Category Archives: mid-century

Architecture, Boyes Hot Springs, History, mid-century, People, Personal History

Farrells Resort/Mark’s Sporting Goods/Goodtime Bicycle Company/Arroyo Veterinary Hospital /Senior Apartments,

and a few digressions

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

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Boyes Hot Springs, mid-century, People

The Valley of the Moon Review

The weekly Valley of the Moon Review was founded in Boyes Hot Springs in 1946 by Colonel E.A. Little. Zan Stark and his son, A.J. Stark Jr., bought the paper in 1953. They turned it into a daily in 1958. The paper ceased publication in 1961. Zan Sr. was a well known publisher of “real picture post cards” of Northern California scenes. He died in Sonoma in 1977. As noted in the article about the history of the paper, their offices and printing plant were on Sonoma Highway, “across from Calle del Monte.”

The office of the Valley of the Moon Review is at left. This photo was taken by Zan’s partner Ed Wood.

Copies of the paper are scarce. The Sonoma Historical Society recently came into possession of a few of them. Among them, very fortunately, was the front page of the last edition of the weekly paper before it changed to a daily. It is signed, with an inscription, by Zan Stark Jr. who was publisher and editor.

The daily paper covered national news as well as local. Many stories from United Press International may reflect Zan Jr.’s eventual employment by them. He later became the bureau chief of UPI in Portland, Oregon.

Stay tuned for more from this trove of Boyes Hot Springs history!

Newspaper images courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society

Post card image courtesy of Stanford University Library, Special Collections

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Boyes Hot Springs, History, mid-century, People, Place Names/Street Names

The Larsons of Boyes Hot Springs

Keller’s opened in 1938. Photo by Art-Ray

In April of 1939 the Index Tribune reported “The Larson brothers of Hopland have leased “Keller’s” at Boyes Hot Springs.” The Larson family, including Oscar’s wife Ophelia, came to California from Wisconsin around 1939.

Oscar Larson  promptly changed “Keller’s” to the C.O.G. Club, for Cal, Oscar and Gary Larson. The club was located near the corner of Vallejo St. and Sonoma Highway in the current Barking Dog Roaster space. 

In 1942 they celebrated the fourth anniversary of the club with a Swedish smorgasbord.

Also in 1939, they bought a stucco house on property near the corner of Verde Vista and Arroyo Rd. in Boyes Hot Springs. The house was known by neighbors as “Larson’s Villa,” and by the Larson family as “Valhalla.” The house still stands in 2021, though the land was sold and subdivided in 1989 and new houses were built. The original stone walls and pillars, some fairly recently restored, still grace the street, and continue to cause curiosity. Other stone work has not survived.

Larson family members called this the “Sonoma Star.”
Entrance to “Larson Villa,” 1942. These gate pillars still stand.

Gary Larson via email, 2018:

I remember the house well. We visited it as late as 1989 and held a small family reunion there right before they sold it. I believe an article was written in the local paper. I will never forget as kids playing in the canals (See Lily Creek!) that ran under the driveway and the beautiful stone star at the bottom of the hill. There was one big tree that was on the edge of the property that they told us was a redwood. Ophelia’s home was warm. She played piano.

“MoMo” Larson with Gary and Danette Larson.

There was a bar in the corner of the living room for entertainment. There was a grill and huge outside patio and an apartment in the back. She always had a closet full of toys for us kids. We has a wonderful Christmas there one year in the 1960s.

Dad would put us to work raking and cleaning the yard when we would come to visit. Oh to be able to go back and visit my grandmother as an adult…I would have so much fun listening to the stories of their lives.

In 1949 Oscar and Ophelia Larson sold the club to Denny Coleman to concentrate on running  Larson’s Sporting Goods and Liquor store, which he had opened in 1945, next door to the club.

Oscar Larson was very involved in civic groups. In 1943 he was elected president of the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce. Other board members included luminaries whose names are still known in the Valley: Rudy Licthenberg, Dr. Andrews, Vic Leveroni, I.S. Shainsky, and John Dowdall.

In 1945 the Valley of the Moon Recreation District was formed. Oscar Larson was appointed to establish the district. In 1951 the district acquired four acres along Sonoma Creek in Fetters Hot Springs for development as a park.  In 1955 the Lion’s Club erected a concrete block building for park use.

Larson Park building at the time of its dedication, 1955.

In 1959, what had been known as “Park #1,” was officially named Larson Park to honor Oscar Larson, who died in May of that year.

