Public art grows in fits and starts hereabouts but we are starting to build up a nice stock of murals. Here we look at four of them.
The mural on the front of the Sonoma Valley Grange building, located at 18627 Sonoma Highway. The Grange has owned the building, which was probably originally a dance hall, since 1934. See (https://springsmuseum.org/2022/06/28/the-sonoma-valley-grange-traditionchange-and-renewal/) for more about the Grange. Through the Redevelopment Façade Improvement project, the Grange got funding for the mural in 2010. It was designed by Michael Acker and painted in collaboration with Randy Sue Collins. It depicts a bit of Boyes Hot Springs and Grange history. It being on the west facing wall, it takes a terrific beating from the sun, and has been restored twice.
The Republic of Thrift building at 17496 Sonoma Highway has two murals sponsored by the Monarch Project (https://www.socoimm.org/) along with others. On the west facing wall is the giant Monarch butterfly, completed in June 2020. According to the Index Tribune, “Artist Rima Makaryan, just 17 years old, painted a Monarch butterfly as part of “The Monarch Project,” a Sonoma County nonprofit organization working to tell the stories of immigrants and empower the community.” “We are working to have a conversation about immigration through art,” said Makaryan. “Oftentimes immigrants are labeled aliens or talked about negatively. The goal of the Monarch Project is to find beauty in the subject.” The mural, painted on the west-facing wall of the thrift store, features a Monarch butterfly filled with words describing the immigrant experience, such as resilience, hope, amor, sacrifice and fear. Makaryan noted, “The words are meant to embody the journey and diversity of all migrants. It’s all about the beauty of the topic, good and bad.”
On the east wall a fantastical spray-paint mural by the artist Chor Boogie (https://chorboogie.com/), along with a crew of high school students was painted in 2018. the Led by Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, community partners were Artescape and La luz Center. Co-sponsors were the California Arts Council, the NEA, and the Bank of Marin.
The building at 17400 Sonoma Highway displays yet another Monarch Project mural. Completed in June 2021, it features an image of Dmitra Smith, “…a powerful force fighting against racism in Sonoma County,” according to their website. “Ms. Smith is the former Chair of the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights, and was the program manager for the Junior Commission, having mentored over 100 Sonoma County students between 2013- 2020. Smith is a co-founder of the essential workers’ mutual aid collective Food for All – Comida para Todos.”
At the time the mural was painted, the building was the home of Sonoma Originals skate shop. Sadly, it is now empty.
We actually have a lot of art in the Springs, some of it “official,” as the above are, some harder to find, personal expressions, often ephemeral, but worth noting, as we will do in future posts
Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society
Farrell’s Resort existed on land near the corner of Siesta Way and Sonoma Highway, between the years 1945 and 1958. A county court photograph from that year shows the resorts sign on the highway. An Index Tribune story in 1959 about a barn fire on the property mentioned “the pioneer Ferrell’s Resort property,” which implies, to me, it didn’t exist in 1959, as the barn was being burned by the fire department for training.
This photo is an exhibit from a lawsuit involving a traffic accident in 1958, courtesy of the Sonoma County Library. Difficult to see, at left, below the Richfield sign, half obscured by a power pole (!) is a sign advertising Farrell’s Resort. Thomson Ave (not East Thomson!) is at left. Across the highway is Baker’s Drive-In, current site of the Fruit Basket.
The property behind the Arroyo Vet building continued as a trailer park until 2020 when affordable developer Milestone Housing (https://milestonehousing.com/projects/) bought the land. In 2022 they started construction on a 92 unit apartment complex intended for senior households that have incomes in the 30 to 60 per cent of area median income. In May of 2023 construction is ongoing. See photos below.
Apartment construction, February 2022 through May 2023
In 1977, on part of the Farrell’s site facing the highway, Stan Goldsmith built a commercial building to house his Mark’s Sporting Goods. Goldsmith owned the whole property and told the Index Tribune that “…future plans at the 1.5 acre site include similar buildings housing quality small shops and possibly a patio restaurant.”
