Old Town Eureka

This article is about the historical commercial center of the city of Eureka, California.

Old Town Eureka (Eureka Old Town Historic District)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district

Near 2nd & "F" Streets in Old Town

Location	Eureka, California-Roughly, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Streets, between B and M Streets.
Coordinates	40°48′13.34″N 124°9′59.04″W / 40.8037056°N 124.1664000°W / 40.8037056; -124.1664000Coordinates: 40°48′13.34″N 124°9′59.04″W / 40.8037056°N 124.1664000°W / 40.8037056; -124.1664000
Built	1850-1874, 1875-1899, 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Victorian, Greek Revival, Classical Revival (Neoclassical)
NRHP Reference #	91001523^[1]
Added to NRHP	1991

Old Town Eureka (formally the Eureka Old Town Historic District) in Eureka, California, is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. This Historic district is a 350-acre (1.4 km²) area containing 154 buildings^[2] mostly from the Victorian era. The core of the district runs the length of First, Second, and Third Streets, between "C" and "M" Streets and includes many types of architecture from the 1850s to the present. Though not officially within the district, the Carson Mansion, the undisputed Victorian jewel of the city and region, commands the highest elevation at the eastern edge of the district. Art venues, coffee shops, bed and breakfasts and inns, antique stores and shops, restaurants, museums and galleries, and public areas (complete with views of Humboldt Bay and its marinas) are among the highlights of this gem of the West Coast. Of particular note is the remarkable authenticity of the district simply because it did not suffer the ravages of extensive fires or redevelopment like many other historic commercial centers.

History

The city began as an 1850 settlement on the edge of Humboldt Bay where the district is today. Developers and settlers planned for Eureka to aid in the provision of miners working inland to the east. By 1865 the central core of what would become Eureka's "Old Town" was considered "a lively place for a small town, full of business and with plenty of money... the roads beyond Second street (the equivalent of "Main" Street) were covered with stumps from the (recently logged) Redwood forest and not yet open.^[3]

Old Town today

Eureka's California State Historical marker, #477 is located on a plaque near the intersection of Third and "E" Streets

Old Town is the thriving, cultural heart of Eureka, California and the region. The area is an attraction for visitors and locals alike. Its placement on the California North Coast is indisputably beautiful. The area, often shrouded in fog and very definitely behind the Redwood Curtain, is very different from the rest of California. The vibrant art scene that has grown up there in the final decades of the 20th century led to the declaration that the city was one of the 100 best art towns in America.^[4] Among restaurants and inns, are multiple bed and breakfasts, including the award-winning Carter House Inn Restaurant 301, noted for repeatedly winning the "Grand Award" from Wine Spectator Magazine due to extensive collection of wine.

The Clarke Historical Museum is located at the corner of 3rd and E Streets. The collection includes extensive representation of basketry of indigenous native cultures throughout the region and regional and cultural history, with focus on the Victorian era.

Culture

Blues By the Bay occurs in late summer on City of Eureka property below the Carson Mansion.
First Saturday Arts Alive! occurs each month in the Old Town and Downtown sections of Eureka. More than 80 local galleries and other shops display local art to the public. The open house event often features wine, non-alcoholic drinks, and hors d'oeuvres. Musicians, performers, jugglers, poets and fire dancers perform on street corners as well as in shops and galleries. The event often coincides with performances of the Eureka Symphony in the Arkley Performance Center in the refurbished "Old" State Theater Building. Children can be safely cared for in the Discovery Museum, while parents participate in the North State's largest ongoing community arts event.
Old Town Eureka has a street-fair Fourth of July celebration followed by fireworks over the bay.

Examples of historic architecture in Old Town

1902 Illustration of City of Eureka. Old Town is the area of the city, primarily on the waterfront near the island on the left.
Victorian Commercial buildings on the south side of Second Street.
The Clarke Historical Museum, which was the Bank of Eureka. Renaissance style with Terra Cotta tile work covering the entire exterior, 1911.
The Buon Gusto (Eagle House) Hotel from the era when travel to Humboldt Bay was primarily by ship. Docks for ships from San Francisco were nearby this corner, which at one time had four of these hotels.
1893-1904 Commercial Buildings
Bookstore: A Late 1870s Store Front on Second Street.
The Carson Mansion as viewed from Humboldt Bay.
Second Empire Independent Order of Odd Fellows Hall building with original commercial space on the first floor.
Humboldt Arts Council in mid-1800s (early) commercial brick building.
Victorian detailed Commercial Building. Now a popular local seafood restaurant.
Milton Carson Home: a wedding gift for the son of the early Lumber Baron, William Carson, who built the Carson Mansion, 1889.
Victorian fencing and gate to the side yard of the Milton Carson Home.
Original Commercial Building with "false" front on 2nd Street.

References

↑ National Register of Historic Places
↑ Historic Sites in Humboldt County, California
↑ Overhold, Ken (Editor) (1987, Second Edition 1994). Eureka: An Architectural Heritage. Eureka, California: Eureka Heritage Society. p. 270. ISBN 0-9615004-0-9. Check date values in: |date= (help)
↑ Villani, John (October 1998). The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America (3rd ed.). Berkeley, California: Avalon Travel Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 1-56261-405-3.

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External links

General guides

Arts, music & museums

Arts Alive!
Clarke Historical Museum
Eureka Art and Culture Commission
HSU First Street Gallery - Fine Arts Exhibitions owned and operated by Humboldt State University
Humboldt Arts Council and Morris Graves Museum Website
Redwood Art Association
Redwood Curtain Theatre

Eureka, California

Historic Landmarks	Carson Mansion Eureka Inn Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station Humboldt Harbor Light Indian Island Madaket Old Town Samoa Cookhouse Table Bluff Light

Museums	Blue Ox Millworks and Historic Park Clarke Historical Museum Discovery Museum Fort Humboldt State Historic Park Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum Morris Graves Museum of Art

Parks and Preserves	Eureka Marsh Headwaters Forest Reserve Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Humboldt Botanical Gardens Samoa Dunes Recreation Area Lanphere Dunes Mike Thompson Wildlife Area, South Spit Humboldt Bay Sequoia Park Zoo

Humboldt Bay	Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation & Conservation District Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station HSU Aquatic Center Eureka Public Marina Woodley Island Marina

Education	College of the Redwoods Eureka City Schools

Shopping Areas	Bayshore Mall Old Town

Eureka neighborhoods and adjacent CDPs	Bayview Cutten Elk River Fairhaven Freshwater Fields Landing Humboldt Hill Indianola King Salmon Manila Myrtletown Pine Hill Ridgewood Heights Rosewood Samoa

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types

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