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California High-Speed Rail Authority

Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section

FINAL

Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study

May 2016

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May 2016 California High-Speed Rail Project Environmental Document

Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study

Table of Contents

California High-Speed Rail Project Environmental Document May 2016

Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Page | i Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS .............................................................................................. 1-1

1.1 NORIEGA HOTEL............................................................................................... 1-1

1.2 PYRENEES CAFÉ .............................................................................................. 1-2

1.3 NARDUCCI’S RESTAURANT ............................................................................ 1-2

2 PURPOSE OF STUDY AND REGULATORY SETTING ................................................. 2-1

2.1 PURPOSE OF STUDY ....................................................................................... 2-1

2.2 REGULATORY SETTING ................................................................................... 2-1

3 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 3-1

3.1 INTERVIEW STRUCTURE AND PROCESS ..................................................... 3-2

4 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 4-1

4.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE BAKERSFIELD BASQUE COMMUNITY ................................................................................................................... 4-1

4.1.1 The Basque Block .................................................................................. 4-2

4.1.2 The Basque Community ........................................................................ 4-9

4.1.3 Noriega Hotel ....................................................................................... 4-10

4.1.4 Pyrenees Café ..................................................................................... 4-20

4.1.5 Cesmat Hotel/Amestoy Hotel/Narducci’s Restaurant .......................... 4-22

5 EVALUATION: THREE BASQUE LOCATIONS AS TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES .................................................................................................................. 5-1

6 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 6-1

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: MAPS

APPENDIX B: DPR 523 FORMS (DRAFT)

APPENDIX C: RESUME OF KEY PREPARER

APPENDIX D: INFORMED CONSENT FORM

FIGURE

Figure 4-1 Basque Businesses in East Bakersfield (image generated from hand-drawn map by George Ansolabehere, from Bass and Ansolabehere n.d.) ................................ 4-5

PHOTOGRAPHS

Photograph 1. The East Bakersfield Train Station, facing south, September 20, 2015. .............. 4-3

Photograph 2 Original French Bakery Building, now at Bakersfield Pioneer Museum, September 20, 2015......................................................................................................... 4-4

Photograph 3 Sheepherder’s cabin, Bakersfield Pioneer Museum, September 20, 2015. .......... 4-8

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ii | Page Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study

Photograph 4 Mayie Maitia and daughter, Jenny Poncetta, at Woolgrowers, September 19, 2015. ........................................................................................................................ 4-10

Photograph 5 View facing north of the back of the Noriega boarding house, showing original construction, August 26, 2015. .......................................................................... 4-11

Photograph 6 The Noriega House, facing east, September 20, 2015. ....................................... 4-11

Photograph 7 Grace Elizalde Hall of Fame plaque (courtesy of the Noriega Hotel). ................. 4-13

Photograph 8 Grace Elizalde (center) and children (courtesy of the Noriega Hotel).................. 4-14

Photograph 9 Woolgrowers Restaurant, facing northwest, September 20, 2015....................... 4-15

Photograph 10 Pyrenees French Bakery, facing west, September 20, 2015. ............................ 4-15

Photograph 11 Ball court at the Noriega Hotel, facing south, August 26, 2015. ........................ 4-16

Photograph 12 The “chicken coop” overflow sleeping quarters used during the hotel’s heyday, facing east, August 26, 2015. ........................................................................... 4-16

Photograph 13 Modern entrance to Noriega’s, with the attached Noriega Hotel, facing east, August 26, 2015. ................................................................................................... 4-17

Photograph 14 Bar at Noriega’s, facing west, August 26, 2015 (note jai alai gear). .................. 4-18

Photograph 15 Painting of men playing Mus at Noriega’s (courtesy of the Noriega Hotel). ...... 4-19

Photograph 16 Men playing Mus at Noriega’s, September 20, 2015. ........................................ 4-19

Photograph 17 The Pyrenees Café, facing east, September 20, 2015. ..................................... 4-20

Photograph 18 Pyrenees Bar, facing east, September 20, 2015. .............................................. 4-21

Photograph 19 Pyrenees Café dining room, facing south, September 20, 2015. ...................... 4-21

Photograph 20 Pyrenees Café room undergoing restoration, September 20, 2015. ................. 4-22

Photograph 21 Narducci’s Restaurant facing north, September 20, 2015. ................................ 4-23

Photograph 22 Narducci’s Restaurant entrance, facing northwest, September 20, 2015. ......... 4-23

Photograph 23 Narducci’s Restaurant bar, facing west, September 20, 2015. .......................... 4-24

Photograph 24 Narducci’s Restaurant dining room, September 20, 2015. ................................ 4-24

Photograph 25 Amestoy Hotel, facing east, September 20, 2015. ............................................. 4-25

Photograph 26 Bernadette Irigoyen, Noriega’s waitress for 51 years (and counting), September 20, 2015. ........................................................................................................ 5-2

Photograph 27 Pyrenees Café sign above parking lot, facing north, September 20, 2015. ......... 5-3

Photograph 28 Noriega Hotel menu, September 20, 2015. .......................................................... 5-4

Photograph 29 The Noriega Hotel circa 1960 (photograph courtesy of Steve Bass). .................. 5-5

TABLES

Table 3-1 Interviewees .................................................................................................................. 3-3

Table 4-1 Eligibility Status of Basque Historic Buildings Cited in Text ......................................... 4-7

Acronyms and Abbreviations


Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Page | iii Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

APE Area of Potential Effects

Authority California High-Speed Rail Authority

BFSSA Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment

CRHR California Register of Historical Resources

DPR Department of Parks and Recreation

FRA Federal Railroad Administration

HASR Historic Architectural Survey Report

HSR High-Speed Rail

NHPA National Historic Preservation Act

NPS National Park Service

NRHP National Register of Historic Places

PA Programmatic Agreement

TCP Traditional Cultural Property

U.S. United States

Acronyms and Abbreviations


iv | Page Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study


Summary of Findings


Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Page | 1-1 Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study

1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

This study documents and summarizes the results of ethnographic research regarding the history and cultural significance of the Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant, three separate locations associated with the Basque community in Bakersfield, California. All are located in the old Basque neighborhood in East Bakersfield (Appendix A: Attachments 1 and 2). The Noriega Hotel is a Basque boarding house, bar, ball court, and restaurant; the Pyrenees Café is a bar and restaurant; and Narducci’s Restaurant is a bar and restaurant located in the same building as a former boarding house, the Cesmat/Amestoy Hotel. This study was prepared on behalf of the California High Speed Rail Authority (Authority) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) as part of their efforts to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)for the Fresno to Bakersfield Section, Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment Alternative of the California High-Speed Rail (HSR) Project. More specifically, the study addresses each of the properties in terms of their eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs). TCPs are different from historic properties in that their eligibility depends on their continuing importance to the associated community as a place where cultural traditions are practiced and/or cultural identity is maintained. This relatively rare property type is reserved for places of exceptional cultural importance.

To conduct this study, 10 members of the Bakersfield Basque community were interviewed in August, September, and October 2015 using an open-ended, semi-structured interview protocol. Interview questions addressed the history of the restaurants, hotels, and boarding house, and the role of each property in defining and maintaining the identity of the contemporary Basque/Basque-American community of Bakersfield.

This study makes the following recommendations regarding the following three locations’ NRHP eligibility as TCPs.

1.1 Noriega Hotel

The Noriega Hotel complex consists of a cluster of stucco buildings, including a boarding house, a restaurant/bar, and a handball court located at 525/531 Sumner Street. It has served as a nucleus of Bakersfield’s Basque community since the boarding house was built in 1893 and the first ball court was constructed. The addition of an open-air brick pelota (handball) court in 1930-31 and a restaurant in 1940 have added to its importance to the community. Pelota is a general term for traditional Basque ball games variously played with the hands, a racket, a bat, or a basket. As the oldest Basque boarding house still in operation (one of only five in California), the Noriega Hotel is of local, state, and national significance. It has been recommended as eligible as an individual historic property under Criteria A, B, and C (refer to the Department of Parks and Recreation [DPR] form for 525 Sumner Street in Appendix B) (Authority and FRA 2016).

The Noriega Hotel, specifically the restaurant, bar, and ball court, remains a nexus of activity for the Bakersfield Basque community. For this reason, it is recommended eligible for inclusion in the NRHP as a TCP.

The Noriega Hotel appears eligible for inclusion in the NRHP as a TCP under Criterion A at the local, state, and national levels of significance because of its association with the early development of the Basque community in Bakersfield and its continuing role as a place where Basque immigrants and their descendants gather to maintain their cultural identity. The Noriega Hotel has a period of significance of 1893 to the present under Criterion A.

The Noriega Hotel also appears eligible for inclusion in the NRHP as a TCP under Criterion C because it is an intact complex of buildings that specifically reflect Basque immigrant culture. The restaurant, bar, boarding house, and ball court are a unique array of structures common only to Basque immigrant communities. The best surviving complex at this time on the East Bakersfield “Basque block,” it maintains its importance to the Bakersfield Basque community today.

The Noriega Hotel does not appear eligible as a TCP under Criteria B or D.

Summary of Findings


1-2 | Page Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Basque Traditional Cultural Properties Study

The boundary of the property is considered the legally defined parcel on which the Noriega Hotel is located, Assessor’s Parcel Number 016-050-15.

1.2 Pyrenees Café

The Pyrenees Café at 601/607 Sumner Street is located within a cluster of buildings that house a hotel, a bar/restaurant, and a currently unoccupied commercial property (see the DPR Form for 601/607 Sumner Street in Appendix B). The block was built between 1914 and 1925. The properties were joined into a single concrete masonry façade following a series of earthquakes in 1952, during which all of the buildings were severely damaged. As a result, these buildings were considered ineligible for the NRHP as historic structures under any criteria due to their lack of integrity.

The current bar/restaurant, the Pyrenees Café, was researched during this study as a potential TCP. According to interviews and archival data, this location existed primarily as a series of Italian restaurants until 1934, when it came under Basque management by Inocencio “Jack” Juarena until the mid-1970s. During this period, it was associated with the Basque community. The adjacent hotel, now the St. Francis Hotel, never served a primarily Basque clientele. The restaurant is currently being renovated by non-Basque owners and serves Basque meals presently. This restaurant, however, does not currently serve the Bakersfield Basque community and does not have a place in maintaining current Basque identity and culture. Even if the Pyrenees Café had been eligible under any criteria as an individual property, this lack of current association would have precluded its eligibility as a TCP. It is therefore considered not eligible as a TCP under any NRHP criteria.

1.3 Narducci’s Restaurant st

The building at 622 East 21 Street, which currently houses Narducci’s Restaurant, was built in st

1899 (see the DPR Form for 622 East 21 Street in Appendix B). The current stucco façade was applied following heavy damage to the structure during the 1952 earthquakes. Under the names Cesmat Hotel and Amestoy Hotel, it served the Basque community primarily between 1927 and 1964 while under the ownership of the Amestoy family. In that era, it operated as a boarding house providing traditional family-style meals and a bar.

Its importance to the Basque community declined after 1964, when it was sold to Marino Narducci. The restaurant portion was operated as Marino’s Italian Dinner; the name was subsequently changed to Narducci’s. The hotel portion of the building is no longer in operation.

While this location was recommended as eligible for the NRHP under Criterion A as a historic structure reflecting the arrival of Basque immigrants, it has not played an important role in Bakersfield Basque culture for over 50 years. Therefore, it is not eligible as a TCP.

Purpose of Study and Regulatory Setting



2 PURPOSE OF STUDY AND REGULATORY SETTING

2.1 Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate three properties associated with the Basque community of Bakersfield—the Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant—for their eligibility for inclusion in the NRHP as TCPs. Further, this study documents the traditional cultural significance of these properties based on the role they have played, and continue to play, in the Basque community’s historically rooted beliefs, customs, and practices.

The three properties were initially identified as part of built environment surveys conducted in 2015 for the Third Supplemental Historic Architectural Survey Report (HASR) for the Fresno to Bakersfield Section. They were evaluated in the HASR for their eligibility for inclusion in the NRHP and the California Register of Historical Resources as historic architectural properties. That HASR identified these three properties as being potentially eligible as TCPs. This study documents focused ethnographic research undertaken to expand the identification efforts of the HASR to address the traditional cultural significance of these properties.

