When the Dunes Center museum acquired the Guadalupe building that once housed the famed Far Western Tavern, it wasn’t sure what to do with it.
But since receiving the 2015 donation from the Minetti family, the museum has sought to register the pink building off Guadalupe Street as a historic structure. On Nov. 7, the museum succeeded. California’s State Historical Resources Commission placed the building on the California Register of Historic Resources, putting the Dunes Center one step closer to securing grant funding for a remodeling project.
The building’s first life started in 1912 as a stop for Swiss-Italian immigrants known as the Palace Hotel. Run alone by Ercolina Forni, a mother of three, the hotel gave bed to travelers. Considered a historic figure, Forni gives the spot one criteria required for its new designation.
“The fact that you have a single mother immigrant raising three children and running the business, that’s what the American dream is made out of,” said Doug Jenzen, the executive director of the Dunes Center.
In 1958, it became the Far Western Tavern and operated as a restaurant for decades.
The space is 10 times larger than the Dunes Center’s current location at 1065 Guadalupe St., but Jenzen said they’re still not clear on exactly what they’ll do with it. Construction crews have to look inside first. From there, they’ll know if it’s a three-year project or longer and how many millions it will cost. Whenever construction does get underway, it could offer the city’s quiet downtown a focal point.
“By helping to add some curb appeal, we’re not only helping the Dunes Center, we’re helping to promote the local economy,” Jenzen said.
The existing museum would likely move into the new building and would also help the center contain its burgeoning, 165-member volunteer staff. It has outgrown its existing building.
“We don’t even have enough cabinet space at this point,” he said.
The new location is expected to have a classroom and exhibits on the history of the building, local indigenous people, and area farming families. And, of course, props from the famed locally filmed Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments (1923).
Jenzen said the center hasn’t decided what will happen with the old location—maybe they’ll sell it, rent it, or use it for another museum.
City officials have voiced their hopes for a revitalized downtown Guadalupe, and some observers of the city economy say a bolstered Dunes Center is a good thing.
“As far as improving it and saving it as a historical landmark, I support that,” said Joe Talaugon, who was a City Council member from 2000 to 2004. “We need to support our history and culture here in Guadalupe.”
Talaugon said the Dunes Center’s move is part of the city’s rejuvenation, and he hopes business follows.
“Being here most of my life, I grew up here, I’ve seen so many changes over the years,” he said. “When you come down to it, Guadalupe is a unique town, and it draws tourists, and if you gave them more to look at, I think it would be a good idea.”
