Weaverville Hotel and Emporium

 

This winter I went to go visit the Weaverville Hotel and Emporium. It was quite the feat to get there from Eureka, because the night before I left there was a winter storm that closed down the fastest route there, the 299. There were multiple downed trees that whole route. Then the 36 was also closed due to winter weather. But I was set on going. I wanted to make this blog and I really wanted a vacation away. So I took the only route I could, the long way. Down to Ukiah, over to Redding, and back to Weaverville. It was a round about way, and made my 2 1/2 hour journey into a 6 hour one, but I got there. Funnily enough, that route was closed on my way back and the only way to get home was on the 299 through Willow Creek - the quickest drive of my life. 

When I got to the hotel, I parked in the back and it started snowing again. I checked in and was greeted by the nicest couple who own the hotel and emporium now. I was checked in by the owners, Jeanne and Brian Muir. They bought the place twenty years ago, in 2002. They took two years to renovate it, and then officially re-opened the hotel in 2004. 

(Here are a few photos of the side of the building I took at night).

Jeanne gave me a tour of her hotel before I unloaded my stuff. After I unloaded my stuff, I took a look around the grounds. I'll start taking you on a photo tour of the grounds and hotel.

There was this beautiful gazebo next to the hotel.

It was right after Christmas so the town still had Christmas décor and mailboxes to Santa Clause out. 

(The gazebo and hotel, side view, on a non-snowy day).

Here's the sign more close up. Under the sign is two doorways. One leads inside their emporium, and the other leads up these stairs to the hotel rooms. Once you're checked in you get a key to that second door. 

Before going up the stairs, to the right of this photo is a plaque hanging on the wall.

This property 

has been placed on the 

NATIONAL REGISTER 

OF HISTORIC PLACES 

by the United States 

Department of the Interior

WEAVERVILLE HOTEL 

1861

Up the stairs was this quaint couch and a tiny room where they keep their phone (it actually works)! 

If I had needed to make any calls, they told me this was the place to do it. Beautiful, antique artwork is featured in it, and a helpful calendar as well.

On the other side of the phone booth, couch, and lamp was a small closet labeled "linens."

To the right of the linen closet was one end of the hallway. There was one room down there and the last door on the left was a small room with a mini fridge and microwave where guests could heat up and store their food. 

Turning around, the opposite end of the hallway was where a majority of the rooms were laid. There were pictures up and down the hallway, and my room was down this hallway as well.

The very end of the hallway featured some neat, old, dark chests, and what looks to be a terrarium.

I took some photos of the photos on the wall because they were so historical of the hotel. It was neat jumping back in time looking through them in the exact place I was staying

This hotel has some history to it, and went through many rebuilds and remodels. It was first brought to life as the Condon's Saloon, in 1861 during California's Gold Rush and America's Civil War. 

In 1863, the saloon burnt down and the Empire Hotel was built in its place. It then went through two MORE fires in the span of twenty years. In 1880, the worst of the two additional fires happened, burning the hotel down completely. In 1910, another fire burned up only the second floor. 

Someone new bought the hotel after the second-story fire, and rebuilt the upstairs, turning it back into a hotel. It had a running restaurant on the bottom floor where the emporium sits now. Between 1914 and 1944, the hotel was updated to include plumbing, electricity, and steam heating. 

On the side of the hotel, where all those windows are, there used to be a porch on the second story. They closed it in and added all of the full bathrooms for those rooms to individually have. 

Then we wrap around to Jeanne and Brian Muir buying and renovating the property.

Both say:

The Weaverville Hotel sometime between 1916 and 1939. AJ Fetzer was responsible for adding steam heat/radiators, and DO notice Weaverville's first neon sign, proudly displayed by forward-looking Mr. Fetzer.

An old newspaper article.

I'm going to link the hotel's website here because they have even more information on the old layout of the hotel. It's worth checking out. https://www.weavervillehotel.com/weaverville_history.html

Down the hallway was the room I stayed in - Room 4, Corono de Oro

When I walked in, right in front of the door was this old desk and a fireplace. Which was perfect because it was so cold out. 

A giant wardrobe to put my stuff in - it was a beautiful dark wood that I might guess to be cherry wood.

The bed, which was so comfortable and pretty that I wanted to take three photos of it at different angles. Every night, Jeanne would come in and turn it down. She placed two chocolates from the emporium on it too. 

I also loved these two paintings of the women. It added to the atmosphere of the room. They were to the right of the bed.

There were two tucked away corners in this room. The first is this one. When you walk in and you go straight from the door, then turn right, you'd see this very relaxing soaker tub. I used it nearly every day. It was constantly supplied with bubble bath too. Though it was loud when I turned on the jets, it felt amazing.

The other nook in this room was right next to the bed. I used this as a reading nook and was able to see the gazebo and its' lights from my window. The bathroom with the actual shower and toilet were to the left of the nook from this angle.

It was a great room to be in, and I'd pick it again when I go back.

Now that you've seen upstairs, and the room I stayed in, I wanted to show you the living area last. Down the stairs, there was a door next to that plaque I featured awhile ago. To the right would be an entrance to the emporium. To the left is the plaque and the doorway to the living area.

Here is the living area. My husband and I read on the couch, played cards on the table at night, and even attempted a puzzle. 

Two other angles of the room. You can see their emporium on the other side of the glass doors in the last photo. The front of the hotel is behind the Christmas tree. There are so many beautiful details to this room, and I outlined a few down below.

A beautiful piano I wish I knew how to play.

An old dress on a mannequin. 

Old pictures to look at on the table beside the dress. 

An intricate chandelier above. 

A portrait of a woman over the fireplace.

This is actually an old photo of Jeanne's great grandfather - I don't remember the exact details of what she told me, but he was a sheriff back East in Illinois and she loved to feature this photo of him. If I get any better details, I'll come back and edit this, but it was a fantastic feature in the room. I loved how connected it was to the owner and its' old-timey look.

They had an album featuring some of the weddings that have been held at the hotel. 

This is one last room tucked around the corner of the living space. It has some furniture, a TV, antique décor, and refreshments that the hotel provided. They had some of the best coffee I've had in there.

I thought this fit the theme of the blog pretty well. 

So there's a detailed tour of the Weaverville Hotel and Emporium. I hope I've convinced you to stay there yourself. The townspeople were very kind, the owners were spectacular, the shopping around town was fun. The hotel itself was like walking into history. It reminded me of walking into an old mansion. The owners even feature a spot on their website talking about potential ghosts in the building.

 

I'm glad I was able to stay here, and help preserve some of its history as well. If you ever find yourself in the Northern California mountains, you might creep up on this small town called Weaverville. Do yourself a favor and check out the hotel and emporium on the main drag. You won't regret it.