2.2 Regulatory Setting

The Authority was established in 1996 and has been authorized to undertake planning for the development of a proposed statewide HSR system. In 2005, the Authority and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) completed the Final Program Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed California High-Speed Train System as the first phase of a tiered environmental review process. The Authority certified the final program Environmental Impact Report under the California Environmental Quality Act and approved the proposed HSR system, and the FRA issued a Record of Decision under the National Environmental Policy Act on the federal program Environmental Impact Statement.

The Programmatic Agreement among the Federal Railroad Administration, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the California State Historic Preservation Officer, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority regarding Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as it pertains to the California High-Speed Train Project (Section 106 PA) was signed in June/July 2011 to satisfy the requirements of Section 106 of the NHPA by the FRA, the Authority, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the State Historic Preservation Office (Authority and FRA 2011a). The Section 106 PA provides an overall framework for conducting the Section 106 process for the entire HSR Project. The cultural resources survey, evaluation, resource exemption, and documentation process for the Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment was conducted in accordance with the Section 106 PA. The Archaeological Survey Report and HASR are supplemental to the Fresno to Bakersfield Archaeological Survey Report and HASR (Authority and FRA 2011b, 2011a) and therefore, pursuant to Stipulation VI(C)(4) of the Section 106 PA, required because there are changes in the Area of Potential Effects (APE) that include properties not exempt from evaluation.

Stipulation VI(B) of the Section 106 PA prescribes the specific process for the identification and evaluation of resources that may be eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. Such resources include those that are significant as TCPs.

Purpose of Study and Regulatory Setting




Methodology



3 METHODOLOGY

This TCP study was prepared by ethnographer Shelly Tiley, Ph.D. Dr. Tiley has 35 years of experience in the field of Cultural Resource Management and has been recording TCPs since 1986. Dr. Tiley’s resume is included in Appendix C.

Prior to the interviews, literature about the Basque community in Kern County was reviewed to inform the nature and structure of the intentional questioning, as well as to provide a context for understanding and interpreting the statements made by the interviewees.

For the interview portion of the study, Steven Gamboa, Ph.D., of California State University, Bakersfield, an active member of the Basque community, was initially contacted. Dr. Gamboa, a prominent scholar, is ethnically Basque. Dr. Gamboa met with the author on site at the Noriega Hotel for dinner. Accompanying Dr. Gamboa were Stephen (Steve) Bass, a local historian who recently published a detailed history of the Basques of Kern County; Judy Errea Bass, Mr. Bass’ spouse; and Mrs. Bass’ brother, Judge Larry Errea. All of these individuals agreed to provide information regarding the history of the Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant as it pertains to the traditions of the Basque community and the roles these establishments may play in maintaining the collective cultural identity. Before, during, and after dinner, all four interviewees discussed the history of the Basque community and the Noriega Hotel.

During the dinner, Dr. Tiley was introduced to Linda McCoy, who runs the Noriega Hotel with her sister, Rochelle Ladd. Ms. McCoy provided a tour of the hotel, during which she provided the following access and information:

A tour of the kitchen, the ball court, and the interior of the boarding house, as well as introductions to the hotel employees

A narrative description of the photographs on the hotel’s wall, including the identification of individuals, events, and notable scenes depicted in the imagery

A list of additional people who may be interviewed, including a recommendation to visit the Noriega Hotel on a Sunday, when many of the old local families socialize

Based on this initial interaction with Ms. McCoy, the Woolgrowers Restaurant was contacted to set up an interview with the owner, Mayie Maitia, a prominent member of the Basque community. Ms. Maitia is associated with the Elizalde family, long-time previous managers of the Noriega Hotel.

A weekend research interview/visit was also scheduled on September 19 and 20, 2015, to coincide with a meeting of the “Bo Peeps,” a club consisting of wives of the sheepherders. During these interactions, the following tasks were undertaken:

An interview with Ms. Maitia and her daughter, Jenny Poncetta, at the Woolgrowers Restaurant

An introduction to the members of the Bo Peeps, as well as Yvonne Itukeria, one of Grace Elizalde’s granddaughters

Attendance at the weekly social gathering at the Noriega Hotel

An interview with Bernadette Etcheverry Irigoyen, a cook and waitress at the establishment for 51 years, and her daughter, Linda Hunt, an employee of 21 years

An interview with “Josephine” (no surname provided), a bartender at the Noriega Hotel and the Woolgrowers Restaurant

A brief discussion with Ms. Ladd about the history of Noriega’s (the on-site restaurant)

An introduction to Cherie Laxague at the Pyrenees French Bakery and the scheduling of an interview with her aunt and the bakery’s owner, Marianne Laxague, at a later date

Methodology



A final research trip was conducted on October 1–3, 2015. During this trip, the following tasks were undertaken:

An interview with Ms. Marianne Laxague at the Woolgrowers Restaurant

A visit to the Bakersfield Pioneer Museum, where the original French Bakery building and a sheepherder’s cabin had been moved

Photography of various Basque properties, including the interior and exterior of Narducci’s Restaurant and the Pyrenees Café

A brief meeting with the son of Angel Gonzales, the new manager of Narducci’s Restaurant after its recent reopening

A brief discussion with Rod Crawford and his wife, Jill Crawford, owners of the Pyrenees Café since 2014. The Crawfords permitted access to the older portions of the building not in current use.

3.1 Interview Structure and Process

The interviews were conducted using an open-ended, semi-structured interview protocol, which included questions about the history of the three properties, as well as the role of the Noriega Hotel, Narducci’s Restaurant, and the Pyrenees Café in the contemporary Basque community. Although topics to be addressed were prepared, people were encouraged to discuss the ways in which these properties were of interest to them and the roles they did or did not play in local Basque history. Since all of the interviews were undertaken in public places, audio recording of the interviews was not viable. However, detailed notes were taken. Although 10 individuals were interviewed at length, a number of other people contributed to the conversation, which added depth to the results. Two of the sessions took place during meals in communal settings at a single large table, so neighboring diners were drawn into the conversation. People were forthcoming and enthusiastic during the interview and freely offered the names of additional knowledgeable individuals to contact. The open-ended nature of the interviews allowed people to share their own memories and associations with the three properties at a pace that encouraged active reflection and recall. Some interviewees offered photographs, some of which are included in this report.

All field notes were digitally backed up and stored on a secure server. Photographs taken in the field and collected during post-field communications with key informants were also stored digitally.

The results of the field-based community interviews provided the necessary context for the evaluation of the eligibility of the Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant for inclusion in the NRHP as TCPs. Additionally, these interviews laid the groundwork for continuing community engagement and provided an early opportunity for stakeholders to engage in the environmental process for the HSR Project. Some of the participants had already attended community outreach meetings.

The following table shows the names of individuals interviewed and the date their interviews took place.

Methodology



Table 3-1 Interviewees

Interviewee Date Interviewed

Steven Gamboa, Ph.D. August 26, 2015

Steve Bass August 26, 2015

Judy Errea Bass August 26, 2015

Judge Larry Errea August 26, 2015

Linda McCoy August 26, 2015

Mayie Maitia September 19, 2015

Bernadette Etcheverry Irigoyen September 20,2015

Jenny Poncetta September 19, 2015

Linda Hunt September 20, 2015

Josephine September 20, 2015

Marianne Laxague October 2, 2015

Note: The persons listed in this table were spoken with at length and contributed the bulk of the ethnographic information; others mentioned in the narrative were spoken with briefly.

Methodology




Results



4 RESULTS

This chapter presents the results of both the archival research conducted to prepare the study and the information gleaned from interviews. Detailed historical documentation is provided on the California DPR 523 Forms for the buildings housing the Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant (see Appendix B). This chapter provides a historical context of the Basque community, a basic physical description of the buildings, and a brief summary of their histories.

The Noriega Hotel complex, located at 525 Sumner Street, comprises a two-story hotel constructed in 1893 and, after damage from a fire, repaired in 1920; a single-story restaurant (referred to simply as Noriega’s) constructed in 1940; and an open-air handball court constructed between 1930 and 1931. The complex is united by a continuous stucco façade applied circa 1940. The Noriega Hotel has continuously been used by the Basque community as a boarding house, as well as for cultural events such as family ceremonies, tournaments, and meetings.

Narducci’s Restaurant, located on East 21st Street, is a two-story building constructed in 1899

with an irregular footprint. Many of its original neoclassical details have been removed and stucco was applied at an unknown date. It was originally a hotel that contained a handball court (removed sometime before 1912). A Basque restaurant and bar were established in the hotel’s first story in 1927. It was renamed Narducci’s in the 1970s by the Italian family who purchased the building in 1964. It is no longer regarded by the Basque community as a cultural venue for their events and gatherings.

The Pyrenees Café consists of a two-part commercial block building constructed in 1914 and located at 601 Sumner Street. The building also houses the St. Francis Hotel. Originally constructed of brick, portions of the building were repaired with concrete blocks in 1953. Exterior walls are painted in a highly contrasting blocked color scheme differentiating the first and second floors. The café is currently not considered a family-oriented establishment by the Basque community, nor is it a venue for their cultural events and gatherings.

Most of the interview results related directly to a single property, but some of the material is helpful in characterizing the cultural milieu in which these businesses operated.

In the presentation of interview results, information is attributed to individual interviewees by their initials. Since interviewees were only interviewed once, the dates of each interview are not a variable; they can be found in Table 3-1. Attributions are as follows:

LE = Judge Larry Errea JEB = Judy Errea Bass SB = Steve Bass SG = Steven Gamboa, Ph.D. MM = Mayie Maitia JP = Jenny Poncetta BI = Bernadette Etcheverry Irigoyen LH = Linda Hunt J = Josephine ML = Marianne Laxague

4.1 Historical Background of the Bakersfield Basque Community

The economic draw of sheepherders to the United States (U.S.) occurred at a time when the demand for their skills in their home countries of France and Spain was ebbing. In the aftermath of the American Civil War, demand rose for the use of wool in the textile industry as an alternative to cotton, and the California sheep industry, already established in Spanish and Mexican California, became a major economic venture (Paquette 1982:1). The Miller and Lux Pacific Livestock Company, established in 1857, grew to be the largest ranching operation in the western U.S. and had a ranch in Kern County in Buttonwillow. Calls for sheepherders from massive ranching corporations like Miller and Lux were heard in the Basque home countries; at the same time, economies in the mountainous Basque homeland foundered, with their small landholdings

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shrinking each generation as they were split among large numbers of children. A mass of young, single men responded to the call to emigrate.

In the 1850s and 1860s, Los Angeles was the hub of Basque activities, which gradually moved eastward (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:20). French Basques were the early Bakersfield settlers, and they stayed initially in the already established Dauphinois French colony of East Bakersfield (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:32). Among the earliest Basque settlers were Jean Burubeltz, who arrived in 1873 and would later manage the Noriega Hotel; and Marianne Laxague, the first Basque woman in Bakersfield (circa 1875), whose niece would marry Faustino Mier Noriega (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:37). Basques began arriving in great numbers in the 1890s; Paquette (1982:13) notes that 84 percent of the 18-year-olds born between 1876 and 1879 in French Basque country left to seek their fortune. Most French Basques hailed from the towns of Baigorri, Urepel, Aldudes, and Banka. The local priest would arrange the jobs, for which there was a quota (SG). Many stayed in the U.S. for a few years and then returned to their home countries with their wages (LE), although half made America their permanent home. Some accumulated money from working at the large ranches to purchase their own flocks or farms. Young women would immigrate, often to join brothers already employed in Kern County, and work as maids, waitresses, or cooks. They would marry into Basque families already settled in Bakersfield. Often these French Basque families had known each other in the old country. After World War I, the French economy improved, and fewer French Basque sheepherders arrived.

Most early-arriving Spanish Basques worked around Fresno or in Nevada; however, they began arriving in the southern San Joaquin Valley in the 1890s. These Basque immigrants came from Valle Bastant, close to the French border (Paquette 1982:33). The majority of French and Spanish Basques in Bakersfield originated from a very limited area within a 20-mile radius of the Spanish/French border (SG).

Two Spanish Basque stories were recalled concerning the Noriega Hotel, both from about 1920: Laureano Urizalqui, his wife Sebastiana, and their family stayed at the Noriega Hotel in 1920. Later, when they had established their own farm, they became the poultry suppliers for the Noriega Hotel’s dining hall (Paquette 1982:37). Tomas Inda and his friends were Spanish Basques who were given the name of the Noriega Hotel in Spain. They took the train immediately after clearing Ellis Island, and after the 5-day journey were relieved when they could see the Noriega sign from the Bakersfield train depot (Paquette 1982:39-40).

