Odd Fellows building, at this time known as Foresters Hall, with a small garage beside it to the right. Across Kasten Street, the top of the two-tank Heeser water tower is visible on the far left. The long Heeser House is in the center of the photo, across Kasten Street inside a fenced yard that contains its free-standing windmill. Behind it, the decorative roof of the MacCallum house and its dormered north wing is visible through cypress trees.
On the right side of the photograph, on the southeast corner of Kasten and Albion, the corrugated steel-covered storage buildings associated with the Jarvis-Nichols building are clustered around its water tower. A similar tower next to them was built in 1906 and belonged to the clothing store on Main Street known as The Toggery, formerly Brown & Gray’s.
A third tower seen down the street sits at the back of the Alhambra Hotel lot. Farther down the street is the west façade of the Kelley House, and the limbed-up cypress trees on the right side of the image are planted along the house’s Main Street frontage. Behind the trees is the Occidental Hotel on Main at Lansing Street. The water tower in the middle of the photo stands on Albion Street behind the Lansing Street livery stable; it was replaced in the 20th century by a half-buried tank. Many of these buildings are still present in 2022.
New Exhibit! Neighbors Across the Pond – Vintage Photographs & Objects from the Ford & Kelley Family Collections. Exhibit includes glass bottles, dolls, and clay pipes excavated from the historic Kelley Pond. Thursdays through Sundays, 11 am to 3 pm. Located at 45007 Albion Street, Mendocino.