Iris Larson, Gary’s mother, 92 years old in 2019, told me via phone that Oscar bought war surplus houses from Mare Island and brought them to BHS. He installed them on lots he owned on Second Avenue. Some he joined together or stacked.

House on Second Avenue, Boyes Hot Springs, possibly brought from Mare Island by Oscar Larson.

UPDATE: The Larson stonework in 2021.

Photographs courtesy of Gary Larson and author’s collection. Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society.

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Architecture, Boyes Hot Springs, History, mid-century, Now and Then

KRAMER’S INN

2021

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.

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Architecture, Boyes Hot Springs, History, mid-century, Now and Then, Place Names/Street Names

The Once and Future Boyes Boulevard Bridge

It was a different experience in 1955

On February 17, 1955, the Index Tribune reported

“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 2019
Looking east, 2008

The photos below span November 2019 through April, 2021.

Bonus slideshow of arty construction images! You’re welcome.

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Architecture, Boyes Hot Springs, History, mid-century, People

Marion Greene

Update: please also see https://springsmuseum.org/2018/11/07/the-woodleaf-store-big-three/ for the post about the Woodleaf Store.

Film magnates, fatal accidents and paved (!) highways share space with the beginning of Marion Greene’s career as postmaster.  (Stay tuned for the story about the film magnates.) And, yes, they called it the “Springs” in 1923.

Marion Greene was a businesswomen of Boyes Hot Springs in the mid-twentieth century.  Many women were prominent in business around this time. Mary  Fazio of Mary’s Pizza Shack, Pine Wagner, the pharmacist,  and Jerry Casson were her contemporaries. Emma Fetters was a few years earlier, Juanita Musson a bit later. In 1947 she became a founding member of the Sonoma Valley business and Professional Women’s club. 75 women attend the first meeting.

In November of 1923, Marion Lovett Greene, proprietor of the Woodleaf Store, was appointed acting post master of the Boyes Hot Springs post office and was waiting to take the exam to qualify as the permanent post master.  There as quite a bit of competition for the job among local grocers, the Index Tribune noted. ”Postage stamp sales lead to pork-and-bean sales and love letter inquiries increase pickles sales, so naturally the store keepers want to serve Uncle Sam’s patrons, even if the salary of post master itself is not very remunerative.”  She did become the regular post master and stayed in the job until at least 1939.

Marion Greene in 1925, in her original Woodleaf Market.

Her Woodleaf store was in the Kellar building in 1932, we are told. The same year she move “across the street” to the Putnam building, which presumably was the building at the corner of Boyes Blvd and Sonoma highway,  where the Woodleaf Store stayed as it later became the Big Three. In 1938 Ms. Greene was appointed the Greyhound Bus agent for the Springs as well.

Woodleaf Store, 1930s.
The Woodleaf in 1956, after Ms. Green’s tenure.

The interior of the Woodleaf Store in 1956. This would be in the Big Three building on the corner of Hwy 12 and Boyes Blvd. Mrs. Greene was no longer owner, but she would have approved of the modern appointments.

Mrs. Greene served as president of the Sonoma County Grocers Association and the state association, and was active in the California Post Masters Association.

She was named Outstanding citizen of the year 1948  by the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce. In 1949, as chair of the Travel and Recreation Committee, she spearheaded the effort to establish the Valley of the Moon Scenic Route along Highway 12. As part of her duties with the Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Greene appeared on Paul Marcucci’s radio show, broadcast from his resort.

Marion Greene, left, with Paul Marcucci, at Paul’s Resort, 1950s. Courtesy of Eve Marcucci. See https://springsmuseum.org/2018/12/28/pauls-resort/

Marion Greene built two houses in Boyes Hot Springs in  the 1940s. In 2019 Marion’s grand- daughter came to Boyes Hot Springs to sell the houses that her grandmother built and gave us a tour. The interiors were all Ms. Greene’s design, and quite charming, featuring custom cabinets and many built-ins.

One of the houses was cited in the 1994 Design Guidelines for the Redevelopment Project for showing “eclectic charm” .

An artifact found in the out-buildings attested to Ms. Greene’s involvement with local development and business.

In 1949 local boosters celebrated the “centennial” of Boyes Hot Springs. This is puzzling since Captain Boyes did not arrive until 1885, however, they were dating from the arrival of T.M. Leavenworth, who bought hundreds of acres in the Rancho Agua Caliente from Vallejo in 1849. See Leavenworth’s House.