In 1921, the U.S. severely reduced immigration quotas. The quota for Spanish citizens dropped from 912 to 131 persons per year (Paquette 1982:39). Immigration stalled until after the Second World War.

Spanish Basques arriving after World War II were predominantly from the Baztan Valley in Nafarroa. Immigration was encouraged once again by the so-called “sheepherder bills” in the 1950s, when ranchers were able to sponsor immigrants. Spanish Basques in particular arrived “on contracts,” a practice spurned by French Basques, who were usually sponsored (MM). Between 1957 and 1970, about 5,000 Basques arrived as herders. After 1970, labor regulations increased and the number of sheep in the U.S. began to decline. Just as wool had replaced cotton a century before, synthetic fabrics became more popular and easier to produce. In addition, the taste for mutton waned after World War II because the troops had been provisioned on canned mutton, and many returning soldiers swore off the meat (Harvest Public Media, October 8, 2013). The sheepherders who arrive today are primarily from South America (SB; Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:126). Contemporary Basque arrivals are mostly dairymen and their families moving in from Chino and La Puente (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:273).

4.1.1 The Basque Block

The chosen location of a true Basque community in Bakersfield was highly dependent on the existence of the train station at the corner of Baker and Sumner Streets. In 1874, the Southern Pacific Railroad established what would become its main Bakersfield depot, in what was then known as the town of Sumner. An imposing depot building was constructed in 1889 (Photograph 1), and the centrally located building soon fostered a thriving community. In the

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Photograph 1. The East Bakersfield Train Station, facing south, September 20, 2015.

1890s, the community was incorporated as the City of Kern; in 1909, the settlement became the part of Bakersfield commonly called East Bakersfield (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:32).

Basques arriving in California traveled by train to this station. Here, they were greeted by the Bakersfield Basque community. The Basque establishments were centered near the railway depot, all within walking distance of each other. A number of different businesses catered to Basque clientele (SB), both resident immigrant families and visiting sheepherders.

Uhault’s blacksmith/hardware store stocked items sheepherders needed as they set out on their jobs (LE). A city mercantile by the railroad tracks carried sheepherder supplies as well (MM); this may have been the Ardizzi and Olcese General Merchandise. Blanc’s service station and hardware store was located in the former tire shop and garage of Frank Noriega (Faustino Noriega’s son) in the Noriega Hotel building cluster and also carried supplies for sheepherders (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:108). Farther down Sumner Street was the house of a midwife (no longer extant), who supervised the births of many members of the Basque community (LE). There was also a French bakery in the area (ML) (Photograph 2), which was moved from its original location to the Bakersfield Pioneer Museum. The current bakery is in a new building (built in 1961) at the same location on 19

th Street and still serves all of the local Basque restaurants.

Seven of these were evaluated as part of the built environment study, and two resources within the APE have been demolished. Seven were located outside the project APE and did not require further evaluation, as shown in Table 4-1.

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Photograph 2 Original French Bakery Building, now at Bakersfield Pioneer Museum, September 20, 2015.

There are only two Basque-related historic properties within the APE that are eligible for the NRHP; the others depicted are not eligible for listing in the NRHP or California Register of Historical Resources, or have been demolished. Several of the former Basque businesses depicted on Figure 4-1 that were not studied because they are outside the APE also appear to have been demolished. Therefore, the two known individually eligible resources (the Noriega complex[#1] and Narducci’s Restaurant [#4]) do not form a concentration or continuity of buildings and do not represent a potential historic district. Even if Woolgrowers Restaurant (#5) or the bakery (#8) were studied and found eligible, they are each an additional block away, with intervening modern construction. The visual linkage and continuity necessary to constitute a

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Figure 4-1 Basque Businesses in East Bakersfield (image generated from hand-drawn map by George Ansolabehere, from Bass and Ansolabehere n.d.)

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Table 4-1 Eligibility Status of Basque Historic Buildings Cited in Text

# Name Status in BFSSA Project

1 Noriega Hotel, restaurant, and ball court DPR 523 Form—Eligible for NRHP/CRHR as part of the Noriega Hotel complex and considered a TCP

2 St. Francis Hotel/Pyrenees Café DPR 523 Form—Not Eligible for NRHP/CRHR

3 Metropole Hotel DPR 523 Form—Not Eligible for NRHP/CRHR

4 Cesmat/Amestoy Hotel and Narducci’s Restaurant

DPR 523 Form—Eligible for NRHP/CRHR

5 Woolgrower’s Restaurant Outside APE*

6 Uhault’s Blacksmith Outside APE*

7 Brogue Café Outside APE*

8 Hotel des Alpes/Pyrenees Bakery Outside APE*

9 East Side Commercial Hotel Within APE; demolished

10 Noriega House Outside APE*

11 St. Joseph’s Church Outside APE*

12 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot DPR 523 Form—Eligible for NRHP/CRHR

13 Frank Noriega Court Office 1949 DPR 523 Form—Eligible for NRHP/CRHR as part of the Noriega Hotel complex but not as a TCP

14 National Hotel Outside APE*

15 Midwife Within APE; demolished

16 Frank Noriega Court Office circa 1955 DPR 523 Form—Not Eligible for NRHP/CRHR

17 Europe Hotel Streamline documentation

*No field check or studies of this resource are required for this project. APE = Area of Potential Effects BFSSA = Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment CRHR = California Register of Historical Resources DPR = Department of Parks and Recreation NRHP = National Register of Historic Places TCP = Traditional Cultural Property

potential historic district does not exist between these resources. Nevertheless, the two individually eligible historic properties that have association with the Basque community of Sumner are the Noriega Hotel and Narducci’s Restaurant. Narducci’s Restaurant is individually eligible as a historic property and is not a TCP. The Noriega Hotel (including the restaurant, hotel, and handball court located on Assessor’s Parcel Number 01605005, also known as 525-531 Sumner Street) is eligible as a built environment historic property as well as a TCP.

There are two different locations for the Frank Noriega court office. One is at 531 Sumner Street and is one of the buildings identified as part of the Noriega Hotel complex (#13). Although the court office was evaluated as an element of the Noriega Hotel complex and is eligible as a built environment historic property, it is not eligible as a TCP. The other location of the Frank Noriega court office was an office in the Bank of Kern Building (#16). The Bank of Kern Building was fully evaluated and found to be not eligible as a historic property.

Hotels, boarding houses, and restaurants once crowded the Basque block. Seven hotels were operating in the late 19

th and early 20

th centuries, including the Iberia Hotel (now the Noriega

Hotel), the Cesmat Hotel (later the Amestoy Hotel and currently Narducci’s Restaurant), the Europa Hotel, the East Side Commercial Hotel, the National Hotel, and the Metropole Hotel (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012).

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Boarding houses, such as the Noriega Hotel and Amestoy Hotel, played a critical role in the community. To the arriving or returning young men who had committed themselves to the lonely and challenging sheepherder life, they were a lifeline. Sheepherding work was extremely isolated, and many of the sheepherders were very young, perhaps 15 or 16 years old. Sheepherders were alone for months while working, except for the tender who would come once a week at the most to bring supplies. The loneliness could be unbearable and the housing primitive (Photograph 3). The interviewee noted that people use the term “going to the mountains” to mean going insane (LE). The Noriega Hotel was important to these young men when they had breaks in employment. Its function was described by Basque scholar William Douglass:

Photograph 3 Sheepherder’s cabin, Bakersfield Pioneer Museum, September 20, 2015.

The nature of sheepherding, until well into the 20th century, made it an

occupation primarily for the young and unmarried, many with little command of English and in need of a place to find companionship and shelter. To serve the needs of these sheepherders, Basque boarding houses became a dominant enterprise and support in their communities. The owner of the boarding house served as interpreter, postmaster, medical advisor, and business consultant for Basque newcomers to the American West. Boarding houses also provided traditional music, held dances, and constructed pelota and jai alai courts for their patrons, making them the focus of social life in many Basque communities (Douglass nd).

The presence of such boarding houses (in this case, specifically the Noriega Hotel) was so critical to the community that historian Mary Paquette calls the wedding of Faustino Mier Noriega to Louise Inda of Bakersfield and their opening of that establishment “the indirect cause of the large-scale migrations of French and Spanish Basques to Kern County“ (Paquette 1982:5).

A story told by one interviewee illustrates the importance of such boarding houses (called ostatuak in the Basque language) to newly arriving Basques (LE). His grandmother emigrated

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from a valley in Spain by way of a ship originating out of Bordeaux. She slept on a bench at Ellis Island because no one there spoke Basque. She then took a train across the country to Bakersfield and had a note pinned to her shirt that said “Noriega Hotel, Bakersfield” so that someone could direct her when she arrived. Many Basques arrived by train in the early days, and would get off and “walk until they heard someone speaking Basque.”

4.1.2 The Basque Community

The Basque community in Bakersfield was, and is, tightly knit socially, connected through common origin, language, culture, intermarriage, and business associations. By the 1890s, there were so many Basque people in the southern San Joaquin Valley that the Bakersfield Californian sometimes printed articles in Basque (Paquette 1982:107). The community would grow to be the largest concentration of Basques in California and the second largest in the U.S., behind Boise, Idaho (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:viii).

Many of the families began their tenure in Bakersfield by staying at the Noriega or Amestoy Hotels, and a large number of women worked as waitresses, kitchen staff, or maids at one or both locations (MM, BI, SB). Turnover was high, and young women often met their future spouses at these establishments (Echeverria 1999:104-111). A number of men served as bartenders or cooks. Several families specialized in the management of hotel/restaurant establishments and were associated with more than one place of business in the area.

An interesting aspect of Basque business enterprises is their general non-competitive nature. People with established businesses nurtured the business success of newcomers. For example, Woolgrowers Restaurant was founded by Mayie Maitia, who worked at the Noriega Hotel (Photograph 4). It was set up for the overflow dining at Noriega’s, since many people were turned away or could not make the single-sitting dinner (LE). Grace Elizalde, then proprietress at the Noriega Hotel, was very helpful to Ms. Maitia in getting Woolgrowers started (MM). Many people worked at some time for various establishments. For example, prior to her employment at the Noriega Hotel, Ms. Maitia also worked at the Pyrenees and Amestoy Hotels (MM). Restaurants still share personnel to this day (LH).

The success of the Basque community is a matter of pride and has everything to do with how people supported one another and promoted each other’s success (MM). As one person put it, Basques came with nothing but determination, but succeeded by sticking together (BI). They were helped by their frugality, strong work ethic, and “hardheadedness” (LE).

An important organization within the community is the Kern County Basque Club, founded in 1938. It is the oldest surviving Basque Club in the U.S. and has one of the largest memberships (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:111). The club holds the largest Basque picnic in the country on Memorial Day, hosts a Sheepman’s Picnic in July, and raises money through a booth at the Kern County Fair (LE). Basque people from Chino, San Francisco, and other western towns arrive in Bakersfield to renew old relationships and meet new people (SG, ML). The Basque Club has tournaments that feature the indigenous card game Mus, at which people from all over compete, including visitors from the home countries. The club has a larger, somewhat different ball court from the one at the Noriega Hotel, which has been very actively used since the 1940s (ML). The club sometimes hosts pelota (handball) teams from the home countries, has live music, and holds traditional dances (LE, ML).

There is also an aforementioned women’s club, called the Bo Peeps, which consists of sheepherder’s wives. They meet at Woolgrowers Restaurant in September and have produced a cookbook, which is for sale locally.

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Photograph 4 Mayie Maitia and daughter, Jenny Poncetta, at Woolgrowers, September 19, 2015.

Knowledge of Basques in other communities, such as Chino, San Francisco, and various Nevada towns like Ely, Winnemucca, and Gardnerville, is also strong (SG). People visit between these communities for cultural events, which tie these communities together in a larger network of Basque cultural relations. For example, when LH’s brother went to law school, he stayed in a Basque hotel in San Francisco.

4.1.3 Noriega Hotel

SB, a local historian, stated that the Noriega Hotel is the oldest Basque boarding house in the U.S. that is still operating and serving meals at one sitting (Bass 2008). It is one of only five remaining in California (Echeverria 1999:243). The Noriega Hotel and adjoining stables were built in 1893 by Faustino Mier Noriega and Fernando Etcheverry (Paquette 1982:87; Bass and Ansolabehere 2001). Originally called the Iberia Hotel, the name was changed in 1906 to the Noriega Hotel. It was built specifically to serve Basque immigrants (Paquette 1982:8; Photographs 5). A handball court was added sometime before 1899 (SB). The importance of this establishment is underscored by Paquette, who associated the “formal beginning” of the Basque colony of Bakersfield with this establishment, stating, “[w]ith the opening of the Iberia and its adjoining stables, the Basques had at last a place of their own, where they could congregate with their compatriots” (1982:87). Noriega’s is also Bakersfield’s oldest restaurant (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:74).