Goldsmith had founded a successful chain of sporting goods stores, located throughout California, which he sold before moving to Boyes Hot Springs. According to some of his ad copy, “In 1954 Stan Goldsmith revolutionized the retail sporting goods business by building the largest sport store in northern California (10,000 sq ft.) and becoming the first to combine active sportswear with sports equipment…Stan Goldsmith founded the Marin Skin Divers Club, the Northwoods Bowmen’s Club and designed the first nylon covered sleeping bag. Stan’s and the first air compressor to fill dive tanks in Northern California.” Index Tribune advertisement, 1979.
Mark’s Sporting Goods in Boyes Hot Springs, named after Stan’s son, opened in 1977. It was the second Mark’s. the first one was in Grass Valley, in an identical building.
Tragically, Stan was killed in the crash of his private plane in 1982. His widow sold and the store continued operating until 1990, when Doug McKesson bought the building, but not the entire parcel, to house his Goodtime Bicycle Company. McKesson sold to Dr. Rhonda Stallings and Rich Lee in 2000. A major remodel was necessary to convert the space. The new Arroyo veterinary Hospital opened in 2001.
1990s
2023
Appropriate, whimsical rafter-tails were added during the conversion to an animal hospital.
Digression the First: The original Arroyo Vet Hospital was started by Dr. Hansen 1979, in a building on Sonoma Highway at Arroyo Rd, which was probably built in the 1920s, and had housed various businesses including Becker’s Real Estate Agency. Dr. Rhonda Stallings took over from Dr. Hansen in 1997, the same year your correspondent moved into a house just a block up Arroyo Road. Imagine our sense of security knowing we could WALK our sick cat to the vet’s office. And thank you to Rhonda for saving Ralph’s life.
Ralph
1950s
Digression the Second: The photo below shows a streetlight proposed for the Redevelopment sidewalk project. This was offered by landscape architect Ron Wellander and installed in 1997. The design was not used. It stands today, in 2023, lonely, unlit.
The first hearings for the sidewalk project were held in 1984. The initial pilot project was completed in 2002. The entire project, two miles of sidewalks and streetlights, was finished (except for one very irritating and dangerous gap) in 2016. Thirty. two. years.
I can’t resist sharing this text from a Coldwell Banker website. The addresses represent the apartment site.
Please stay tuned to the Springs Museum. We aim to bring you all the best in local lore!
Thanks to Rich Lee and Doug McKesson for their memories
Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society
Zan postcard courtesy of Stanford University Library, Special Collections
UPDATE, September 17, 2023
According to Mrs. Mary Farrell’s obituary in the Index Tribune in January of 1956, her resort was “part of the former Appleton ranch.” Before Appleton, a certain ”Mrs. Loud came to California in 1864…Her husband was Alfred C. Loud, who settled on what was afterward the Appleton ranch.” Index Tribune of Jan 14,1922 obit of Mrs. Loud.
In the 1975 obituary for Appleton’s daughter, the renowned Carrie Burlingame, Horatio Appleton established his ranch “in the Springs area in 1865.” He was “a pioneer vineyardist and a descendant of the Greenleaf and Adams families of New England.” He was instrumental in identifying the Phylloxera louse that decimated American vineyards in the 19th century.
Appleton appears as a property owner on the Reynolds and Proctor maps of 1877 (65 acres) and 1889 (160 acres). (See below). According to the Index Tribune, in 1888: “Several new town sites have been laid out and surveyed in this valley the past few months…Verano is …another new town site which has lately been laid off on the Appleton and Burns places…” (see Boyes abstract map). Parts of the town of Verano (not El Verano), were later owned by Nathan Cantor and Selig Rosenthal. Some of this became the Acacia Grove mobile home park with a carve-out for the Grange in 1934. Read more about Rosenthal, et al, here.
in 1877 Horatio Appleton published a plat of a cemetery on part of his land. (see below)
1877 Reynolds and Proctor map. Sonoma Highway runs through the green area. Its left boundary is Sonoma Creek. Agua Caliente Creek, the south boundary of Appleton’s ranch, joins Sonoma Creek at the bottom of the green area.1880s map of Verano, oriented to match the first map. This was a fanciful depiction of a town that never existed as such, though it did have a railroad depot. Eventually, the “Town of Verano” moved or expanded to the south side of Agua Caliente Creek, as can be seen in the quad map below. The dark line is the approximate outline of the Appleton ranch.Rosenthal’s resort, 1934, showing the lots he sold to the Grange. Sonoma Highway is at left.Map from the abstract of title to Henry Boyes’ land. James Burns land is labeled. Appleton, next to it, is not. An abstract of title was a document used to prove ownership in the days before title insurance. More here.Appleton’s Oak Dale Cemetery, 1877. Another fanciful map.
