Historic Atascadero Tour

Entries on This Tour

The civic center in the Colony of Atascadero was the idea of Edward Gardner Lewis. The civic center was part of Lewis’ model community, and would serve as the central hub for all the residents of Atascadero. Lewis was so proud of his civic center, he even gave thought to the railroad passengers that were passing through his town by giving them a clear view of the buildings as soon as they departed the rail station. And the centerpiece of the view was the Administration Building. Construction of the Administration Building began in June of 1914 and was completed in June of 1918. The building was used for many things but served as the Chamber of Commerce, offices of the Governor of the Colony, and the general manager of the real estate office.

2. Atascadero Printery Building

Early settlement of Atascadero is because of the real estate venture master planned by Edward Gardner Lewis. He laid out a “model community”referred to as the Colony with residential buildings in one area and a series of civic buildings planned for another area. The streets were laid out and completed in a curvilinear plan and two of the civic buildings were actually built. The Atascadero Printery, also known by other names the Review Building or the Atascadero Press, was one of E.G Lewis’ civic center buildings. It was being constructed alongside the Administration Building. It was built in 1915 and was the first building in E.G. Lewis’ civic center to be completed. The Printery shared common design elements to the Administration Building.

3. La Plaza Mercantile/ Atascadero Inn

The E.G Lewis civic center consisted of four prominent buildings. The City Administration Building, the Atascadero Grammar school (old printery building), and the Mercantile, which would later be known as the La Plaza building. Only the Printery and Administration building are left standing today. The mercantile acted as Atascadero shopping center. All businesses were contained within this building with parking for two hundred cars located outside. The electricity for the building ecen came from an underground line, a practice now required for commercial buildings. The building was 100 feet wide by 200 feet in length. The ceilings of the building were 12 feet in height. The Southern Pacific railroad ran close to the building so a spur track was used to deliver goods to the building. The track came right to the back door of the building. The La Plaza building had a 42,000 square feet floor plan. The building require 14 tons of reinforced steel, 1,400 cubic yards of gravel, 1,400 barrels of cement, 480,000 board feet of lumber, and 600 square feet of glass.

4. Atascadero Rail Depot

E.G Lewis had been trying to get the Southern Pacific Railroad Company to build a passenger/freight depot in Atascadero for years. Lewis had built a small rail depot close to the Curbaril Road rail crossing. This “depot” only had one small building where passengers could wait to remain out of the elements. As Atascadero grew, Lewis knew he needed a larger rail depot. Lewis was trying to get the S.P.R.R to build the depot voluntarily with no luck. In 1921, the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce penned a letter to the railroad commissioner asking that Southern Pacific build and maintain a suitable depot for the community. The Chamber’s argument was that Atascadero had transformed from “one family of six persons to a town of over 400 private homes costing $1.2 million and that the cattle ranch had been converted into a fruit region with 4,000 acres of trees…” In 1921, Southern Pacific granted the community a rail depot. The station was completed in May of 1922 at the cost of $35,000. It was constructed in the Italian renaissance style. Southern Pacific removed the station from Service in the late 1950s and it was torn down in 1964. The station's location was nearly directly under the Highway 41 bridge in Atascadero.

5. Deila Holden Colony House

The colony house at 5540 was originally owned and occupied by a Mrs. Delia Holden. The house was originally built in February of 1917. In 1917, Mrs. Holden paid $1,000 for the .56 acre lot and $10,000 for the construction of the house. Mrs. Holden owned the old Estrada tract which would become The Lakes, the present day housing development in this area. This property was the last owned by Pedro Estrada, the original owner of the Mexican Land grant known as Rancho Atascadero. During this time it was rare for single women to be able to afford houses at the time. The Decou family bought the home in the 50’s and have lived there ever sence. Jay Decou owned the now out of business Decou Lumber Company on the Corner of El Camino Real and La Linia Avenue.

6. Marguerite A. Travis Colony House

The house at 6700 Atascadero Avenue was originally built in June of 1915 at the cost of $4,500. The Original owner was Marguerite A. Travis. Travis had moved herself and her son to Atascadero from back east. Her five year old son, Ferdinand Travis, was the first child to be baptised in the newly founded Federated Church. He was baptised September 9, 1916. In the ceremony, a small loving cup was used which had been given to Ferdinand as a present by his father. Miss Travis had been widowed when her husband, a minister, perished in a boating accident on his way to New York to attend the opening of a new church. This is why Miss Travis moved herself and her son to Atascadero. Travis wrote the book "The Birth of Atascadero" in the 1950s describing the early creation of the Colony. Ownership of a house by a single woman was very rare in the colony and only a handful of of single women were able to accomplish this.

7. General Jonathan Jackson Christian Colony House

The address of this was formally 7965 El Camino Real. This house was originally owned by Miss H.G Moore. The lot is .34 acres and the lot cost $750. The cost of the house was $4,300. Housing was hard to secure during WWII due to the build up of Camp Roberts located north of Paso Robles. For this reason, many soldiers opted for housing in Atascadero. Brigadier General Jonathan Jackson Christian was one such person who sought refuge in Atascadero during this time. General Christian was in command of the field artillery at Camp Roberts, he would later become the base commander. He rented the house at 7905 El Camino for a short time during 1941 before he would receive base housing. General Jackson Christian was the grandson of famous Civil war general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The house had been a real estate office and the building is now occupied by a children's daycare center.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Historic Atascadero Tour

Created by San Luis Obispo County on May 8th 2018, 11:00:14 am.

Get a QR Code for this tour

Description

The City of Atascadero was founded in 1913 by Edward Gardner Lewis. His plan was to create a model community in his image. Lewis' plan was to create a civic center mall based on that of Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. He wanted the school to sit above the civic center on a hill, now called high school hill, because in Lewis' mind, education should be above all else. During the early years, many "colony houses" were built by newcomers to Atascadero. This tour outlines some historic Civic Center buildings, the old Atascadero Train Depot Location, as well as a few prominent colony houses.

Entries on This Tour

Historic Atascadero Tour

Description

Share