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Photograph 5 View facing north of the back of the Noriega boarding house, showing original construction, August 26, 2015.

Faustino and his wife, Louise Inda Noriega, lived at the boarding house until 1901, when they moved into a much more luxurious home they built nearby on Baker Street. While the home is no longer in the family, it is still called the Noriega House (SB) (Photograph 6).

Photograph 6 The Noriega House, facing east, September 20, 2015.

The Noriega Hotel did more than provide a place for sheepherders on their way to their jobs; it employed many Basque people as cooks, bartenders, and maids. Paquette characterizes the demand for maids as “never-ending,” as many of the young women quickly met and married other Basques while at the hotel. Marcelina Noriega, Faustino’s daughter, held an informal record for being bridesmaid at the most Basque weddings, as some of the earliest marriage ceremonies took place at the hotel. In fact, Francisco “Frank” Amestoy met his wife, Anselma “Chaparita” Ballaz, while both worked at the Noriega Hotel; they went on to establish the Amestoy Hotel,

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another boarding house for Basque immigrants (Paquette 1982:88). Wedding receptions continue to be celebrated at the Noriega Hotel from time to time; Jenny Ansolabehere Etcheverry recalls that her parents’ reception was held there in 1966 (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:138). The high levels of intermarriage in the early Basque community created large extended families, who cooperated in establishing businesses, sponsoring relatives from Europe, and assisting each other in general (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:53).

Faustino Noriega and Fernando Etcheverry expanded their operations by building the Pyrenees Hotel in 1901. They leased the Noriega Hotel to Jean and Jeanne Burubeltz in the same year. The Burubeltzes moved on to manage the Europa Hotel a block away in 1906.

The historical record is unclear regarding the management of the Noriega Hotel until 1920, but by then it was already being referred to as a “landmark” (Bakersfield Californian, December 2, 1920). Francisco Amestoy and Anselma Ballaz both worked at the Noriega Hotel; Anselma had worked as a maid there since 1912. In 1920, they took over the Noriega operation, and in 1927, they purchased the Cesmat Hotel, renaming it the Amestoy. Francisco and Anselma continued to run the Noriega Hotel until 1931, when, after a few months of management by Faustino Noriega’s daughter Marceline and her husband Domingo Recatune, the Elizalde family took control of operations (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012).

The close-knit nature of the families owning and operating hotels in the area is again shown by the next managers of the Noriega Hotel. Juan Elizalde was the nephew of Jean Burubeltz, who had previously managed the property. He and his wife, Grace Laporte Elizalde, were from Anhaux, France. The Elizaldes had managed the East Side Commercial Hotel next to the train depot during the 1920s. With the management of the Elizaldes, the Noriega Hotel entered an era of cultural prominence, and it is this era that is most remembered by people today.

By the late 1930s, the Noriega Hotel was enjoying great popularity under Grace’s management. Frank Noriega had built a new, enclosed handball court, or tanquieta, in 1930 (SG) (Photograph 13). Normally, 8 to 10 boarders might be staying at the boarding house, arriving to get ready for a job or to take a vacation when herding was finished (BI). In the old days, there were jai alai tournaments at the Noriega Hotel ball court, as well as racquetball and pelota more recently (LH).

Although others adhered to the Basque values of interdependence and communal support, Grace Elizalde stood out as an individual who uniquely devoted her life to those in need, and who came to symbolize the Basque trait of selflessness and compassion. As Mayie Maitia stated, “there was no one like her” (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:205). The long period during which she presided over the Noriega Hotel, from 1931 until her death in 1974, was a time in which many Basque families were finding their way in a new country, a path made endurable thanks to the assistance Grace Elizalde provided.

In 1998, Grace Elizalde was given an honor posthumously by The Society of Basque Studies in America as a “restauranteur and benefactor to the community” and “for extraordinary contributions to Basque welfare” (Photograph 7). For many years, she was the “mother” of the Basque community in Bakersfield. Virtually all of the interviewees wanted to talk about her and considered her synonymous with the Noriega Hotel as a cultural treasure.

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Photograph 7 Grace Elizalde Hall of Fame plaque (courtesy of the Noriega Hotel).

Widowed soon after she and her husband Juan began to manage the Noriega Hotel, Grace Elizalde raised four children while running a business and taking care of many individuals in the Basque community (Photograph 8). One interviewee stated that Grace helped everyone and treated them like a mother would (MM). She lived in the upstairs front of the boarding house to be available at a moment’s notice. Her son Albert lived downstairs (BI). Sebastian Minaberri recalled arriving at the hotel in the middle of the night only to find the lodging full, but Grace gave him a bed in the family’s private quarters. “Sixty years later I am still awed by the generosity and kindness Grace showed me in my first night in America” (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:220).

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Photograph 8 Grace Elizalde (center) and children (courtesy of the Noriega Hotel).

Grace Elizalde cared for sheepherders when they were sick or injured, kept their mail, helped them with immigration papers, sometimes paid for their burial, and in the later times picked them up at the airport (MM, BI, ML). She would often refuse any payment when they first arrived, telling them to repay her when they could. Paquette (1982:90) even reports that Grace purchased a large burial plot for all of the sheepherders who died far from their homes and families. Grace also helped establish two of the currently thriving Basque businesses in Bakersfield. When her waitress, Mayie Maitia, decided to start a restaurant of her own, Grace provided assistance and financial support. The result was the now nationally known Woolgrowers Restaurant (Photograph 9). After World War II, the U.S. was recruiting bakers. When the Laxagues came from France in 1945, intending to start a bakery, Grace gave them her room at the Noriega Hotel while their house was completed. She then loaned them the money to start their business, which they paid off in bread. The Pyrenees French Bakery is still in the family and supplies bread to all of the Basque restaurants (Photograph 10). These establishments are not within the project APE and therefore were not evaluated as TCPs for this study. These and other Basque businesses are presented in Table 4-1 along with the survey status of each.

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Photograph 9 Woolgrowers Restaurant, facing northwest, September 20, 2015.

Photograph 10 Pyrenees French Bakery, facing west, September 20, 2015.

The Basque community’s key to success was mutual support. Proprietors and middlemen are remembered as going out of their way to provide assistance to their compatriots. Francisco Amestoy, for example, taught Mayie Maitia to drive and took her to night school at Bakersfield College when she lived at the Amestoy Hotel and was in their employ. Others acknowledge the encouragement, financial support, and other assistance offered them by the Basque community. Ms. Maitia, once Grace Elizalde’s helper in assisting the sheepherders and now the owner of Woolgrowers, appears to be following Grace’s example. She, too, was inducted into the Basque Hall of Fame for her contributions to the Basque community and acts of charity (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:208).

Under Elizalde’s management, the boarding house was very crowded at times, especially when there were handball games or other events in town that sheepherders attended. The area on the rooftop above the handball court was called the gallinera, or “chicken coop,” because it served as

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overflow sleeping quarters for sheepherders, sometimes accommodating 120 men (SB) (Photographs 11 and 12).

Photograph 11 Ball court at the Noriega Hotel, facing south, August 26, 2015.

Photograph 12 The “chicken coop” overflow sleeping quarters used during the hotel’s heyday, facing east, August 26, 2015.

In 1940, the first major renovations to the hotel property took place when a restaurant and bar were built on the site of the old livery stable adjacent to the hotel (Photographs 13 and 14). The Bakersfield Californian (April 19, 1940) announced the opening of the new restaurant, noting that it “has held to its original purpose, a headquarters and landmark in the sheep industry in the

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valley and it is known far and wide wherever sheepmen travel.” Built in the Streamline Moderne aesthetic popular in the 1930s, the façade remains unchanged to the present day. The restaurant today offers the same meals from the same recipes: cabbage soup, salad, beans, French bread, salsa, pickled tongue, pasta, vegetables, bleu cheese, and cottage cheese, followed by a main course that varies by day and includes chicken cacciatore, steak, lamb stew, prime rib, garlic fried chicken and spare ribs, beef stew, leg of lamb, oxtail stew, fried chicken, and baked chicken. All of this is served with wine and flan for dessert.

Photograph 13 Modern entrance to Noriega’s, with the attached Noriega Hotel, facing east, August 26, 2015.

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Photograph 14 Bar at Noriega’s, facing west, August 26, 2015 (note jai alai gear).

Sundays were a social day for the Basque community, and Noriega’s was an important meeting place. In the old days, people took buckboards into town to spend Sundays there (LE). At that time, people would come after church to socialize and to play handball. Some stayed into the evening, when dances were held (Paquette 1982:111). LE recalled that when he was young, men would play a card game called Mus for many hours (Photograph 15). He would get bored and cross the tracks to a movie theater on the other side. JP recalled that she went to the drug store for comic books to alleviate the same sense of boredom. Mary Lou Saldubehere met her husband, Anton, at one of these gatherings. She stated, “It was almost like being back in the old country; food, fun and friends!” (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:132).

Special tables for playing Mus are still set up on Sunday afternoons. On September 20, 2015, there was a small crowd due to the ongoing fair in town, but 4 men were playing, and about 15 people stayed to socialize after the meal (Photograph 16).

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Photograph 15 Painting of men playing Mus at Noriega’s (courtesy of the Noriega Hotel).

Photograph 16 Men playing Mus at Noriega’s, September 20, 2015.

Dinner at the Noriega Hotel is still so popular that reservations are required, and the reasons for attending have remained the same: birthdays, anniversaries, and other important life event celebrations. People leaving for or returning from the Basque home countries come in to be sent off or welcomed back (BI). There has even been a wedding on the ball court. Sunday social time after church still includes lunch followed by games of Mus for the men and socializing among the families (SB, LE). One of the interviewees noted that “everyone knows everyone” (JE). At the Sunday lunch, people all seemed to be acquainted, inquiring after new children or grandchildren and recent trips. The staff seemed to know all the families well.

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Sheepherding in the 21st century is no longer a predominantly Basque enterprise, due to both

labor laws and the improvement of the Basque economy at home (LE). In fact, a 2012 Reuters article entitled “Basque Economy has Lesson for Spain” (June 28, 2012) noted that the Basque region now outshines Spain economically in terms of its high credit rating and low unemployment. The article opined that this region’s success is due to its investments in industry rather than the more volatile tourism and property sectors. In addition, for those who prefer more traditional occupations, farmlands are now plentifully available as many families have moved to the cities.

Peruvians and Chileans are often hired as sheepherders in the present day (BI). In 2015, two Peruvian sheepherders were boarding at the hotel and eating at the great communal dinner table, no doubt enjoying similar comforts and company as their Basque predecessors.

The Noriega Hotel has played, and continues to play, a crucial role in maintaining Basque cultural identity, especially in Bakersfield, through the retention of social practices and common societal referents rooted in the community’s history. One interviewee (SG) stated that “communities need a center,” and that that center was, and still is, the Noriega Hotel.

4.1.4 Pyrenees Café

The buildings currently housing the Pyrenees Café and the adjacent St. Francis Hotel were built by Celestini and Agata Perrini in 1914 and 1925, respectively. Originally called the Italia Hotel, the restaurant section of the building served Italian dinners as the Palace Café under various owners until 1934 (Photographs 17 and 18).

Photograph 17 The Pyrenees Café, facing east, September 20, 2015.

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Photograph 18 Pyrenees Bar, facing east, September 20, 2015.

Its first association with the Basque community came in 1935, when the restaurant was renamed the Pyrenees Café, managed by a Spanish Basque couple, Inocencio Juarena and Jeanne Iribarne Dunns. Interviewees recalled that the family of Inocencio and Jeanne managed the Pyrenees Café and Hotel for three generations, finally selling the property in 1982 (BI, Paquette 1982:92). Although the restaurant was important to the Basque community under the Juarenas’ management, the attached hotel operated as a regular hotel rather than a boarding house and was not specifically frequented by Basques. Bass and Ansolabehere (n.d.) note that the building has gone through “multiple incarnations” since then. It is still leased as a Basque restaurant and bar, but it is not Basque-owned or operated. The current owners, the Crawfords, are restoring the downstairs (Photographs 19 and 20). A few tenants live in the upstairs rooms, but this is currently a separate enterprise called the St. Francis Hotel.

