Saturday, April 21, 2012

Fund Raiser to Assist Expansion of Historic Presence

The purchase of these souvenir products, hand-crafted from lumber milled from the Deodar Cedar trees removed during the restoration of the Historic City Administration Building, will aid in expanding the historic presence within Atascadero's Civic Center.  An order form will be available on our website (www.atascaderohistoricalsociety.org), at the museum during regular operating hours (Wednesday and Saturday from 1 to 4 pm), Wilkins Action Graphics, 6405 El Camino Real, and at the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce office, 6904 El Camino Real.  We appreciate your support!


  • $50 – Cedar Wood Album
  • $40 – Caladero Mini Lug Box & Labeled Cans
  • $25 – Caladero Mini Lug Box
  • $ 5 – Cedar Wood Sachet Bag



Historic City Administration Cedar Trees Repurposed

Lately people have been asking me when more work is to be done on the restoration of Atascadero's Historic City Administration Building.  Most assuredly, the reconstruction is well under way and on target for a grand opening during the summer of 2013.  Although it is difficult for observers to see the progress, Dan Huff of Bernard's Construction Management team, assures us the project is moving along on schedule.

The building is registered as California Landmark No. 958, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as historic by the History Center of San Luis Obispo County.  All restoration or preservation work must be done in accordance with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation.  Photo documentation of the complete exterior and interior of the building has been done.  Historic fabric removed – doors, trim, windows, terra cotta, brick, etc. have all been given an alphanumeric identity, photographed, bundled room by room, and transported to a humidity controlled storage area.  Pieces will be refinished as required and await re-installation at the appropriate time.  The building's foundation phase is completed.  As the construction crew finishes each phase of the restoration, the Historical Society will be taking steps to reestablish a museum in this impressive building.  We will need cabinets, displays, enlarged photos, signage and lighting, just to name a partial list of needs, which brings me to an important topic – fund raising!

Utilizing wood obtained from the Cedar trees removed from around the Historic City Hall, the Society is offering handcrafted products to raise funds to assist with the costs involved in setting up the museum areas within the building.  I am kicking off our fund raising effort with a wooden album that features a Colony period architectural rendering of the Historic Administration Building printed on the cover using a die donated by Robert Wilkins Jr.  The book contains several reprints from the Society's historic photo collection.  The front and back covers are bound together with leather strips.  The second of our products is a miniature wooden crate that bears the Caladero brand on the ends and holds six cans each labeled with a copy of the original label that graced cans of pears from the Atascadero Fruit Exchange.  The miniature crate is offered with or without the labeled cans.  The third product is a small cloth bag filled with the Cedar wood shavings and closed with a drawstring .  Wilkins' Action Graphics, 6408 El Camino Real, and the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce, 6904 El Camino Real, will have the products displayed at their business in the downtown Historic Colony District and order forms to make your choices known to the Historical Society.

If you would like to help reestablish the museum in the Historic City Administration Building by obtaining one of our fund raising products or wish to host a product display at your business, please contact me.  Your assistance with our fund raising effort will help to establish tools to educate generations to come.