Mendocino Hotel, Mendocino

The owners of the Hotel hired Alice to assess the historic character of the building as required by their application for a loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A hotel has occupied this site in downtown Mendocino since December 1878 when Ben Bever commissioned the construction of the “Central House” hotel and boarding house. That hotel burned in February 1880 and was rebuilt by the Bevers in September 1880. Following the Bevers’ retirement in 1904, John Silvia purchased the building remodeled the building. Between 1904 - 1907 Silvia added the decorative shaped shingles and the deep porch. He retained the basic design of the 1880 false front façade. The property was renamed the “Hotel Mendocino” in 1927. The property underwent several major renovations between 1963 and 1974. The rear of the building was totally rebuilt, but the primary elevation with its signature false front was retained and restored.

The hotel is listed as a contributing element to the “Mendocino and Headlands National Register District.” Alice clarified that the hotel meets both the National Register and California Register criteria for “historically significant” because of its association with the commercial development of the town of Mendocino and because of its architectural merits as an example of a turn of the century hotel (1904-1907). Though the front façade is all that remains of its early structure, this part of the hotel has sufficient physical integrity to convey its historic origins.