The Mansion House Hotel on Lansing Street, 1883-1884. (Gift of Emery Escola)
A view of Lansing Street looking southwest from Hillcrest Cemetery. A large sign, mounted in 1883 on the roof of the three-story building in the center of the image, declares this to be the Mansion House, a fine hotel located on the southwest corner of Lansing and Little Lake Streets. The hotel burned down in 1899 and was never rebuilt.
On the left side of the image, a group of men stand at the intersection of Little Lake Road and Lansing Street. Opposite the intersection is the blacksmith shop operated at this time by George Hall, and later Emil Seman. A sign reading “Groceries, Confectionary” advertises Hall’s small food store next door. The Masonic Hall with its rooftop statuary is down Lansing Street from the Hotel.
Several water towers and windmills are visible, from left to right: the Switzer & Boyd Livery Stable tower (seen between the Masonic Hall and the Hotel); the windmill atop the Mansion House’s water tower; the very tall Hagenmeyer tower on Calpella Street (owned by William Kelley at this time); and the Fraga House water tower, which looks like a small, elevated house.
Visible just below the Fraga water tower is a small building with a false front and a bay window. This is one of two dwellings owned by the photographer M. M. Hazeltine, and sold in 1883 to A. J. Cooney.
Walking Tours of Historic Mendocino – Join our expert docents for a stroll and lively commentary. You’ll pass by early pioneer homes, historic meeting places, and buildings that make up the the Mendocino Historic District.