N is for Neglected and Abandoned Buildings

As I walk around the North County, it's hard not to notice the many vacant buildings. Many are in out of the way places, but not all. As I wrote in a previous post, the old Hometown Nursery site occupies almost a full  block of Spring Street. Wilson's Restaurant is also vacant, but it is at least cared for rather than being neglected. One of the more visible abandoned buildings I see often is right in the middle of 46 West Wine Country. It appears to be part of the Castoro Cellars property, and I've always wondered what it used to be. A home? An old winery? I have pictured it here.

Another rather interesting neglected and abandoned building is a house between Main Street and the railroad tracks in Templeton. I have several shots of it, including one with an old chimney and a pair of shoes rotting away on the ground. There is more than one abandoned building on the property. I chose this shot because of the fallen tree in front of it. The whole scene portrays the neglect. It's sad, as all abandoned buildings are. I know there must be some stories behind these buildings, but I haven't been able to find them yet.

This last home is also abandoned. In fact, at the end of October it's even haunted. It, too, is in Templeton, on the east side of Main Street. This first shot is an overview taken from across the street.

Although it's abandoned, it's not totally neglected. On Halloween it officially becomes a haunted house. I suspected that when I looked closely at these boarded up windows. Then  I confirmed my suspicions with a bit of online research. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything online about the other abandoned buildings.

If you want a closer look at any photo, just click to enlarge it.

 Poster of Abandoned Building on 46 West

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Contrasting Views of Froom Ranch in San Luis Obispo

I first discovered the historic Froom Ranch buildings in November, 2011, when I happened to go to Costco in San Luis Obispo alone (as opposed to with my husband.) It had been raining, and after I had shopped I followed the lot around to the Home Depot side and parked at the far end. I decided I wanted to photograph the buildings during a lull between rains. That turned out not to be a great decision.

I tend to be spontaneous. It wasn't good enough to take the photos from the parking lot of Home Depot as I did here. I wanted to get closer and find the Froom Ranch Trail itself. Never mind that the trail was wet or that it would be dark soon. Up I went until I was even with the old barn.

I had searched for the trail because I had wanted a photo of the hills after visiting the Mac Superstore as I was wandering around behind the buildings on that side of Los Osos Valley Road,  someone in the Target shopping center told me the best place to photograph those hills was from the trail that started behind Home Depot. I did get several photos of the hills that night, but they all included Home Depot, as this one did, because the place I was standing was only as high as the old barn.

It was very muddy, and dark was coming on fast, and I knew I had no business trying to go high that night. I promised myself I would come back during daylight someday and hit the trail. Meanwhile, I barely made it down because the mud I had accumulated on the bottom of my shoes was about two inches thick. It took some ingenuity to get them cleaned up so I could get back in the car to drive home.

I had never known much about Froom Ranch, so I decided to do a bit of research online. There wasn't much information but I  did find this much. John R. Froom first came to San Luis Obispo in 1886. He worked on this 5,000-acre ranch, which was then owned by a Mr. L. Nelson. Later Mr. Froom leased it and started a dairy farm which did well. Mrs. Froom somehow received the ranch in 1904. Mr. Froom was a great supporter of his adopted city of San Luis Obispo.

Later on the ranch was purchased by Alex and Phyllis Madonna, who built the Madonna Inn San Luis Obispo is famous for. The Madonnas have also done much for their city, and as I write this, Phyllis, who survived Alex after his death in 2004, is still active in civic service. In 2013 she was named San Luis Obispo County by the Chamber of Commerce in addition to the many other awards she had already received.  She is still very active in supporting the Women's Shelter Program of San Luis Obispo County. You can read more about the Madonnas here. 

As far as I know, the ranch is now under the management or ownership of the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo. It appears the historic buildings themselves remain on private property, since there are signs posted to that effect around them.

When I took this photo yesterday, it was also near sundown, but it was at least dry. You will notice that the hills are already starting to turn brown because there has been no  rain recently.

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Hometown Nursery Is Now Lonesome Town

It saddens me to walk downtown in Paso Robles and see how many businesses are no longer there that use to thrive. It's especially sad when a business used to be one of my favorites has disappeared. Such is the case with Hometown Nursery. 

Of all the general nurseries in the Paso Robles area, Hometown was my go-to place for gardening inspiration. It was a place of beauty, with bright flowers everywhere, a whole section of shade-loving plants, and perky herbs and vegetables in season. They also had a good selection of organic seeds.

One day, they moved to the other end of town and although they probably thought it would be a better location, it was harder to get to them and harder to find a place to park. It seemed not too long before they were gone from that location never to reopen in Paso Robles. Now they are just gone. And this empty house and its grounds remind us that Hometown Nursery is no more. Click to enlarge the photo and see the poppies. 

                                                                                                                                   

The plants that loved the shade used to live here.

The grassy areas between the paths used to hold tables loaded with colorful flowers and seasonal vegetables and herbs ready to move to your garden. Now only  the trees, that have seen even the town itself begin, mark the place. 

As for the bright flowers, only two remain. The poppies in the second photo from the top above, and the bushes loaded with these pink flowers you see below. The only ones still working here are the insects who take what they need from the flowers and the birds and animals who harvest the acorns from the oaks. 

Has your town lost any businesses you used to patronize? 

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