Eureka Waterfront Neighborhood, c 1870

I kind of get the feeling I’ve posted this one before but I love it.

Maybe it is the market basket on the porch. The clotheslines or eerily empty street. The lovely architectural detail or pretty little fence in front of the house on the left (the house on the right seems to have copied the same style).  Dunno, but I like it.  Hope others do too.

Click on the photo to enlarge and see more detail.

4th & F Streets, Eureka, c. 1945

The “Monkey Wards” (what my dad called it when I was growing up) on the right is certainly not the flat-roofed monstrosity I remember from when I was a kid (was located where Target is now for those who are newer to the area).

Nice to see that the Eureka Theater hasn’t really changed. Folks have actually been working for a while now to restore the theater and the volunteer effort is coming along quite nicely. Learn more about the restoration effort and how you can help HERE.

The Old Mining Town of Trinidad

Two-Story Dwelling for $1,830

Thanks to Hans Koster of Sunnyfortuna.com for this one.

Classified ad was in the Eel River Advance,  May 30, 1896

Not all change is bad-The Old Daly’s Store

This just wasn’t pretty.

But this is.

So I was feeling all clever and original in creating this post until I picked up the latest local book by Arcadia Publishing–this one is a “Then & Now” (mostly) photo book of Eureka written by local photographer (and now author) Scott H. Brown.  Scott shows almost exactly what I posted above on page 54-but since his book is already published. he clearly came up with it first–and his photos include interesting info like the Daly brothers came from Ireland to Eureka in 1892, established the Daly’s Dept. Store and that when the chain of five Daly’s stores closed in 1995, it was Northern California’s oldest independently owned department store chain.

Scott’s book is cool. Seriously. It is full of historic images (anywhere from 50 to 150 years old) contrasted with present-day photos. He also has great info in the captions. Scott works at Old Town Coffee and Chocolates and you can find him, signed copies of his book,  and a great mocha or cup of tea there.

Thought I saw a Bistrins Bag

Driving through downtown Eureka the other day I thought I spotted an old blue and gold plastic Bistrins bag dancing in the wind.  It was really just one more piece of discarded trash but it made me nostalgic for some of the old stores that just aren’t around any more.

The following comes from the Times Standard archives:    Harry Bistrin – Longtime Humboldt County residents will immediately recognize the name “Bistrin.” Bistrin and his brother Herman owned and operated 23 retail clothing stores known as “Meyer Bistrins,” carrying on a family business that his parents, Lily and Aaron Bistrin, started in Eureka just six months after his birth in 1927. After retirement, Bistrin served as a top aide to state Sen. Barry Keene and district representative for state legislators Virginia Strom-Martin, Patty Berg and others. He died May 19 at the age of 83.

I’ll attach more Bistrin info at the of the post, but here is Fortuna’s Meyer Bistrins on the left (photo credit to Hans Koster of sunnyfortuna.com.  He actually dug this one up for me by request. Thanks Hans !) Oh, and I just noticed Bon Boniere FOUNTAIN on the right…

And to add to my list of serendipitous history happenings:

I finished a first draft of this post early last week and then stopped at a yard sale last Friday where I found this:

I am sure the woman manning the sale thought I was crazy to want it but I just couldn’t resist.

Times Standard Obituary for Harry Bistrin

Harry Bistrin died in his sleep early Thursday, May 19, 2011, at age 83 in Eureka, where he grew up and lived until moving to the Ukiah Valley more than 20 years ago.

Herrick Avenue Exit, South Eureka, c.1950

If you keep clicking to enlarge the photo, I believe you’ll see the back of this Elk River building, which was painted by my friend Frank Speck.

The sign pointing the way to Falk is also pretty cool and reminds me of the Hwy 101/299 interchange in 1933

Great Photo of Falk, 1912

Written on image “photo by S.U. Bunnell 1912 #67 Falk p.77″

I’ve seen many photos of Falk (and posted some) but this is one of the best I’ve seen.

For those unfamiliar with our area, Falk was deep in the Elk River Valley, just south east of Eureka-a lumber town established in the 1800s and razed after it was abandoned years later. You can see remnants of the town and read about the history by visiting the Headwater’s Reserve which cuts through the old town site. It has a nice mile of paved trail (easy to do even after a recent rain) and miles more of a dirt and gravel path.

Building Local Businesses

I have been trying to think of how to give an upcoming North Coast SBDC Procurement Fair a historical perspective and though I probably could-exploring the evolution of small business in Humboldt County, etc., I think I’ll just go ahead and say that the North Coast Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and North Coast Lead Center are clients and I am helping to promote a Procurement Fair happening in March that offers local businesses an opportunity to connect with government and institutional buyers and open new doors to sales opportunities.

Oh, for historical context, see this blog entry about the Stump House.  I don’t know that they could have survived with help with the North Coast SBDC,  but they might have…

Learn more about the Procurement Fair by calling North Coast SBDC Director Michael Kraft at (707)445-1163 or emailing him at kraft@northcoastsbdc.org.

You can also just register for the workshop (which will be great) by clicking HERE. There is no charge to attend.

Trinidad Town Hall-Before the Tennis Courts

Granted, it it now too late to help get the word out about the concert I attended in this building yesterday but it was a packed house anyway (Good job to Julie Fulkerson and all the other organizers).  In Love with the Muse Piano Voce was a benefit for the new Trinidad library and was held in the (old) Trinidad Town Hall.  I noticed the wonderfully wavy windows as I listened to the music.

According the photo source (HSU Special Collections), the hall was probably built about 1915. “Trinidad in early days had one telephone at McConnaha’s store on the Bay at Trinity and Edwards corner,” the HSU site also tells us.