The commemorative tie features the image of a mule because that was the mascot of Boyes Springs at the time. Mules live long lives, but it’s doubtful Peskie was still there in 1949.

Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society. Photographs by author and from author’s collection.

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El Verano, History, mid-century, People, Resorts

Dutil/French Cottages/Verdier’s

The “French Colony” of Sonoma Valley included the Dutil, Lounibos, and Verdier families. The Lounibos’ arrived from France in 1873, the Dutils and Verdiers in 1893. (A different Verdier family came from France to San Francisco in 1850. They founded the City of Paris department store.)

By 1900 Jean and Anna Dutil were running a boarding house in El Verano, and improving it. “J. Dutil received a carload of lumber here Monday with which he will build a five room annex to his private boarding house in this place,”  wrote the Index Tribune.  After construction was complete, “Doc Wilson is painting J. Dutil’s villa. The colors are red white and blue.”

In 1902 “Mons J. Dutil, mine host of the French Cottage [as it was now called] will commence the erection of a large hotel in this place in a few days.”

Mrs. Anna Dutil died in 1943. According to the IT, she was 80 years old and came from Lyon France “fifity years ago,” ie, 1893.  “she and her husband founded the French Cottage, one Sonoma Valley’s first summer resorts, now Verdier’s.”

Post marked 1912.

According to historian Joan Lounibos, the Verdiers, Paul and his wife, worked for the Dutils at the boarding house, and, by 1922, they were the proprietors. “Mr. and Mrs. P. Verdier of the popular resort, the French Cottage, are making many improvements about the grounds, laying out beautiful gardens, painting the different buildings and getting ready for the coming season.”

By 1929, the resort was called Verdier’s. In the spring of that year, the Young Ladies Institute “enjoyed a bounteous repast at Verdier’s French cottage. The tables were beautifully decorated with daffodils and smilax, and the menu was elaborate, with chicken, ravioli and French pastry.”

1930s

1939-Paul Verdier makes more improvements

Paul Verdier died in 1945. His daughter and her husband, John Piro, take over and manage the resort until 1962. During this period, the resort was extensively photographed by Zan Stark. Several elaborate brochures were produced also.

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Architecture, Fetters Hot Springs, History, mid-century, People

From Tripp’s to El Brinquito

The store at the corner of Highway 12 and Depot Road in Fetters Hot Springs has been important in that community since at least the 1950s. Fetters Food Mart is first mentioned in the Index Tribune in 1952. The owner at that time is not mentioned, but we know that changed in 1956 when Mr. and Mrs. Roger Cleland sold to Mr. and Mrs. Victor Frolich, “formerly of Lodi.”

In 1963 the Tripp family took over.

 

Sharon Williams via Facebook: “This great photo was in the Our Supporter’s section of the 1965 El Padre. It is Tripp’s Corner Grocery, on Hwy 12, and we have Shirleen (Tripp) Perry (class 1966,) her brothers, plus Robin Dodson (1966) holding the dog.” (Cecil Tripp, owner, is at right.) The Nasso’s building can be seen in the background.

In February, 1966 the Index Tribune informs “the store is now operated by Mrs. Fena Parise, of Santa Rosa.”

“Opposite Nasso’s Gift House”

And in June 1967, “George Raby has taken over the former Fena’s Grocery at 17380 Sonoma Hwy., Fetters Springs. To be known as George’s Grocery, the store is on the corner of the road that goes down to Flowery School and is directly opposite Mountain Avenue. Raby formerly operated a grocery store in Boyes Springs and prior to that had one at Hooker Oaks.”



From the 1980s until 2005 it was known as Mike’s Market.

2005 First mention of El Brinquito. Photo 2008, Nasso’s building still standing.
Photo 2008

Rico Martin’s whimsical albeit controversial designs were introduced in 2015.

The Nasso’s building was replaced by the Vialetti family’s new structure, which was completed in 2019.

Bonus: Nasso’s ad from 1963

Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society.

Photographs by author. Yearbook photo from the “You Know you’re From Sonoma When” Facebook page.

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Architecture, Boyes Hot Springs, El Verano, Entertainment, History, mid-century, People, Sports

May 28, 1959

This day, sixty one years ago. Eighteen pages in the issue. What happened that day? Things small and large, meaningful and trivial. Presented with just a few comments and notes.

1959052800000200-2.pdf

Valley Mourns Oscar Larson-See page 14 for an editorial appreciation of this important figure in mid-twentieth century Boyes Hot Springs.