Thanks to the Sonoma Valley Historical Society, for everything, really, and to the Rumsey Map Collection.
Bernard Cabanot was born in France in 1861 and came to the US in 1876. He lived and worked in San Francisco and Redwood City until 1914, when he came to Boyes Hot Springs and opened his French Resort. (There was another French Resort operated by the Dutil , Lounibos and Verdier families in El Verano. Please see: https://springsmuseum.org/2020/12/13/dutil-french-cottages-verdiers/)
“One block from the Northwestern Pacific station and the post office,” refers to the P.O. located at the Woodleaf Store.
He built several buildings in Boyes, including the Woodleaf Store, which was constructed in 1921 and rebuilt after the 1923 fire.
Woodleaf Store, Boyes Blvd. and Sonoma Highway, 1930s. This building still stands, part of the Sonoma Mission Inn.
We have images of two different buildings for the resort. The oldest ones are of pleasant one-story bungalows, dated 1919 (first two images). The second building is two stories and dates from 1925 (above).
According to the Index Tribune, Cabanot’s Resort was not destroyed by the great fire of 1923 so it’s possible the larger building was built along side of the smaller ones. Both places are described in ads as being “next to the theater,” which was at the corner of Boyes Blvd. and Gregor Street, where the apartment building is today.
The original Cabanot’s?Index Tribune
The two story became the Casa Blanca Apartments, by which name it is still known today (2022).
As of September 2022, major repairs were taking place. All the exterior siding was removed, plywood was applied as earthquake bracing, and new doors and window were being fitted. Not historic preservation but perseverance. With several nearby historic buildings being bulldozed recently, we will take what we can get.
Under Construction 2022
Thanks to Lorrie Baetge Fulton of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society for research help, and to the Gordon Lindberg Collection of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society, who also provided the Index Tribune material.
The fortunes of Boyes Hot Springs have waxed and waned. In the heyday of the resorts, it was a prosperous summer retreat. As the resorts declined, property values fell, and Boyes became “the other side of the tracks,” for a time gaining a reputation for being dangerous. The story goes that the State of California released parolees there because rents were so low, but in 1988 Sheriff Dick Michaelson told the Index Tribune “the practice ceased a couple of years ago.” When yours truly move there in 1997, the rumor was alive and well.
2007, Google Street View2009, Street View. The Barking Dog moved in 2004. here it sits empty.
In that year (1988) things were looking up for Boyes. Young people form San Francisco were discovering that they could afford to buy houses there. New businesses were opening, such as the Central Laundromat at the corner of Highway 12 and Central Avenue. But wane followed wax once again and the laundromat went out of business and the building stayed empty until the Barking Dog Roasters opened there in 1995. According to the Index Tribune, “ A building once held up as a bad example has received new life-and a major renovation…Barking Dog Roasters at 17999 Sonoma Highway was formerly the Central Laundromat-once pictured in this newspaper as an example of the problems along Highway 12 through Boyes Hot Springs. The new restaurant opened in mid-June, after a six-month renovation that involved new wiring, plumbing, flooring, interior plaster, and outside stucco….’It has been a real labor of love,’ Peter Hodgson (one of the owners) said.”
2008
“The Dog,” as we know it, moved to its present location on the corner of Vallejo in 2004. The original building then went into another decline, sitting empty until Karen Waikiki commenced her grand transformation of the structure into El Molino Central, which opened in 2010.
Kathleen Hill wrote in that year, “When asked how she chose the name, Waikiki told us that every town in Mexico used to have a “Molino” where people took their dried corn to have it ground into masa, a very important and essential function.”
Update: El Molino under construction 20102010
El Molino has been a huge success, even being declared the best Mexican restaurant in the Bay Area at one point. It continues to be packed with hungry people from all over the Bay Area and probably the world, given the restaurant’s proximity to the Sonoma Mission Inn.
