A view of Main Street in Mendocino, c. 1920, looking west. On the right or north side of the street, the Central Hotel with its balcony can be seen in the front right of the photograph. Next to it is the former OK Saloon, then the Pioneer Drugstore Building, then the Remedy Store, then the two-story Jarvis-Nichols Building that had Burtt Elliott’s General Store at this time. The Bank Building with its rounded front corner can be seen on the corner of Kasten Street.
The buildings on the left (south side of Main Street) were owned and leased out by the Union Lumber Company and were demolished over time, the last one going in 1961. The land is now the Mendocino Headlands Park, a part of the California State Park system. At this time, the building on the left foreground is the two-story Templar’s Hall, whose first floor was occupied by Catherena Brothers Sweet Shop and the rooms upstairs rented to the Mendocino Chamber of Commerce, the Study Club and professionals. Next, the Post Office with its flagstaff out front, followed by a small office building, the Stone Jewelry Store, then the City Meat Market, and finally a building that would house the the Mendocino Lumber Company Office. (Kelley House Collection, Kelley House Photographs)
Look Tin Eli: The Mendocino Visionary Who Helped Shape the Chinese-American Experience by Robert S. Becker and Jane Tillis – The life of Mendocino-born visionary Look Tin Eli was one of national significance. As a teenager returning home from China in 1884, his illegal detention instigated a court battle, culminating in the state’s legal precedent granting full citizenship for all native-born Californians. After the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, he was instrumental in establishing Chinatown as a business center and tourist destination. He founded the first Chinese-owned bank, the Canton Bank of San Francisco, and he started the China Mail steamship company. With almost fifty historic images, this first book-length profile of Look Tin Eli brings to life the cultural and commercial achievements of this remarkable trailblazer. $25.