National Register of Historic Places in Yolo County

National Register #96001536: Downtown Winters Historic District 19 February 2011
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National Register #96001536
Downtown Winters Historic District
Main Street
Winters
Period of Significance: 1875-1946

The settlement of this region began in 1842 when Governor Juan Batista de Alvarado granted 17,750 acres along Putah Creek to the Wolfskill brothers. Theodore Winters purchased the land grant from them in 1865 to breed thoroughbred horses. Winters is credited with introducing thoroughbred racing to the American West.

When the Vaca Valley Railroad chose Winters as its northern terminus in 1875, the settlement quickly became the hub of the region with three trains daily. Crops included peaches, almonds, plums, pears, cherries, figs, oranges, barley, wheat. Two of the surviving buildings were constructed during this period: Seaman's Opera House and Chulick's Market.

The Winters Main Street Historic District represents the development and evolution of commerce and agriculture from the late nineteenth century to just after World War II. Buildings survive from each era starting with the coming of the railroad and continuing to the rise corporate agribusiness. Despite many alterations to individual buildings, the district retains a sense of time and place.

The thirty-acre district contains thirteen contributing buildings located on both sides of Main Street between Railroad Avenue and First Street.

In some of our photographs, Winters appears to be a ghost town. Not so. Our shoot was early on a Sunday morning before most Main Street merchants had opened for business.

Except where noted, our narrative is based upon the content of the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form submitted on 21 August 1996 by Historic Environment Consultants of Carmichael, California.
 
 
 
Name Year Address Remarks Sort Address Sort Name
DeVilbiss Hotel18892-10 Main StreetItalianate, Queen AnneMain 002DeVilbiss Hotel
Bank of Winters Business Block19043, 5, 7 Main StreetQueen Ann, Classical RevivalMain 003Bank of Winters Business Block
Seaman's Opera House187611 Main StreetItalianateMain 011Seaman's Opera House
Chulick Market187615 Main StreetItalianateMain 015Chulick Market
Cradwick Building188917-23 Main StreetCommercial BrickMain 017Cradwick Building
Bertholet Building188924-26 Main StreetItalianateMain 024Bertholet Building
Humphrey Building188928-30 Main StreetVictorianMain 028Humphrey Building
Winters Travel192031 Main StreetCommercialMain 031Winters Travel
Winters National Bank190635 Main StreetClassical RevivalMain 035Winters National Bank
Morrison Building189237 Main StreetStick/Eastlake, Italianate, ClassicalMain 037Morrison Building
Greenwood's Department Store190841 Main StreetClassical RevivalMain 041Greenwood's Department Store
Masonic Building189747 Main StreetItalianate, ClassicalMain 047Masonic Building
First Northern Bank of Dixon191248 Main StreetClassical RevivalMain 048First Northern Bank of Dixon

Masonic Building and Greenwood's Department Store 19 February 2011
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Masonic Building and Greenwood's Department Store

The original Masonic Building of 1897 shows Italianate and Classical influences. The façade has been considerably altered over the years.

In 1928, the Masonic Lodge hall moved to the second floor of Greenwood's Department store next door, and the second floor of the original Masonic Building was converted to a dining room and kitchen.

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Greenwood's Department Store Flanked By the Masonic Building and Morrison Building 19 February 2011
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Greenwood's Department Store Flanked By the Masonic Building and the Morrison Building

When this Classical Revival building was constructed by Charles Hall in 1908, it has only one floor. The second floor was added in 1928 for a new Masonic Hall which replaced the smaller hall in the old Masonic Building.

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Morrison Building
19 February 2011
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Morrison Building

This eclectic structure bears Stick/Eastlake elements in its bracketing and decoration along with Italianate and Classical influences in the ornament and composition. Above the entry, is a pressed tin banding with repeating ornaments. Wooden paneling occurs below the large show windows, and cast iron paneled pilasters have been applied to the support members of the facade. Vertical designs of pressed tin with projecting ornaments at the cornice frame the upper facade. Angled chamfered brackets flank the entry opening.

Like many of the historic buildings on Main Street, the Morrison Building is almost entirely hidden from view by a street tree for most of the year.

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Winters National Bank 19 February 2011
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Winters National Bank

This Classical Revival building is constructed of artificial Hercules stone produced by B. Betholet & Sons and trimmed with glazed terra cotta tile. The terra cotta medallion is mongrammed WNB for Winters National Bank. The windows beneath the cornice have been altered, flanking side windows were covered with metal signs, and the awning is not part of the original design. Despite these changes, the building maintains sufficient integrity to contribute to the chracter of the district.

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Cradwick Building, Chulick Market, Seaman's Opera House, Bank of Winters Business Block 19 February 2011
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Cradwick Building

The Cradwick Building is in the foreground. The other buildings are Chulick Market, Seaman's Opera House and Bank of Winters Business Block.

The lot beside the Cradwick building has been vacant since the Pioneer Livery Stable was removed in the 1940's.

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Chulick Market and Seaman's Opera House 19 February 2011
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Chulick Market and Seaman's Opera House

The Chulick Market, which has been stripped of ornamentation and stuccoed, originally reflected commercial Italianate influences. Seaman's Opera House and Chulick's Market are the two oldest buildings in the district, dating back to the coming of the railroad.

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Seaman's Opera House 19 February 2011
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Seaman's Opera House

This two-story red brick commercial building of vernacular Italianate design has a stepped parapet front facade. The original cornice was removed, probably as a result of the 1892 earthquake. The facade was covered with stucco in 1931, but in 1970, the natural brick was restored.

The building to the right of the Opera House is the Bank of Winters Business Block.

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Downtown Winters Historic District: Bank of Winters Business Block 19 February 2011
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Bank of Winters Business Block

This two-story, brick building combines Queen Anne and Classical Revival elements.

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Downtown Winters Historic District: DeVilbiss Hotel 19 February 2011
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DeVilbiss Hotel

John DeVilbiss, a pioneer in fruit raising and shipping, hired Sacramento architect Allen Aaron Cook to design his hotel. According to rootsweb: [Cook] superintended the construction of the Western Hotel, Hale’s Block, and several churches [in Sacramento], also the State Prison at Folsom, the Nevada State Asylum, the court house at Redding, the county hospitals at Mendocino, Tehama and Colusa, Cone & Kimball’s Block, and Odd Fellows’ Hall at Red Bluff; also Odd Fellows’ Building and churches at Wheatland and Redding, and churches in Stockton and in other cities and towns.

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Downtown Winters Historic District: Bertholet Building 19 February 2011
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Bertholet Building

Stonecutter Benoit Bertholet, before settling in Winters, helped build Folsom Prison and the Memorial Arch at Stanford University. He built three stone buildings in Winters, including this building, and his firm, B. Bertholet & Sons, produced the Hercules stone used in the construction of Kimes Hardware.

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Humphrey Building 19 February 2011
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Humphrey Building

This wood and stone building uses Bertholet stone which was later stuccoed then sandblasted to remove the stucco and restore the original appearance. The wood paneling and parapet are not original and the fenestration has probably been altered.

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First Northern Bank of Dixon 19 February 2011
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First Northern Bank of Dixon

This Classical Revival temple of banking is consturcted of terra cotta surfaced brick on a granite base.

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