20212016202120222022UPDATE: More recent photos of the flowers, courtesy of Mark, showing the leaves.UPDATE: More recent photos of the flowers, courtesy of Mark, showing the leaves.Art by Michael Acker
Sonoma Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society
In 1882 Captain Henry E. Boyes, a retired officer of the Indian Navy, arrived in Sonoma Valley with his wife Antoinette. Looking for a genteel and healthful retreat, they were persuaded by T. L. Leavenworth to buy 110 boggy acres of his 320-acre portion of the Rancho Agua Caliente land grant. After developing the hot springs as a resort, in 1902 he sold his portion of the corporation and built a grand house overlooking the springs, which he called El Mirador.
The house was the scene of “ many hospitable social affairs” according to the Index Tribune. On the evening of September 16, 1905, “El Mirador,” the beautiful home of Captain and Mrs. Boyes, was the scene of a delightful party…The home was brilliantly illuminated and decorated in waving palm branches, asparagus ferns and flowers…About sixty ladies and gentlemen were present…regular dancing (was) interspersed with clever vaudeville numbers…The hit of the evening was Jack Kelly, who sang several ragtime numbers…About 11:30 the doors of the dining room were thrown open and the guests invited to partake of a typical English supper, which was greatly enjoyed…Dancing was then continued and before the guests departed flash-light photographs were taken of the party.”
If only we had those photos!
In July of 1912 a farewell reception was held at El Mirador for the Boyes. After 30 years in the valley, they were departing for San Diego. Speeches were made and “dances and vocal solos by Mrs. Emparan and Miss Ramona Granice…” were enjoyed. Ominously in hindsight, the new owner of the house, Mr. Carlow, gave a “fire-extinguishing demonstration on the hillside.”
The house, along with many other buildings in Boyes Springs, burned in 1917. Antoinette Boyes died in San Diego, year unknown. Captain Boyes died in San Francisco in 1919.
The Mirador property was bounded by the present day streets Central Avenue, Vallejo Avenue, and Calle del Monte
In following years, the property was divided into several lots. Today Madera St. runs through it. Was this street the “approach” to El Mirador? Is the structure below the last visible remnant of the house?
Photo by author, 2022.
Index Tribune and photographs courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society.
UPDATE:
These images are from the Robert Parmelee collection, courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society.
Capt. Boyes, at Mirador, perhaps, with a pet. A cat perhaps?Map from an abstract of title, which was a legal document tracing ownership of land that was used before title searches were possible. It seems to show Boyes’ parcel where El Mirador was located, stating that it was 25 acres. the abstract is dated 1909. Notice that in that year, Agua Caliente was considered a town, Boyes Hot Springs just a resort encompassing a small(ish) piece of land.Cover of the somewhat lengthy abstract.
“Filterra is an engineered high-performance bioretention
system.” What is a bioretention system? Read on.
Location:El Molino restaurant at Central Ave.
How does Filterra work? Again, from the brochure:
“Stormwater enters the Filterra through a pipe, curb inlet, or sheet flow and ponds over the pretreatment mulch layer,
capturing heavy sediment and debris. Organics and microorganisms within the mulch trap and degrade metals and
hydrocarbons. The mulch also provides water retention for the system’s vegetation.
2. Stormwater flows through engineered Filterra media which filters fine pollutants and nutrients. Organic material in the
media removes dissolved metals and acts as a food source for root-zone microorganisms. Treated water exits through an
underdrain pipe or infiltrates (if designed accordingly).
3. Rootzone microorganisms digest and transform pollutants into forms easily absorbed by plants.
4. Plant roots absorb stormwater and pollutants that were transformed by microorganisms, regenerating the media’s
pollutant removal capacity. The roots grow, provide a hospitable environment for the rootzone microorganisms and
penetrate the media, maintaining hydraulic conductivity.
5. The plant trunk and foliage utilize nutrients such as Nitrogen and Phosphorus for plant health, sequester heavy metals into
the biomass, and provide evapotranspiration of residual water within the system.”
They filter out contaminants in storm water using plants, soil, and microorganisms. Clear?
Page one of the Storm Water Treatment Plan of the Highway 12 Redevelopment project for sidewalks and streetlights. Dated 9/30/08. The table lists eight Filterra units. This is for the first phase of the project. When the entire project was done, there were twenty-one.