Photograph 19 Pyrenees Café dining room, facing south, September 20, 2015.

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Photograph 20 Pyrenees Café room undergoing restoration, September 20, 2015.

4.1.5 Cesmat Hotel/Amestoy Hotel/Narducci’s Restaurant

Francisco and Anselma Amestoy purchased the Cesmat Hotel in 1927 and renamed it the Amestoy Hotel, which served as a Basque boarding house (Photographs 21 through 25). Anselma had a “feisty” personality and was known to chase troublemakers from the bar with a meat cleaver (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012). Bass and Ansolabehere (n.d.) noted that the Amestoy was a focal point of the Basque community until it was sold in the 1970s. Some sheepherders stayed at the Amestoy, especially in the early years. One interviewee (MM) vividly recalled staying there in Room 8 when she and her sister Angela arrived in Bakersfield in 1947. She remembered that the rooms were beautiful but noted that they are not being kept up. The Amestoy stopped serving as a boarding house in 1948.

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Photograph 21 Narducci’s Restaurant facing north, September 20, 2015.

Photograph 22 Narducci’s Restaurant entrance, facing northwest, September 20, 2015.

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Photograph 23 Narducci’s Restaurant bar, facing west, September 20, 2015.

Photograph 24 Narducci’s Restaurant dining room, September 20, 2015.

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Photograph 25 Amestoy Hotel, facing east, September 20, 2015.

The name of the Amestoy was changed in 1977 to Narducci’s, and the current owner lives in San Francisco. The owner operated it as an Italian restaurant for a time, but it is serving Basque food again at present. The hotel portion is apparently under other management but not operating at present.

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Evaluation: Three Basque Locations as Traditional Cultural Properties



5 EVALUATION: THREE BASQUE LOCATIONS AS TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES

This section evaluates three separate properties: the Noriega Hotel, Narducci’s Restaurant, and the Pyrenees Café, as potential TCPs. Since they were associated with the same Basque community, the research and interviews for all three were conducted together, but the properties are evaluated separately. The visual linkage and continuity necessary to constitute a potential historic district does not exist between these resources; therefore, they were not considered as such. The NRHP includes a variety of property-type classifications, including sites, buildings, districts, landscapes, structures, and objects. In each case, the significance of the property with regard to its architecture, history, archaeology, engineering, and/or culture has been identified. Guidance provided by the National Park Service (NPS) detailing how historic properties should be identified and described notes that one type of cultural significance that a property may have is “traditional cultural significance.” In the guidance, the term “traditional” is defined as referring to:

. . . those beliefs, customs, and practices of a living community of people that have been passed down through the generations, usually orally or through practice. The traditional cultural significance of a historic property, then, is significance derived from the role the property plays in the community’s historically rooted beliefs, customs, and practices (NPS 1998).

Thus, a TCP is a property that is eligible for inclusion in the NRHP because of its association with the cultural practices and beliefs of a community that are: (1) part of that community’s history; and (2) important in maintaining the identity of that community.

While many sites and locations may be culturally important to individual groups, the identification of a TCP is linked exclusively to the NRHP eligibility determination process; not all NRHP-eligible properties are TCPs, but all TCPs are NRHP-eligible properties. Traditional cultural significance is only one kind of cultural significance a property may possess; the property must also meet the other NRHP eligibility requirements and considerations.

NRHP Bulletins 15 and 38 provide guidance on how to determine the eligibility of historic properties and TCPs, respectively (NPS 1997; NPS 1998). More recent guidance comes from a 2007 case concerned with the evaluation of a historic district in New England as a TCP. In that case, the Keeper of the NRHP provided additional guidance regarding the characteristics a property must have to be considered a TCP (Smythe 2009). The following series of questions that comprise the evaluation process, answered with regard to the three Basque properties (the Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant), are derived from both the NRHP bulletins and the Keeper’s direction regarding the New England property.

First, consider all three in terms of the community:

Is the entity under consideration a property?

NRHP Bulletin 38 notes that the intangible cultural beliefs and practices are what give a property its traditional cultural significance, but that these intangible beliefs and practices are not the subject of the evaluation. Instead, the evaluation must be made with regard to a tangible object—a district, site, building, structure, or object.

All three of the properties are buildings, which are tangible and have defined boundaries.

Is the property associated with a living, traditional group or community? Did the group/community exist historically and does the same group/community continue into the present?

All three of the properties are or were owned, operated, and/or patronized by members of the Basque community. The historical Basque community in Bakersfield is well documented as a vibrant, modern community. Although now economically diverse, the Basque community remains important in the restaurant business and interfaces with the larger public and non-local Basque communities at these establishments.




The continuing association of the three Basque properties with the modern Basque community differs. The Noriega Hotel continues to serve generations of Basque families as a place to eat, socialize, and host community events, and as a boarding house for sheepherders. Basque individuals also find employment there. Its role has been described as central to the community in historical accounts (Paquette 1982; Bass and Ansolabehere 2012), to the degree that Bass and Ansolabehere (2012) maintain that “[t]he Noriega Hotel’s importance to the Kern County Basque community cannot be overstated.” This associative significance was irrefutably confirmed by those interviewed. The Noriega Hotel has continuously operated under Basque management since Juan and Grace Elizalde took over the operation in 1931, and the business remains in the family. The current proprietresses, Rochelle Ladd and Linda McCoy, are Juan and Grace Elizalde’s granddaughters. The fourth generation of the Elizalde family is now employed there. In addition, two of the waitresses from the Irigoyen family have served there for 21 and 51 years, respectively (Photograph 26). It is a community institution to a living community with extensive customs, beliefs, and practices rooted in communal interdependence and social traditions.

The Pyrenees Café and Narducci’s Restaurant do not retain a strong role in the community, although both had a historical association with the East Bakersfield Basque community in the past. One interviewee stated that there has not been Basque involvement in the Pyrenees Café for over 30 years (SB). Further, people did not recall that sheepherders stayed at the adjacent hotel, which is now called the St. Francis Hotel (MM). Both Narducci’s Restaurant and the Pyrenees Café are operated solely as bar/restaurants.

Photograph 26 Bernadette Irigoyen, Noriega’s waitress for 51 years (and counting), September 20, 2015.

Does the group share cultural practices, customs, or beliefs that are rooted in the group/community’s history? Do these shared cultural practices, customs, or beliefs continue to be held or practiced today?

Paquette (1982:xi) noted that “[w]herever they have gone, the Basques have managed to preserve their ethnic identity better than most other immigrant nationalities.” This seems to be particularly true of the Bakersfield Basque community. Many community members continue to




speak Basque well enough to be aware of others’ dialects, and people still know from which villages within the French and Spanish Basque homeland families originated (BI, LH). In fact, many people in Bakersfield come from families that knew each other in the homeland (MM, LE). Marriages between these families were, and still are, common. People return to their native villages as often as they can and visit other Basque communities in the western U.S. Others attend Basque cultural conferences promoting and presenting academic Basque studies at universities that have Basque Studies programs, such as the University of Nevada, Reno, and Boise State University.

Interviewees consistently remarked that Basque culture, and particularly Basque cuisine, remains rooted in past practices. The recipes used at Noriega’s, for example, reportedly have not changed since 1931. The bread from the Pyrenees French Bakery featured at Noriega’s has a much longer pedigree. The sourdough starter the bakery uses came from Garachochea’s Southern California Bakery, which in turn uses a starter that is believed to have come from a bakery near Aldudes, France, where it has been used for several hundred years (Bass and Ansolabehere 2012:39).

While the Noriega Hotel continues to be a venue for Basque cultural practices, the Pyrenees Café and Narducci’s Restaurant do not. One interviewee (BI) recalled that the Pyrenees Café used to be owned by a Spanish Basque named Inocensio (likely referring to Inocencio “Jack” Juarena), but different people have been leasing it for the last 30 years. In her opinion, it is not a family-oriented establishment at this time. Neither of these establishments is owned by Basques, although the Pyrenees Café still serves Basque food and Narducci’s Restaurant serves meals it characterizes as “Basque fusion.” A major factor may be the targeted clientele of the respective establishments. Both the Pyrenees Café and Narducci’s Restaurant have very active bars frequented by younger urban residents, often with loud music that attracts that crowd and is a counterpoint to the lower-key, less frenetic pace of the historic-period ambiance. Neither has an atmosphere conducive to socializing or family activities, and neither serves the same social functions as the Noriega Hotel still does.

Photograph 27 Pyrenees Café sign above parking lot, facing north, September 20, 2015.

Are these shared cultural practices, customs, or beliefs important in maintaining the continuing cultural identity and values of the group/community? Does the group transmit or pass down these shared cultural practices, customs, or beliefs through the generations, usually orally or through practice?




As discussed above, younger generations are actively learning about their Basque heritage at the Noriega Hotel through the transmission of both language and cultural practices, such as traditional food, dancing, and card and handball games. Through these activities, cultural practices and customs are transmitted through active participation. BI, a waitress at the Noriega Hotel, has known the younger generation since they were babies, and stated, “They bring their grandkids now.” Paquette (1982:111) notes that Bakersfield Basques have preserved their unity and ways of life “perhaps more successfully than any other ethnic group.”

Are these shared cultural practices, customs, or beliefs associated with a tangible place, and is that place directly associated with the identified cultural practices?

Although Basque sheepherder immigration has halted for the most part, Kern County has one of the largest immigrant populations with Basque heritage outside of Latin America. Although some of the original buildings in the Basque section of town have changed owners or functions, such as the Pyrenees Café and Narducci’s Restaurant, the Noriega Hotel has retained its reputation as a place where Basque culture is shared (Photograph 28).

Photograph 28 Noriega Hotel menu, September 20, 2015.

The vibrant and active Basque community remains centered on the Noriega Hotel, which has been its hub since 1893. As it states on its menu, the Noriega Hotel is indeed the Eskualdunen Etchea (“The Basque People’s House”).

Does the property have integrity of condition?

NRHP Bulletin 38 mentions that a property can lose cultural significance if it, or the surrounding environment, is altered. Guidance suggests that a TCP can “retain its traditional significance even though it has been substantially modified, however. Cultural values are dynamic and can sometimes accommodate a good deal of change” (NPS 1998).

The major physical changes that have taken place at the Noriega Hotel all occurred in the 1930s and in the year 1940, when a new ball court and the restaurant and bar were added to the establishment (Photograph 29). These changes are a result of the expanding importance of the hotel and its growing community prominence under the management of the Elizalde




family. Such changes are seen as a testament to success as the hotel expanded its services to new immigrants and the host Basque community.

Photograph 29 The Noriega Hotel circa 1960 (photograph courtesy of Steve Bass).

Together with the Pyrenees Café and Narducci’s Restaurant, these buildings are the best remaining examples of the Basque community architecture in East Bakersfield.

With reference to the National Register criteria, is the property associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history? (NRHP Criterion A)

Under NRHP Criterion A, the Noriega Hotel property at 525/531 Sumner Street has significance as a TCP at the local, state, and national levels for its association with the early development of a community of Basque immigrants in East Bakersfield and for its continuous and ongoing function as a place where Basque immigrants and their descendants gather to maintain their cultural identity. The Noriega Hotel is the oldest Basque boarding house still in operation in the U.S. and one of only five surviving boarding houses in California. From the time Faustino Mier Noriega constructed the Iberia Hotel (later the Noriega Hotel) on Sumner Street in 1893, it served as a beacon for Basque immigrants arriving in Kern County. The hotel provided newly arriving immigrants with community connections that could provide invaluable information for finding jobs and navigating life in California, and offered food and social ties that provided some of the comforts of home. Once the first handball court was built by at least 1899, the property also provided Basque immigrants with a familiar recreational activity that helped maintain their cultural identity through most of the 20

th century. The period

of significance under this criterion is 1893 to the present.

The Pyrenees Café and Narducci’s Restaurant do not appear eligible as TCPs under Criterion A. While the building in which Narducci’s Restaurant exists (the old Cesmat/Amestoy Hotel) did serve the Basque presence in the past, it does not currently play a role in the Basque community. The current restaurant is not frequented by the Bakersfield Basque community. The Pyrenees Café was associated with Basque management from 1935 to the 1970s but no longer serves as a social gathering place in the same way that the Noriega Hotel does; the adjacent hotel also does not serve primarily Basque clientele.

