Hollister’s future and its past
Come with me for a stroll around downtown Hollister.
Let’s start over here on Fourth Street, near what used to be
Fremont School. The mission-style school designed by William Weeks
sat boarded up across from the old county jail. Both were filled
with asbestos materials and both are gone. In their stead stands a
vibrant commercial plaza.
Hollister’s future and its past
Come with me for a stroll around downtown Hollister.
Let’s start over here on Fourth Street, near what used to be Fremont School. The mission-style school designed by William Weeks sat boarded up across from the old county jail. Both were filled with asbestos materials and both are gone. In their stead stands a vibrant commercial plaza.
Strolling along San Benito Street is a pleasure, thanks to wide sidewalks, abundant seating that invites lingering, lush planters and shade trees. There are lots of places to stop for a cup of coffee or a sandwich. And there are lots of customers. Many of them, professional singles, young marrieds and active retirees, live above the businesses. The once moldering hotel at the corner of Fifth and San Benito is restored to its former glory, and valets whisk cars to and from the municipal parking garage a block away.
Old-timers remember when Dick Bruhn’s clothing occupied its distinctive store at the center of downtown, between Fifth and Sixth streets. But kids and newcomers only know it as the location of Hollister Co.’s signature outlet for hip, casual wear. People can easily walk downtown from the cinema multiplex on McCray Street, because Sixth now extends to right across the street, offering inviting sidewalks and a mix of business and housing.
That’s just part of the first-glance vision presented by a team of consultants working with the city of Hollister, the Hollister Downtown Association and a host of local businesses and organizations.
The team ended a meeting at the old Hollister Depot last week with a walk through downtown, exploding some notions while re-enforcing others.
The initial planning meeting included 14 people who represented the city, the downtown association and local business interests.
The group identified a list of goals for the future of downtown: affordable housing, building a strong identity, capitalizing on the opportunities afforded by the Highway 25 bypass, economic vitality, pedestrian friendliness and inviting to young people. In short, the goal will be to make downtown Hollister a regional destination.
Much of what emerged at the planning meeting focused on how to look at downtown with fresh eyes. While the Fremont site is now targeted for a courthouse, one member of the consulting team wondered aloud if that was the best use. When it was mentioned that people coming to town routinely ask where the Hollister Co. is – to the frustration of other local clothiers – the idea of a Hollister Co. outlet downtown entered the dream.
The next step is a series of public events Oct. 5 and 6 – a “downtown immersion.”
The downtown plan will be based on community input, and the October sessions are the first pass.
The sessions begin Friday, Oct. 5 with a meeting of business and property owners at noon at the Vault restaurant. A walk through downtown – everyone is invited – takes place from 2-3:30 p.m. At 5 p.m. an educational session is planned upstairs at the Vault. From 6:30 to 8 p.m., a community workshop is planned, again at the Vault. That ends just in time for an outdoor showing of the Disney movie, “Cars,” shown on the wall of the Vault building. People are invited to dress in warm clothes and lounge on the lawn next to the building. At 10 p.m., the movie crowd can end the night with a downtown flashlight walk.
Saturday’s events start at 9 a.m. and continue through the day. More information is available through HDA at 636-8406.
See you at the movies.
Speaking of the HDA, the organization’s whopping staff of two is coordinating a downtown cleanup tomorrow, Sept. 15. Show up as early as you dare Saturday morning with the appropriate implements and get busy. Trust me, you’ll feel better when you’re done.
Get ready
Just when you thought it was safe to open your mailbox, here comes a new round of electioneering. People backing the notion of balancing the city of Hollister’s books are pushing a Nov. 6 special election ballot measure for a 1 percent sales tax hike. Expect to hear more about that. And with a majority of supervisorial seats being contested next spring, the maneuvering is well under way.
At least one person familiar to local politics is investigating a run against Jaime De La Cruz, who represents the northwest Hollister area. The incumbent took his seat in a hair’s-breadth win, even as the results of the vote were vigorously contested. Since then he’s worked hard at the job, and he is taking pains to let his constituents know it. Just a few days ago people in his district were treated to a six-page, glossy, full-color brochure dubbed “Mid-term Progress Report.”
Blast from the past
Hollister is still a small town, but not so long ago, it was a very, very small town. Back when there was only one phone prefix, people exchanged four-digit numbers, because everyone knew that if you lived in Hollister, it was 637.
The police department was billeted in old City Hall on Fifth Street. Never mind that the sign still read City Hall. Everyone knew that was the PD. The gaslight fixtures were still on the walls.
Walking down memory lane around the office this week, we remembered one departmental debacle many would sooner forget.
When it came to the attention of Hollister’s Finest that ladies of questionable virtue were offering their services for hire at a motel north of town, catering to long-haul truckers, a sting was organized.
One long-gone cop volunteered that he could borrow a truck from his brother-in-law and the game was afoot.
When he showed up in a cement mixer, there were a few chuckles, but since the truck had been obtained and it already had gas, the decision was made to execute The Plan.
Swinging out of the alleyway behind the station, the inexperienced driver promptly creamed a parked car. Not to worry, the mixer was still rolling fine.
Minutes later, the driver pulls into the motel parking lot, whereupon he’s laughed off the premises by the professional girls who suspected rightly that a truck full of wet cement was probably suspicious.
Those were the days.