Page two shows the units near Thompson St. the drawing shows two units at the parking lot. Only one was installed.
Filterra locations
There were two problems from the start: the trees were not watered, or not watered enough, in the months after they were planted, and they were repeatedly vandalized. Well, three problems actually. Some of the units were installed in sidewalks so narrow that you couldn’t easily push a baby carriage around them or walk two-abreast around them. This is particularly glaring on the west side of the bridge over Pequeno Creek.
The units on the Pequeño Creek bridge, west side. the removal of the tree in the foreground might be considered a practical adaptation rather than vandalism.
From the “Common Issues” section of the brochure:
“the most apparent sign of an issue with a Filterra is dead vegetation. A dead tree will not absorb any pollutants through its roots. If you notice any of these issues occurring in your system, or if you have recently installed a unit that needs maintenance, it’s time to call AQUALIS. Our maintenance and repair teams will ensure that your Filterra units are regularly inspected and operating at peak efficiency,” and
“Typically, using vegetation that naturally grows in the area is the best option, and there are specific plants required by the manufacturer. If you notice that the plant in your system is dying, it may be because the wrong type of vegetation is being used.” What species were used? I know one of the units contains nandina domestica, a decidedly non-native plant that has toxic berries and is considered invasive in some places in the U.S.
Current conditions of the plants in the Filterra units: 12 alive, 5 vandalized but still alive, 4 completely missing.
In 2021 your correspondent had this exchange with Supervisor Gorin’s office about maintenance along the highway.
My original question:
Hello,
Can you tell me who has responsibility for the areas between the sidewalks and the building along the highway in the Springs? These areas are always full of weeds and look terrible. A Caltrans worker told me the County was responsible per an agreement. At any rate, nobody is paying attention to them. Also those “Filterra” trees need attention. Thanks!, Mike
From: Karina.Garcia@sonoma-county.org
Mike,
Below the response from TPW:
…the trees in the filterra bioswales in the sidewalk are the responsibility of the county. Evidently, these trees have been repeatedly destroyed/broken by the public. Anything behind the sidewalk is the responsibility of each property owner. This means that the property owners are responsible for the grass strips noted below. Thanks!
On behalf of Supervisor Gorin thank you reaching out and bringing this matter to our attention. We also thank you for providing a clear description and picture.
Your email was shared with our Caltrans contacts as well as Sonoma County Transportation and Public Works. I am including Arielle Kubu-Jones and Hannah Whitman from our office for follow up, as I will be out of the office for a week starting Tuesday.
Kindly,
Karina
My answer: Thanks for your reply Karina. That the areas in question are the responsibility of the property owners does not square with the fact that Caltrans cleaned up a large strip in Agua Client a few months ago. At the time, the worker told me it was really the county’s responsibility, but they were doing it. However, if it really is the responsibility of the property owners, how can the County help inform and coordinate efforts at clean up and beatification? Whoever has the legal responsibility, it’s a community matter that effects us all. We fought long and hard for the sidewalks and street lights and are happy to have them, but these eyesore diminish that positive impact. Below is an example of the cleanup Caltrans did in July. (Image)
Actually, Caltrans was cleaning up the sidewalk of debris that has fallen from the private property along side. But my comment about this being a community matter, no matter who is responsible for what, stands. The County should lead on this, as on many other matters on which they are hands–off.
J.W. Minges was a prominent business man and property owner of the Boyes Hot Springs community from 1905 through 1927.
According to the 1920 census, John W. Minges was born in Arkansas in 1845, although his obituary says New Orleans. He came to California with his family by ox team in that year, over the southern route, to Los Angeles. They later moved to Merced, then Stockton, where he lived for many years and operated the San Joaquin Hotel.
San Joaquin Hotel, Stockton, circa 1875. University of the Pacific Library.
In 1905 he moved to Boyes Hot Springs. There he invested in real estate and built many cottages for the summer trade. His cottages were equipped with “all the modern improvement, including electric lights, water, and sleeping porches,” according to a brochure.
His original restaurant (“meals at all hours”) was located at the corner of Central Avenue and the “Santa Rosa-Sonoma Road,” where the old fire station (Voltaire Electric) now stands.