With reference to the National Register criteria, is the property associated with the lives of persons significant in our past? (NRHP Criterion B)

The Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant do not appear eligible as TCPs under Criterion B. No living individuals of exceptional importance to the community were identified as being associated with these properties.




Does the property embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction? Is it representative of the work of a master? Does it possess high artistic values? Is the property representative of a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction? (NRHP Criterion C).

The Noriega Hotel appears eligible under NRHP Criterion C with local and regional significance because of the uniquely Basque characteristics of this building complex. The association of a bar/restaurant serving traditional meals, a boarding house catering to Basque clientele, and a ball court used for various Basque sports, all still in use, typify the kinds of facilities built for Basque immigrants in this once-thriving community of East Bakersfield.

The Pyrenees Café and Narducci’s Restaurant do not appear eligible as TCPs under Criterion C.

Does the property have a history of yielding, or potential to yield, information important in prehistory or history? (NRHP Criterion D)

The Noriega Hotel, the Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant are evaluated as not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP under Criterion D as TCPs.

Does the property meet any National Register criteria considerations that make the property ineligible? Is the property: owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes; relocated; a birthplace or grave; a cemetery; a reconstruction; commemorative; a property that achieved significance within the past 50 years and therefore cannot be considered traditional?

None of the three properties meet any of the criteria considerations that would render them ineligible for inclusion in the NRHP.

What is the property’s period of significance?

The Noriega Hotel has a period of significance of 1893 to present for both Criteria A and C.

What are the property’s boundaries?

The Noriega Hotel’s physical boundaries as a TCP are defined as the legal parcel boundary.

What is the character of the property’s setting?

The character of Noriega Hotel’s setting can be broadly described as urban and mixed commercial/industrial. In proximity is an active train line across the street and the busy transportation corridor of Baker Avenue a block and a half away. A bypass has interrupted the flow of traffic through this section, and Sumner Street has little traffic.

References



6 REFERENCES

California High-Speed Rail Authority and U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration (Authority and FRA). 2011a. California High-Speed Train Fresno to Bakersfield Historic Architectural Survey Report (HASR). Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

______. 2011b. California High-Speed Train Fresno to Bakersfield Historic Archaeological Survey Report (ASR). Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

______. 2011c. “Programmatic Agreement Among the Federal Railroad Administration, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the California State Historic Preservation Officer, and the California High-Speed Rail Authority Regarding Compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act as it Pertains to the California High-Speed Train Project.” June 15.

______. 2016. California High-Speed Rail Authority Fresno to Bakersfield Project Section Third Supplemental Historic Architectural Survey Report (HASR) for the Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment (BFSSA) Alternative. Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Bakersfield Californian. 1920. “Fire Damages Noriega Hotel, east Bakersfield Landmark” (accessed December 2, 2015).

______. 1940. “New Addition Opens for the Noriega Hotel.” April 9.

Bass, Stephen. 2008. Basques in Early California and Kern County. Kern County Historical Society 58(2).

Bass, Stephen, and George Ansolabehere. 2001. Kern County Basque Owned or Operated Hotels and Boarding Houses. Kern County Historical Society 61(1).

______. 2012. The Basques of Kern County. The Kern County Basque Club, Bakersfield.

______. n.d. The Basque Towns and Ostatuak of Bakersfield and Tehachapi, California. Manuscript in possession of authors.

Douglass, William A. n.d. “Basque Sheepherding in the American West.” http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/humanities/Sheep.htm. (accessed February 2, 2016).

Echeverria, Jeronima. 1999. Home Away from Home: A History of Basque Boarding Houses. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.

Harvestpublicmedia.org. 2013. “The Long, Slow Decline of the U.S. Sheep Industry” (accessed October 8, 2015).

National Park Service (NPS). 1997. National Register Bulletin 15; How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, D.C.

______. 1998. National Register Bulletin 38; Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Properties. U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, D.C.

Paquette, Mary Grace. 1982. Basques to Bakersfield. Kern County Historical Society, Bakersfield.

Reuters. 2012. “Basque Economy has Lessons for Spain” (accessed June 28, 2015).

http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/humanities/Sheep.htm

References



Smythe, Charles. 2009. “The National Register Framework for Protecting Cultural Heritage Places.” In Traditional Cultural Properties: Putting Concept into Practice. Charles W. Smythe and Frederick F. York, eds. The George Wright Forum. 26(1):14–27.

Appendix A



APPENDIX A: MAPS

Attachment 1: Regional Map Attachment 2: Location Map

Appendix A




CALIFO RNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL PRO JECT – FRESNO TO BAKERSFIELD PRO JECT SECTIO NBASQUE TRADITIO NAL CULTURAL PRO PERTIES STUDY APPENDIX A

Bakersfield Hybrid

BNSF Alternative

Hanford West BypassAlternatives

Corcoran Elevated

BNSF Alternative

Bakersfield South

Wasco-Shafter Bypass

Allensworth Bypass

Corcoran Bypass

Traver

Goshen

Earlimart

Calico

Tipton

Bakersfield

Shafter

Wasco

McFarland

Delano

Porterville

LindsayTulare

Corcoran

Lemoore Hanford VisaliaExeter

Farmersville

Woodlake

Orange Cove

Dinuba

Reedley

Kingsburg

ParlierSelma

Fowler

Fresno

Clovis

Sanger

Laton

Armona

Allensworth

FRES

NO C

OUNT

YKI

NGS C

OUNT

Y

KING

S COU

NTY

TULA

RE C

OUNT

Y

KINGS COUNTYKERN COUNTY

FRESNO COUNTYTULARE COUNTY

TULARE COUNTYKERN COUNTY

∙}180

∙}245∙}145

∙}41 ∙}201

∙}201

∙}269

∙}63

∙}63

∙}190

∙}137

∙}43

∙}46

∙}58

∙}155

∙}65

∙}58∙}58

∙}58

§̈¦5

∙}33

∙}41

∙}190

∙}198

∙}43 ∙}216

∙}99

HAGEMAN RD

GARCES HWY

COUNTY HWY J 24

ELMO HWY

NEVADA AVE

ELKHORN AVE

PANAMA LN

7TH STANDARD RD

LERDO HWY LERDO HWY

FAMOSO WOODY RD

POND RD

UTICA AVE

10TH

AVE

KANSAS AVE

GRANGEVILLE BLVD 6TH

AVE

HOUSTON AVE

AVENUE 328THCOUN

TY H

WY J

19

AVENUE 384TH

S BET

HEL A

VE

W MANNING AVE

E JENSEN AVE

E SHAW AVE

AVENUE 256THCro

ss Cre

ek

Kings

River

Cole Slough

Tule River

Poso Creek

Kern River

Deer Creek

Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment Alternative

TVRR

UPWFS

BNSF

SJVR

Alternative AlignmentsBNSFHa nford West Byp a ss Alterna tives 1 &Allensworth Byp a ssBa kersfield HybridCorc ora n Eleva tedCorc ora n Byp a ssWa sc o-Sha fter Byp a ssBa kersfield SouthBa kersfield F Street Sta tion Alignm entAlterna tive

Strea m /RiverCa na l/Aqued uc tExisting ra il lineCounty b ound a ryCom m unity/urb a n a rea

PRELIMINARY DRAFT/SUBJECT TO CHANGE - HSR ALIGNMENT IS NO T DETERMINEDSO URCE: T.Y. Lin Interna tiona l (09/2015), ESRI World Sha d ed Relief (2014)

FILE: Y:\HSR_BFSS\GIS\MXDs\Tech_Studies\TCP\Appendix A - Attachment 1 -Regional Map.mxd (2/15/2016)

Feb rua ry 15, 2016

Attachment 1Regiona l Ma p

0 7.5 15Miles

0 12 24Kilom eters

$DELIBERATIVE DRAFT

TCP Study Area

Noriega Hotel

Pyrenees Hotel/Cafe

Cesmat/AmestoyHotel/Narducci's

Rob inson St

Inyo St

La ke St

Gage St

Baker St

Sonora St

Owens StTula re St

Alta Vista Dr

Ja c kso n St

Mo nterey St

Sum ner St

Sacram ento St

E 19th St

E 21st St

Stoc kto n St

Bea le Ave

King St

Kern St

Kentuc ky St

N iles St

Pa c ific St

Quinc y St

Orego n St

ETruxtunAve

Butte St

E 18th St

Chic o St

Eureka St

Do lo res St

Gro ve St

UnionAveLoopE

BNSF

UP

ÃÃS-58

ÃÃS-178

Ba kersfield F Street Statio n Alignm entAlternativeExisting ra il linePro perties Eva luated a s Tra ditio na l Cultura lPro perties

PRELIMIN ARY DRAFT/SUBJECT TO CHAN GE - HSR ALIGN MEN T IS N OT DETERMIN EDSOURCE: T.Y. Lin Internatio na l (09/2015), N AIP (06/2014)

FILE: Y:\HSR_BFSS\GIS\MXDs\Tech_Studies\TCP\Appendix A - Attachment 2 - Location Map.mxd (11/5/2015)

Feb ruary 15, 2016

Attachment 2Lo c a tio n Map

0 375 750Feet

0 110 220Meters

$DELIBERATIVE DRAFT

CALIFORN IA HIGH SPEED RAIL PROJECT – FRESN O TO BAKERSFIELD PROJECT SECTIONBASQUE TRADITION AL CULTURAL PROPERTIES STUDY APPEN DIX A

Appendix B



APPENDIX B: DPR 523 FORMS (DRAFT)

Appendix B




State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # _____________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ________________________________________

PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial _____________________________________NRHP Status Code 3S

O ther Listings ____________________________________________________________ ___Review Code __________ Reviewer ____________________________ Date ___________

Page 1 of 24 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 097; APN: 016-050-05

P1. Other Identifier: 525-531 Sumner Street *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Kernand (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.)

*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Oil Center Date 1954 (Photorevised 1973) T 29S; R 28E; NW ¼ of Sec 29; M.D. B.M.

c. Address 525 Sumner Street City Bakersfield Zip 93305d. UTM: (give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone _____; ______________mE/ _____________mNe. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate)

Assessor Parcel Number: 016-050-05 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)

The parcel addressed on this form is located at the corner of Sumner and Kern streets in the heart of the formerly vibrant commercial center of East Bakersfield. The parcel contains a cluster of buildings, some fronting Sumner Street and some fronting Kern Street (Photograph 1; see Site Map). Three buildings fronting Sumner Street – a handball court, restaurant, and boarding house – compose Noriega’s, a Basque-owned business that has served East Bakersfield’s Basque immigrant community since 1893 when Faustino Mier Noriega built the boarding house (Photograph 2). The buildings fronting Kern Street were also developed by the Noriega family and they have housed mostly commercial businesses since they were constructed (Photograph 3) (see Continuation Sheet).

*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP6 – 1-3 story commercial building; HP5 – Hotel/motel*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.)

P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date, accession #) Photograph 1: Camera facing southeast, July 28, 2015 (A3702).

*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: Historic Prehistoric Both1893-1940 (Bakersfield Californian)

*P7. Owner and Address:

Patrick Padilla 4044 Burr Street Bakersfield, CA 93308 *P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation,address)

Heather Norby & Matt Walker JRP Historical Consulting, LLC 2850 Spafford Street Davis, CA 95618

*P9. Date Recorded: July 28, 2015

*P10. Survey Type: (Describe)Intensive

*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none.”) JRP Historical Consulting, LLC, “California High SpeedTrain Third Supplemental HASR, Fresno to Bakersfield Section: Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment,” 2015.*Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph RecordOther (list)DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information


BUILDING, STRUCTURE, AND OBJECT RECORD

DPR 523B (1/95) *Required Information

Page of *NRHP Status Code*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 097; APN: 016-050-05

B1. Historic Name: Iberia Saloon, Iberia Hotel, Justice Court, Pyrenees Hotel, Noriega Hotel, Noriega Stables, Noriega Handball Courts, Noriega Restaurant, Sacramento Exchange Hotel, Valley Motor Co. B2. Common Name: Noriega’s B3. Original Use: Hotel, boarding house, saloon, livery, restaurant, handball court, justice court, wagon shed B4. Present Use: Hotel, restaurant, commercial*B5. Architectural Style: minimal Neoclassical revival; Streamline Moderne; utilitarian;*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alteration, and date of alterations) Noriega Hotel: built in 1893 and repaired in 1920safter fire damage; Buildings fronting Kern Street built in 1903; building farthest south on Kern Street rebuilt after fire in1939; brick building at corner of Sumner and Kern streets built in 1926; continuous façade added to buildings at Kern andSumner streets circa 1940; Noriega handball court built 1930-1931; Noriega’s restaurant built 1940.*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:

*B8. Related Features: ________B9. Architect: Benjamin McDougall (hotel) b. Builder: Z. A. Murray (Restaurant)*B10. Significance: Theme Basque Heritage Area East Bakersfield, Kern County, California

Period of Significance 1893-present Property Type Restaurant, Boarding House, Recreation, Commercial Applicable Criteria NRHP A / CRHR 1; NRHP B / CRHR 2; NRHP C / CRHR 3

(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.)