Incorporation, Bank sought at Boyes –“’A committee to form a committee’” to work for incorporation of Boyes Hot Springs as a full-fledged city, was appointed Tuesday at noon meeting of the Boyes Hot Springs Merchants Association, held at Sonoma Mission Inn.” Zan Stark Jr., Harry Phinney and Milton Greger were appointed to “establish a “citizens committee” to “sell” the incorporation plan in the area.”

Page 21959052800001200-2.pdf

More about Oscar Larson. Dr. Ronald Scott fished in Oregon. Big News! (Oregon keeps coming up in this issue.)

Page 31959052800002200-1.pdf

You could get a permit to burn things.

Page 41959052800003200-1.pdf

“Never used anything like it,” say users of Berlou mothspray, odorless, stainless, and guaranteed to stop moths for five whole years. Simmons Pharmacy, WE 8-2039.

Page 51959052800004200-1.pdf

“Bob Fouts, sportscaster for the San Francisco 49ers and other athletic events of both radio and television, plans to spend the summer in the Valley of the Moon, the Index Tribune learned this week. Fouts, his wife and five children will reside in the Bel Aire development near the Sonoma golf Course, where they will temporarily rent a home during the summer months.” Just a few years later, Dan Fouts would be starring at quarterback for the University of Oregon, which is mentioned page 17.

Page 6

1959052800005200-1.pdf

Mary’s opens!

Page 71959052800006200-2.pdf

Merchants meeting continued:

“Help from an outside source in the merchants’ fight to retain the identity of the Boyes Hot Springs Post office came at the meeting when Harry Kay of Santa Rosa, member of the State and County Democratic Central committee pledged his aid.”

Page 81959052800007200-1.pdf

Page 91959052800008200-1.pdf

“The El Verano Improvement club members will meet on June 12 at the clubhouse on Riverside Drive.”

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“Key figures in Valley of the Moon Little League…Gene Morreton, August Sebastiani, J. Bettencourt, C.M. Marsh, Carl Ellason, Betty Thomas, Thelma Ashley, Paul Marcucci Sr., Bud Butts…”

Page 111959052800010200-2.pdf

“New Safeway Store to be Discussed By City Planners”, “No Setting Aside of Prunes This Year.”

Page 121959052800011200-1.pdf

Page 131959052800012200-2.pdf

Mario Ciampi is recognized in Life Magazine for design of Sassarini Elementary School.

Page 141959052800013200-2.pdf

Oscar Larson remembered. A letter to the editor about Valley Unification.

Page 151959052800014200-1.pdf

Page 161959052800015200-1.pdf

Justin Murray Combo at the Palms Inn!

Page 171959052800016200-1.pdf

“Dr. and Mrs. Michael Mikita of Sobre Vista returned home recently after spending five days in Eugene, Oregon, visiting their son, Michael who is a freshman at the University of Oregon.”

Page 181959052800017200-1.pdf

Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society

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Architecture, Boyes Hot Springs, History, mid-century

A Short History, with a gap, of 18350 Sonoma Highway

How old does something have to be to be considered “historic?”

18350SonomaHwy

Index Tribune courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Historical Society

The modern commercial building, with housing in back, was built in 1960 by real estate agent W. A. McFarlane. McFarlane practiced his profession through the 1960s, possibly at other locations. He died in 1975.

The gap in this story is a long one; between the 1960s and 2000, when Nola Lum Hsu filed her Fictitious Business Name statement for the Golden Garden Restaurant. It’s also during this period that the brick-faced addition appeared.

ThailandThai2008

Thailand Thai took over from Golden Garden in 2008.

Castner2010

The building was vacant in 2010 but Norm Owens was getting ready to open his Hot Box Grill that year.

HotBoxGrillSFGate

According to Sonoma Magazine

Former Cafe La Haye chef Norman Owens has opened Hot Box Grill in Sonoma — technically Boyes Hot Springs — in what’s fast becoming a gourmet gulch. The Aqua (SF) and Canlis (Seattle)  alum garnered serious cred while in the Sonoma kitchen before leaving.

FlyingPig2016 copy

Chef Rob Larman opened Cochan Volant in 2016, complete with the flying pig sculpture by Brian Tedrick, on the roof. In 2020, it continues to pump out fragrances that stimulate the salivary glands.

Please comment if you can fill in the gaps in the story of this building.

Hot Box Grill photo courtesy of Sonoma Magazine.

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