The sign next to the entry arch for Woodleaf Park advertises Minges “Summer and Winter cottages”. circa 1910. Courtesy of Lloyd Cripps.
In 1922 Minges, as president of the Boyes Springs New Improvement Club, presided over a gala Mayday carnival, which featured a parade, athletics, an airplane exhibition, and a carnival ball.
Most of his property burned in the great fire of 1923, but he started to rebuild immediately. “Boyes will rise from the ashes again,” he said in the Index Tribune. “Fire cannot rob us of our mineral springs, our climate and the whole-souled people who abide here. No siree!”
He was such a booster of Boyes Springs that he was often called its “mayor” in the Index Tribune.
Minges died in 1931 in Oakland.
UPDATE/AFTERTHOUGHT
This “auto court” at the corner of Highlands and Vallejo could have been built by Minges after the 1923 fire. Almost certainly it is not a fire survivor. The present-day Vallejo Ave. enters the Highway right at the site of the Arch (see map).
Photos from author’s collection. Map courtesy Phil Danskin. Index Tribune courtesy Sonoma Valley Historical Society
The building now know as 18135 Highway 12, in Boyes Hot Springs, is one of the oldest commercial buildings in the community. The original business, Kramer’s Inn, goes back at least to 1918. That building was destroyed in the great fire of September 1923 and the current one dates from that year.
1938, 1950s, 1960s, 2021. Valley Hardware was in a building where the glass company (blue awnings, top photo) is now. It was right next to Gallo Bros. car dealership. This composite shows the building after it was sold to Esposito. Read on.
The sign says “Kramer’s Inn, Stage Depot.” Before or after the fire of 1923? The top of the façade looks like the later building, but we don’t know that he didn’t rebuild to duplicate the one that was destroyed. Anyway, what an interesting bunch of folks. All men but two. I particularly like the two guys in the center, one draping his arms over the other.What occasioned this group photo?
Probably 1920s. Notice the Greyhound sign top right.
Immediately after the fire there was great determination to rebuild. Kramer set up his temporary store right away.
“The ashes at Boyes Springs were hardly cold before many of the enterprising property owners and business people began to re-establish themselves and put up buildings. Kramer, the grocer is doing business in a tent and will rebuild at once.” Index Tribune September 1923. October 20, 1923: “The Kramer store is nearing completion and many other improvements are contemplated as soon as the new state highway grade is authoritatively established.” Yes, this is incredibly fast construction! Remember, no permits were required.
In 1924, Kramer improved the store with a stucco front. In 1930, he became Greyhound agent for the Springs.
Noble Kramer was born in 1878 in Ohio. He came to California with his wife Luisa and daughter Lucille sometime before 1920. He had some political ambitions. In 1942 he ran for judge but was not elected. He ran for judge and county clerk several times without success, and applied to become the postmaster of Boyes Hot springs in the year the job was awarded to Marion Greene, of the Woodleaf Market.
In 1938 Kramer sold to A. Desposito who renamed it the Boyes Springs Store.
Photograph by “Art Ray.”
Noble Kramer Died 1948.
In 1942 Mike and Rose Gitti took over and ran the store as Mike and Rose’s Market. They retired in 1959. At that point (in 1959)the IT says “The store is now being remodeled and will be the new location of the Ammann’s Boutique women’s shop, which in the future will also carry a line of men’s clothing. The Gittis came to the Springs area in 1941 from San Rafael and Mike, who has been in the butcher trade since 1933, was employed at the Woodleaf Market until the couple opened their own store.” IT Jan 22, 1959
Zan Stark photo showing Mike and Roses’ Market across the street from the Sonoma Mission Inn and next door to Valley Hardware and Gallo’s. It’s difficult to see but the hardware store has a Sherwin Williams “Cover the Earth” sign.
After 1959 there is a blank in the record.
We pick up the trail again in 1973. In June of that year the building housed The Bookworm used bookstore.
In August of 1975 we find Pam’s Professional Grooming in residence.
July 1977 finds Crafty’s, a store selling dolls, dollhouses, and little bitty furniture.
February, 1978 Better Homes Realty takes over the space. They remain until December of 1979, when Bill Coombs, real estate agent, puts his franchise up for sale for $6,000.