This property at 525 Sumner Street meets the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR), and it is an historical resource for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This property has been evaluated in accordance with Section 15064.5(a)(2)-(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, using the criteria outlined in Section 5024.1 of the California Public Resources Code. The property meets NRHP Criteria A, B, and C (and CRHR 1, 2, and 3) as an individual property and it also meets the definition of a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) (see “Fresno to Bakersfield: Basque Traditional Cultural Property Study” by Shelly Tiley, 2015).

2 24 3S

B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes)

*B12. References: See Continuation Sheet, B12.

B13. Remarks:

*B14. Evaluator: Heather Norby

*Date of Evaluation: October 2015

(This space reserved for official comments.)

Sketch map with north arrow required


CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________

DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information

Page 3 of 24 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 097; APN: 016-050-05*Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update

P3a. Description (continued): The cluster of buildings along Sumner Street that compose the East Bakersfield cultural institution known as Noriega’s are, from east to west: Noriega Hotel, Noriega’s Restaurant, and a handball court. Noriega Hotel is two-story wood-frame building with a basement and a generally rectangular footprint constructed in 1893. It has a stucco façade that was applied in the 1920s after two fires damaged the front (Sumner) façade and second story of the building (Photograph 4). When it was originally constructed, architect Benjamin McDougall designed it using a very minimal Neoclassical aesthetic that featured a modest cornice at the parapet, a small false-front pediment , and a single-story balcony with balustrade and turned columns (see Figure 3). After fire destroyed the balcony and pediment, and damaged the front façade, a smooth plaster finish was applied to the front of the building which it retains today. The top of the façade features a short parapet with a plain cornice. This wall also features one-over-one, double-hung, wood sash windows at the first and second stories, and a main entry door with wood panels on the lower half and rectangular glass on the upper half with that date to the 1920s when the building was repaired. Originally, this façade featured a set of double doors that provided entry to the saloon portion of the building, and the single entry opening that is present today. The double doors were eliminated during the 1920s repair. Horizontal wood siding is present on the east and west sides of the building, some of which was probably also replaced in the 1920s. There is a small shed-roof lean-to clad in horizontal wood siding with cornerboards on the east side of the building that has been present since at least 1905 (Photographs 5 and 6). One-over-one double-hung wood-sash windows with wood sills and surrounds are present on the first and second stories on the east side; the west side abuts Noriega’s restaurant that was constructed in 1940.

Noriega’s restaurant, built in 1940 facing Sumner Street, sits between the hotel and handball court and adjoins them on each side (Photograph 8). It is a single story building with a flat roof and a rectangular footprint approximately 27 by 61 feet, and a two-story rear addition that is approximately 37 by 27 feet. The main façade of the building features a smooth stucco or plaster finish with pilasters at the corners that frame the storefront. A narrow band on the inside of the pilasters further enframes the storefront and creates a stepped effect at the top of the pilasters and parapet of the flat roof. The top one-third of the façade is a smooth inset wall that features a neon sign that reads “Noriega’s” in cursive script. The main entry via a single panel painted metal door is centered on the front façade beneath a fabric awning affixed just below the inset wall containing the neon sign. Walls of glass block windows with smooth stucco aprons beneath curve inward toward the door on either side. One small fixed single-pane rectangular window is inset into both walls of glass blocks. There is a metal frame transom window with metal bars above the door. A simple bench consisting of two round metal support poles anchored in the sidewalk and a wood plank seat is located in front of the building, east of the door. There is a large two-story flat-roof brick addition at the rear of the restaurant that features a screened rooftop that allows views of the adjacent handball court (Photograph 9). A series of small square ventilation openings are present just beneath the roofline on the south side of the addition. A single entry door is located on the first floor at the south end of the addition, and an exterior staircase leads directly to the rooftop on the east side (Photograph 10).

An open-air brick handball court built in 1930-1931, with rectangular dimensions approximately 28 by 100 feet, adjoins the west side of Noriega’s restaurant (Photograph 4, 7, and 8). The brick portion of the court consists of a front wall flush with the sidewalk on Sumner Street that features four brick pilasters, and steeply sloping east and west walls featuring two brick pilasters. The back of the court is enclosed by the restaurant building on the east side, a wood fence on the west, and a set of wood bleachers with corrugated metal roof and walls at the rear. The structure does not have a roof, but is enclosed with a chain link cage. A series of streetlight-style lights are affixed to the metal poles that frame the cage on the west side providing illumination for the associated parking lot.

The building that occupies the corner of Kern and Sumner Streets is a conglomeration of buildings that were united by the application of a continuous stucco façade in approximately 1940. The building at the corner is a brick and was constructed in 1926 to house an auto shop. It currently has four storefronts, one fronting Sumner Street, one on the diagonal corner of the building that faces the corner of Sumner and Kern streets, and two fronting Kern Street. The corner storefront set on the diagonal was designed to allow cars to pull up in front of the shop (Photograph 11). Although the street-facing façades have been entirely covered with stucco, one of the original brick walls is still visible on the west side of the building from the passageway that separates it from the Noriega Hotel (Photographs 12 and 13). The storefront on the Sumner Street side


CONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial ____________________________________________



of the building (531 Sumner Street) is symmetrical with a set of wood frame glass double doors topped by transoms. Large window openings with ribbon windows above flank the doorway. The window opening west of the door has three parts while the one on the east is one large fixed pane; both have grids of security bars mounted on the inside. The storefront on the diagonal corner is more asymmetrical, but has the same type of window openings, and a single entry door with transom rather than double doors. There is also a single personnel door that appears to be a later addition.

The storefronts along Kern Street are the façades of two buildings constructed in 1903, one of which was reconstructed in 1939 after it was gutted by fire (Photograph 14). Each of the two storefronts on this side features a large multi-component window and door opening with a single panel entry door, transom, four-part ribbon window above, and a fixed pane window at the side (Photograph 15). There are also three utility bays with metal roll-up doors evenly spaced on this side of the building. The south side of the building has a single entry door that does not appear to be in service. One of the buildings that was built mid-block is deeper than the adjacent buildings and there is a metal garage door on its south side at the rear of the property.

There is an animal pen sited on the alley south of the buildings fronting the street. It is wood-framed with a rectangular footprint and walls and roof clad in corrugated metal. It was built between 1937 and 1947. It has a side gable roof form with the north gable shortened to create a shade overhang above the stalls (see Photograph 10).

B10. Significance (continued):

The cluster of buildings present on the parcel on the southwest corner of Kern and Sumner streets in East Bakersfield have gone through many iterations since Faustino M. Noriega constructed the Iberia Hotel (renamed the Noriega Hotel by 1906) and stables on the parcel in 1893. Through the boom and bust of the area’s history, and damage caused by fires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the presence of the Noriega Hotel, a Basque boarding house fronting Sumner Street, has been a fixture in the community. Noriega and his heirs also developed the other buildings that front Kern Street on this parcel.

East Bakersfield, as it is now known, began its life as Sumner, a town that Southern Pacific Railroad established in 1874 along its southern San Joaquin Valley route. Southern Pacific did not bring its rail line directly through downtown Bakersfield, so the depot in nearby Sumner was the company’s main Bakersfield depot. The depot building (1889) is still standing at the southeast corner of Sumner and Baker streets (see DPR 523 Update Form for Bakersfield Southern Pacific Depot). Southern Pacific established a railyard to the east of the depot to serve the Kern Junction, including maintenance shops and a roundhouse. After modest beginnings, the presence of the rail shipping access and the depot and the jobs created by the Southern Pacific shops made Sumner a booming commercial and residential center by the late 1890s when it incorporated as the City of Kern (it was typically referred to as Kern City). By this time various industrial and agricultural businesses constructed facilities west of the depot, north of Sumner Street (originally I Street), while the other commercial and residential development extended to the south of Sumner Street. Fire ravaged many of the wood-frame buildings in the commercial district in July 1898; however, the town was quickly rebuilt. In 1899, Kern City enjoyed a brief period of particularly rapid expansion in the wake of the Kern River oil boom, and by the following year had approximately 1,300 residents. Kern City was annexed into Bakersfield in 1909, since which time the neighborhood has simply been known as East Bakersfield (Bailey 1984: 72-75; Bakersfield Panache 1995a: 34; Bakersfield Panache 1995b: 38).

East Bakersfield was home to an ethnically diverse population from its earliest days, including members of the French, Italian, Basque, Mexican, and African-American communities. Since the nineteenth century, Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have been a substantial component of East Bakersfield, where local clubs and social halls were frequently the center of cultural holidays and social events (Sumner Standard 1893: 1). French and Basque immigrants were also attracted to Kern City in the late nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century. Their presence as a community was strongly reflected in East Bakersfield’s built environment by such buildings as hotels, restaurants, and other service-industry businesses (Miller 1995; Bakersfield Panache 1995a; Bakersfield Panache 1995b; Zubiri 1998: 129-132, 150-169). Ethnic diversity was also evident in local schools. By the 1930s for example, East Bakersfield’s Lincoln School (now called

of 24 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 097; APN: 016-050-05 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update Bessie Owens) had the most ethnically diverse population of any school in Bakersfield, and in the 1970s, with a student body that was heavily African-American by that time, the school found itself at the center of a segregation controversy (Bakersfield Californian 1931 Jun 27; Bakersfield Californian 1975 Dec 18).

The Noriega Hotel and associated handball court have been the nucleus of East Bakersfield’s Basque community since 1893 when F.M. Noriega constructed the first iteration of the hotel / boarding house at 525 Sumner Street at the location of a small wood-frame building that housed the Iberia Saloon (Echeverria 1999: 104-109; Sanborn 1892, 1899; Bakersfield Daily Californian 1893 Jul 23). The hotel building, designed by architect Benjamin McDougall, featured a brick-lined cellar and a wood-frame two story building with 22 sleeping rooms (Bakersfield Daily Californian 1893 Aug 4; Bakersfield Daily Californian 1893 Aug 23). Noriega opened the hotel at the end of November 1893 and it appears to have been known as both the Noriega Hotel, and the Iberia Hotel. It was the first hotel in East Bakersfield built specifically to serve Basque immigrants (Paquette 1982: 87; Bakersfield Daily Californian 1893 Nov 20). At the same time, Noriega also erected a wood-frame stable on the same parcel west of the hotel (Figures 1 and 2).

F.M. Noriega immigrated to the US in 1872 as a young man from Santander, Spain. At the time he arrived, his name was Faustino Mier. Faustino worked with his uncle Vincent Noriega, who was a Basque immigrant. Faustino took his uncles surname as his own while he worked for Vincent as a sheep herder until he had the money to purchase his own land. After a four year stint working for Miller & Lux in the sheep department, Faustino Noriega moved to Sumner in 1893, where he married Louisa Inda, a Basque immigrant, and laid down roots in the community where he remained for the rest of his life. After living with his wife Louise, and children – who would eventually number five – at the Noriega Hotel for a few years, F.M. and his family moved to a substantial house they built at 1325 Sumner Street, north of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks and outside the survey area for this project (Echeverria 1999: 104-109; Paquette 1982: 87-88).


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Figure 1: Excerpt of 1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map showing Iberia Saloon at location along I Street (later Sumner Street) where Noriega built his hotel the following year.

Figure 2: Excerpt of 1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map showing Noriega’s Iberia Hotel and wagon shed along Sumner, and buildings and handball court on Kern Street. The buildings along Kern burnt down in 1903.

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Figure 3: Excerpt of photo of Noriega Hotel circa 1908 from Felix Etcheverry photo collection published by Mary Grace Paquette.

Figure 4: Excerpt of photo of Noriega Stables circa 1893 from Josephine Amestoy Lambert photo collection published by Mary Grace Paquette. The stable and adjacent livery stable burnt down in 1920.

