Volunteering for a local group who are trying to restore the historic Herrick building in Placerville… also known as the Hangman’s Tree site. Here are some photos of yesterdays tour with several restoration contractors. It would be great to save it. The California Preservation Foundation, the owner of the building, and other local citizens have brought in experts to begin a Scope Of Work needed to restore it.
Note: First black and white photo shows the Herrick building in late 1800′s (aprox). It’s the building on left side of pic. The photo is from an unknown source. It was emailed to me from someone who did not know where it came from. Perhaps El Dorado County Historical Museum UPDATE... Thanks Doug Noble for tracking down the old photo. Credit: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Lawrence and Houseworth Collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-123456]
Click on images to see full size
Just a question, At what point does a restoration effort become a rebuild effort?
Hi Michael,
That’s what the three restoration experts that inspected the building last week are going to determine, then it’s up to the owner to decide whether to go forward. The previous inspections were done by engineers who “build new.” Restoration is a whole different animal and a specialty trade in the construction world.
I grew up in Shingle Springs and watched the Old Stone House get bulldozed. The Merrick building in Diamond Springs is heading towards the same fate. There used to be rock walls built by the Chinese in the 1800′s threading through the ranch lands around El Dorado Hills… all bulldozed to build tract homes.
I’m hoping the Herrick building can be saved. Far older structures throughout the world have been spared. Here’s a couple sites that promote the preservation of our history.
http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief35.htm
http://www.preservationnation.org/resources/faq/information-sheets/historic-home-full.html
When I have “out of towner” friends and family up to visit, they all want to go to Main Street because it’s so totally different from malls. Arians Supply, Placerville Hardware, the cool restaurants, are favorites– we can easily spend several hours shopping and eating downtown.
Final note: One recent favorite that is now on the list is your ant… can’t get out of town without driving by your place and seeing what the ant is up to.
The first picture (black and white) was taken in 1865 or 1866 by Lawrence and Houseworth, from San Francisco. It is one half of a stereopticon card. There is a second one taken from the other end of Main Street looking back at the Cary House. The picture, along with others of Sportsman’s Hall, the Riverside House, Websters, Strawberry Valley, Slippery Ford, etc. are on the Library of Congress webpage.
Doug,
Thanks for tracking down the old photo. Here’s the link for folks who want to look at the collection from The Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lawhou/about.html