The Hazel Hotel, designed in the Italianate style, is an excellent example of commercial masonry buildings of this era.

The City of Gridley owes its existence to the introduction of railroading in the late 19th century. The Hazel Hotel is the sole remaining direct link to the railroad era, and is one of the town's few surviving buildings constructed before the turn of the century.

George W. Gridley drove six hundred head of sheep from Illinois to California. He acquired 25,000 acres of ranch land and expanded into grain production and woodcutting.

In 1862, a post office was opened on the Gridley Ranch. In 1870, a California and Oregon Railroad depot was constructed on the ranch thus establishing the town of Gridley.

The downtown district that survives today is an excellent example of how Northern California communities were established and developed with the railroad's influence. The district, with the Hazel Hotel as its anchor, is oriented to the site of the railroad depot.

Downtown Gridley is compact and possesses a sense of place, with an association that recalls the way of life at the end of the 19th century.

Excerpted from the NRHP Nomination.