Almaden Resident

News

Historical ranking of Feed & Fuel loses points in new report

By Monica Heger

Almaden Valley's Feed & Fuel bar is a run-down building to some and a historical gem to others, but one fact is certain--the building is not a candidate for city landmark status, according to the city's second historical analysis.

The new report, like the first one, finds the building to be worthy of a "structure of merit" designation, but not a city landmark candidate. The new report actually places the building lower on the continuum than did the first.

While the Feed & Fuel earned 56 out of 134 points for historical significance on the first survey, it earned only 41 points the second time around. To be considered a candidate city landmark, it needs at least 67 points.

"It appears to have been essentially a ranch or house, and then it became a gas station," said owner Jon Carson. "Even as a gas station, the integrity isn't there. It's just an old, not very interesting building that was a good meeting place for recent times."

The controversy about the historical worth of the Feed & Fuel began when Carson closed the restaurant and bar this past May. Due to complaints from neighbors about the motorcycle noise and music from the bar, the city placed restrictions on the bar's hours of operation, making it financially unfeasible to stay open. After it closed, Carson applied for a permit to rezone the area to allow for housing. A group of residents set out on a quest to save the building.

The claim was that the building served as a gateway into the New Almaden Quicksilver Mines and had been there since the 1890s. Resident Art Boudreault, who researched the building's history, found the first historical analysis was incomplete and presented his findings at a historical landmarks commission meeting. The commission sided with the residents and recommended that the building be preserved and restored.

The planning department, following guidelines set forth by the California Environmental Quality Act, had to respond to the residents' protest of the original finding that the building was not historically significant. Planning staff required Carson have another historical analysis completed by a professional historian.

The supplemental historical survey found no evidence the building existed in the 1890s. The remaining architecture and structure of the building likely contains no material from the 1890s. The lumber used was fir, not redwood, as was common in the 19th century, and there were no square nails found in the structure, which are indicative of 19th-century architecture, according to the report.

Denelle Fedor, who filed the formal protest, believes many of the items were not given the correct weight, such as the building's association with the Pfeiffer family, which has a long history in the Almaden area.

Currently, the city is reviewing a draft of the report. The city council will have the final say in whether to save the building.