Apparently that did’t work out because Coombs transitioned into the used record business using his former realty office. In March of 1981 he transferred that business to Jared Simpson who operated it as “Love Me Two Times” (obviously he was a Doors fan.)
The next mention in the IT is in 1991, when it was listed as a residence in a crime report.
It was again vacant of businesses, as far as we know, during the years-1990-2005.
In the 21st Century
Jim Valavanis opened his Tattoos parlor in July 2005. It closed in 2009.
Mas por Menos, an all-purpose business catering to Spanish speaking people took the space in 2009. They cashed checks, provided email, fax and Internet services, sold phone cards, provided “envois de dinero” and even sold airline tickets. Unfortunately they lasted only a year, but they did do some much needed maintenance to the facade.
In 2010 Lonesome Cowboy Ranch, purveyors of vintage Western wear and memorabilia set up shop and did well until 2020, when they closed.
Today we are lucky to have Heritage Furniture. They make the classic Adirondack chair using high-tech laser cutting and CAD design. We wish them success and a long tenure at 18135 Sonoma Highway.
Just because I’m a glutton for punishment, I include here the clip from the IT from 1959 where they use the term “THE SPRINGS.” It wasn’t invented last year people!
Photographs and Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society and author’s collection.
“A $12,987 contract for rebuilding the Boyes boulevard bridge across Sonoma Creek, near the Bath House in Boyes Hot Springs, was awarded by the county supervisors last week…The contractor will use existing abutments and piers for the bridge and will use but relocate existing steel stringer and add a reinforced concrete deck and sidewalks.”
Thursday, March 3, 1955. Work was “in high gear” on the new Boyes Blvd. bridge.The caption notes that motorist will be forced to use “Verano Drive or Santa Rosa Avenue” to cross the creek. Verano Drive is now Verano Blvd. and Santa Rosa Avenue is West Agua Caliente Road.
Work went fast: On April 17th we learn,
“New Boyes Bridge May Open to Traffic This Weekend.”
“Possibility that the brand new bridge across Sonoma Creek at Boyes Boulevard, near the Bath House, will be open to traffic on Saturday was seen this week.
Painting of the new steel barriers and upper portion was completed on Tuesday with only the sand blasting and painting of the steel sections beneath the bridge remaining.
Normally, twenty-one days is allowed for the concrete to set after the deck has been poured. If this procedure were followed, the bridge would not open until next Monday. However, due to the excellent weather and the fact that the Boyes Hot Springs Bath House and facilities will be open for the season on Saturday, this weekend may possibly see the new bridge in use.
The Fred Fedenburg firm of Temple City has been the contractor for the $12,987 project, which was stared the last week of February.”
The work was fast because they did not replace the abutments, unlike the current project for which massive new concrete supports were poured. Still, the end of February to the end of April is rapid!
Fast forward to the year 2000. It was proposed to widen the bridge to three lanes, but neighbors worried about increased traffic.
That project never came to pass.
In December 2020 the County sent this notice informing us of a big step in the construction of the NEW new bridge.
We first learned of the current bridge project in July of 2019, when the Sonoma County Department of Transportation told the Index Tribune that the Boyes Blvd. bridge was “functionally obsolete.”
“The new replacement bridge will comply with current roadway, drainage and bridge standards…; it will not increase vehicular capacity but will provide shoulders for bicycles and a five-foot wide sidewalk for pedestrians” the IT reported.
Engineering work started in 2013. The funds were allocated in July of 2019.
“The entire project is expected to cost $5.13 million, almost 13 percent higher than originally estimated. Additional costs are said to stem from the temporary pedestrian bridge which will also provide a structure for water, gas and electric relocations, and the water systems improvements by the Valley of the Moon Water District (VOMWD).”
“Commencement of construction of the project has been delayed due to, among other things, a lengthy negotiation with a neighboring homeowners’ association in 2018,” said the summary report.
The “other things” causing delay now include a world-wide pandemic and a bad fire season in 2020. Currently the bridge is scheduled to open in July of this year (2021).
The Bridge, looking west, March of 2019Looking east, 2008
The photos below span November 2019 through April, 2021.
Bonus slideshow of arty construction images! You’re welcome.
springs museum 