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Two storefronts on Old Town Eureka’s most-photographed block have been given thorough facelifts over the past few weeks, with rich hues of fresh paint giving new pop to the intricate ornamentation on these Victorian-era beauties.

The two-story buildings, nestled side-by-side at 412 and 416 Second Street, sit in the heart of the Eureka Old Town Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The one on the left, there, is the Cousins Building, built circa 1874, though its “eclectic” Classical Revival and Mission Revival facade had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1905. Its neighbor at 412 Second, historically known as the Harvey & McLaren Saloon, was built in 1892.

Given their provenance in the late 19th century — a time when Eureka transformed from a rustic frontier outpost to a bustling Victorian Seaport — it’s not surprising that the history of these buildings is as colorful as their new paint jobs. Local historical writer Lynette Mullen found that both properties got busted for operating illicit speakeasies or gambling operations during Prohibition, as documented in the Humboldt Times (see here and here). 

Their current owner, Karina Estrada, purchased the buildings around 2009. She told the Outpost via email, “[T]he first thing I wanted to do was repaint them both.”

Below is a photo showing what they looked like at the time, which is more or less how they looked until very recently:

Estrada found the color-selection process daunting.

“Old Town is incredibly important to our community, and I feel like it belongs to all of us,” she said. “As such, I felt a lot of pressure in choosing the colors and didn’t want to disappoint, so it took me a little while to finally work up the courage to go for it.”

The blackberry, dark blue and gold combo she picked for 412 was inspired by similar hues on a Victorian home she admires in Arcata. 

“I wanted the pair of them to look a little gothic, like two gloomy twins; so [for the Cousins Building] I chose the deep emerald with the black and palm leaf accents, then used the same metallic gold to tie both buildings together,” Estrada explained. “The emerald is a little more vibrant than I intended for that vibe, but I’m still quite pleased with the results.”

On Tuesday morning, painters John Ramos and John Carbonneau were busy applying gold paint to the decorative scrollwork surrounding a window on the Cousins Building. 

“We had to do a lot of prep work, a lot of scraping,” Ramos said. “Pulled a lot of lead off the building.”

General contractor Doug Boltzen of DB Builders was hired to do some repairs to the old buildings, though much of the intricate molding and other ornamentation had to be rebuilt from scratch by master craftsman Eric Hollenbeck of Blue Ox Millworks. 

“When they actually started to pull the pieces of old plaster off, it crumbled,” Ramos said. “The only thing that was holding it [together] was the paint.”

Estrada, who also owns The Speakeasy bar just around the corner, said she’d never worked with Hollenbeck before and was blown away after meeting with him to review the project.

“Eric is incredible,” she said. “He is a combination of artist, historian and mad inventor and I quickly recognized that we are kindred spirits. I was nearly brought to tears several times with awe and excitement by all the incredible machinery/methods/gadgets I got to see and learn about. I could spend hours talking to him and sharing creative inspirations.”

He walked her through his process for recreating the plaster moldings, and she stuck around to watch all stages of his recreation.

“He is pure talent and is such a gift to the community!” Estrada enthused. “Not surprising at all, as I’ve always bragged to anyone who will listen that Humboldt seems to generate more talented musicians and artists than anywhere else in the world I have ever visited. I highly recommend every single person go visit Blue Ox Mill!”

The work on the two buildings is nearly complete. Ramos said some recreated circular molding are still being crafted for placement beneath the porthole windows on the Cousins Building.

Once those pieces are hand-painted gold, the refresh will be complete.

“I hope everyone else enjoys it as much as I do,” Estrada said.