F.M. Noriega also developed other buildings on the parcel at the corner of Sumner and Kern streets, taking advantage of itsprime location fronting the railroad tracks and Southern Pacific station. In 1903 a fire destroyed a cluster of his buildings onthe Kern Street side of the parcel. The fire was suspected of beginning in a hay barn behind a small wood-frame buildingused as a courtroom by local Justice A.W. Marion (Figure 2). It destroyed the justice court, the barn, and a handball court

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(Bakersfield Daily Californian 1903 Mar 4). Handball, also known as jai-alai, was a popular sport enjoyed by many of the Basque immigrants who came to East Bakersfield, and a handball court has been present on Noriega’s parcel since at least 1899 (Sanborn 1899). In October 1903, just a few months after the fire destroyed the cluster of buildings, Noriega contracted with Davidson & Company to construct the Pyrenees Hotel, a new handball court, and a new justice court along Kern Street. The Pyrenees Hotel building was a two-story and basement brick building with 37 bedrooms, a bar, dining room, and office (see DPR 523 form 601-607 Sumner Street) (Bakersfield Daily Californian 1903 Jun 13; Bakersfield Daily Californian Oct 26). The local newspaper described the adjacent handball court as “first class” and it was heavily used by members of the Basque immigrant community for many years (Morning Echo 1906 Nov 6; Bakersfield Californian 1921 Jan 10) (Figure 5).



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Figure 5: Excerpt of 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map showing Noriega Hotel, wagon shed, and livery stable along Sumner Street at left, and Pyrenees Hotel, handball court, and justice court built in 1903 along Kern Street, at top.

In 1901, when F.M. Noriega and his family moved away from the Noriega Hotel, they began leasing the buildings on the parcel to other proprietors. Juan and Jeanne Burubeltz, also Basque immigrants, operated the hotel at 525 Sumner Street under the name Iberia Hotel from 1901 until 1906 when they moved on to another boarding house in Kern City. It is unclear from the historical record who operated the hotel from 1906-1920. F.M. Noriega may have taken it back over and hired clerks to manage the property. An historic photograph dated circa 1908 shows a sign that lists “F.M. Noriega & Co.” as the proprietor (Echeverria 1999: 104-109; Paquette 1982: 87-90). In 1906, three years after it the Pyrenees Hotel was completed, new proprietors reopened it under the name the Sacramento Exchange Hotel, which also served Basque boarders, and allegedly, prostitutes (Bakersfield Morning Echo 1906 Dec 15; Bakersfield Californian 1914 Jul 17).

Much has been written about the importance of Basque-run boarding houses to the immigrants to the nineteenth century and early twentieth century Basque immigrants to the American West. During the period when Basque immigration to California peaked, 1890-1930, Noriega’s was recognized as a critical nucleus of Bakersfield’s Basque community. The location of the hotel within view of the Southern Pacific depot made it easily accessible to arriving immigrants who did not DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information

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speak English. Noriega’s provided not just shelter, but familiar food, and the familiar recreational activity, handball, along with community that helped launch many of the young men into the sheepherding business. Young single Basque women were part of the migration and the boarding houses provided them with jobs in the kitchen and as maids. Turnover was high for these positions because the young women often met their marriage partners while working in the boarding houses (Echeverria 1999: 104-111; Paquette 1982: 40; Bass & Ansolabehere 2011:1-6).

By 1920, the Noriega Hotel almost seemed like it had past its prime and become obsolete to the community. A fire that started in Noriega’s stable next to the hotel severely burned the upper floor of the hotel. Newspaper coverage of the fire headlined the story with “Fire Damages Noriega Hotel, East Bakersfield Landmark.” The story went on to say this about the “old landmark:” “For many years the Noriega hotel [sic.] was the headquarters of sheepmen from all parts of California and Nevada and was the scene of great activity in the past. It was noted for its cuisine and hospitality” (Bakersfield Californian 1920 Dec 2). The article concluded with the statement that F.M. Noriega did not intend to rebuild the hotel because of the extensive damage and that it would most likely need to be razed. Less than a month later; however, Noriega asked the city council for permission to repair the hotel because he had discovered that only about 20 percent of the hotel was badly damaged (Bakersfield Morning Echo 1920 Dec 28). Noriega repaired the hotel and leased it to Francisco and Anselma Amestoy who operated it from 1921 until 1931, the same year that Louise Noriega died and the property went into probate (Bakersfield Californian 1931 Dec 21). F.M. Noriega died in January 1922 at his home on Baker Street (Bakersfield Morning Echo 1922 Jan 8). Francisco and Anselma Amestoy were both Basque immigrants and had met one another at the Noriega Hotel while Anselma was working there as a maid (Echeverria 1999: 108).

The Amestoys’ tenure at the Noriega Hotel coincided with the Prohibition Era and the police reportedly raided the hotel at least three times, axing barrels of wine kept in the cellar (Figure 6) (Echeverria 1999: 109). In 1925 a fire that began in the warehouse across Sumner Street from the Noriega Hotel damaged the Noriega Hotel again. This fire badly burnt the front of the building, and it is likely that this is when the new façade that is present today was added to the structure. The fire repair / alteration retained the placement of most of the original window and door openings but radically changed the appearance of the hotel. The balcony was never rebuilt; and the façade would never again be clad in horizontal clapboards. Instead, it was clad with a plaster or stucco product (Bakersfield Californian 1925 Jun 15).


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Figure 6: Excerpt of photo of Noriega Hotel taken between during the Amestoy’s tenure as proprietors. Photo was taken after the Amestoys took over in 1921 and before fire burned the façade of the building in 1925. Photo from Josephine Amestoy Lambert collection published by Mary Grace Paquette.

Of the five Noriega children, Frank Noriega was particularly invested in the East Bakersfield community. When Frank turned 21 in 1926 his mother Louise launched him into adulthood by building a fine new brick building east of the hotel at the corner of Sumner and Kern streets to house an auto shop that Frank ran until October 1930 when Valley Motor Company

of 24 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 097; APN: 016-050-05 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update took over the business (Bakersfield Californian 1926 Apr 21; Bakersfield Californian 1930 Oct 31). After Valley Motor Company acquired the building, Louise Noriega applied for a permit to have contractor Z.A. Murray construct an addition to the building that required knocking down the walls of the adjacent handball court that F.M. Noriega had built in 1903 (Bakersfield Californian 1930 Dec 19). In early November 1930, just a few days after Valley Motor Company took over the auto business, Frank applied for a building permit to construct a new handball court on Sumner Street, west of, but not immediately adjacent to the hotel (Bakersfield Californian 1930 Nov 3). The handball court he subsequently built is the court present on the parcel today (Figures 7 and 8).




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Figure 7: 1937 aerial view showing Noriega Estate parcel at left bound by Sumner and Kern streets and the alley. Note handball court built in 1930 at left, and buildings fronting Kern Street (USDA 1937).

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Figure 8: Photo excerpt of new handball court built west of the Noriega Hotel in 1930-31; hotel just visible at upper right. Photo from Josephine Amestoy Lambert collection, published by Mary Grace Paquette.

In 1933 the Kern County Board of Supervisors appointed Frank Noriega as a municipal court judge and he subsequently became a well-known and widely respected member of the community (Bakersfield Californian 1937 Oct 28; Bakersfield Californian Jan 5; Bakersfield Californian 1962 Aug 4). He kept his office in the building at the corner of Sumner and Kern streets (531 Sumner Street) for many years, sharing the building with other businesses like Blanc’s Service Station, a business run by Henry Blanc for many years, and Noriega’s Garage, operated by Valley Motor Company in the 1930s (R.L. Polk & Company 1930, 1935, 1939, 1945, 1951, 1955, 1960, 1965). Frank Noriega also maintained close ties with the sheep industry, serving as secretary of the Kern County Wool Growers Association in 1947 and hosting meetings in his office at 531 Sumner Street (Bakersfield Californian 1947 Oct 8).

In 1931 the Amestoys left the Noriega Hotel to move to the Cesmat Hotel one block away, Louise Noriega died, and the parcel containing Noriega Hotel, the handball court, the auto business, and the Sacramento Exchange Hotel went into the ownership of the Noriega Trust (Bakersfield Californian 1931 Dec 21; Echeverria 1999: 109-111). The same year, Jean and Graciana “Grace” Elizalde took over proprietorship of the Noriega Hotel and by all accounts this was the beginning of a truly vibrant era of the hotel’s history that lasted until Grace died in 1974.

In the mid-1930s, at least three Basque boarding houses were operating in very close proximity to one another in East Bakersfield: The Elizaldes at Noriega Hotel, Francisco and Anselma Amestoy at Amestoy’s (formerly Cesmat) on Humboldt Street (E. 21st Street), and the Metropole Hotel on the corner of Baker and Sumner streets. Various proprietors ran the Sacramento Exchange Hotel on Kern Street (on the parcel recorded on this form), including Jenny Iribarne Dunns and Inocencio Juarena, Richard Fanucchi, and Julio Giuntolio and Dick Tanucchi (under the name Swiss & Italian Hotel in 1930) (Echeverria 1999: 109-110; R.L. Polk Company 1930, 1935).

Histories of Bakersfield’s Basque community always mention the prominent role that Grace Elizalde played in making the Noriega Hotel a “gravitational point for the Basques when they enter the city” as one 1938 newspaper account described. Grace’s husband Jean died in 1934 and she ran the hotel for 40 years after his death (Bakersfield Californian 1938 Mar 18; Echeverria 1999: 110-111). Under her leadership, the Noriega Estate contracted Z.L. Murray to construct a restaurant

of 24 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 097; APN: 016-050-05 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update between the hotel and handball court in 1940 (Bakersfield Californian 1940 Jan 13). The restaurant façade had a modern appearance with a modest Streamline Moderne architectural aesthetic that was popular in the 1930s (Figure 8). The smooth concrete or stucco finish, rounded corners at the front doors, and glass block windows have changed very little since original construction. The newspaper article announcing the opening of the new restaurant described the Noriega Hotel as the “center of the Kern sheep industry and central gathering place for those connected with the business for years” and that it “has held to the original purpose, a headquarters and landmark in the sheep industry in the valley and it is known far and wide wherever sheepmen travel.” The article also noted that the hotel had thrived in the decade since Grace Elizalde had taken over management (Bakersfield Californian 1940 Apr 19).

The year before the restaurant opened, the Sacramento Exchange Hotel at 814 Kern Street was severely burned (Bakersfield Californian 1939 Oct 2). It appears that the Noriega Estate repaired or rebuilt the building and incorporated it into the brick building on the corner of Sumner and Kern streets that Louise Noriega built for Frank in 1926. A façade was applied to both sides of the building that matches the façade of the new Noriega restaurant (Figure 9).


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Figure 9: 1940. New restaurant addition to Noriega Hotel with inset photo of proprietor Grace Elizalde (Bakersfield Californian 1940 Apr 19).





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Figure 10: 1947 aerial view of Noriega Estate parcel. Note that a continuous façade has been applied to the buildings along Kern Street. The façade matches the exterior of the Noriega Restaurant built in 1940 and is present today. Also note the stable/shed at the rear of the parcel, behind the handball court that was constructed between 1937 and 1947, and large addition behind restaurant (USDI 1947).

Grace Elizalde was loved by the community she provided for in much that same way that many female boarding house proprietors have been loved by those they serve. She worked to provide some of the comforts of home – good food, recreation, clean rooms – and by many accounts was very generous toward her patrons. Histories of the Basque community in East Bakersfield recount stories of her tending to elderly boarders by helping them get to doctor’s appointments, and even buying burial plots for men who died while living at the hotel (Echeverria 1999: 110-111). Many of the young men who stayed at Noriega Hotel married and went on to assimilate into American culture, but quite a few Basque men without families or heirs in the United States lived at Noriega House at the end of their lives (Bakersfield Californian 1941 Mar 14; Bakersfield Californian 1941 Apr 21; Bakersfield Californian 1943 Apr 13; Bakersfield Californian 1946 Apr 4; Bakersfield Californian 1948 Feb 9; Bakersfield Californian 1949 Jan 20; Bakersfield Californian 1965 Feb 26; Bakersfield Californian 1967 Feb 4).

Because the Noriega Hotel primarily served men associated with ranching pursuits, the business was somewhat sheltered from the twentieth-century forces that shifted East Bakersfield into a period of economic decline (Figure 11). An almost symbolic but very real natural event kicked off the period of decline in summer 1952 when a series of earthquakes damaged many of East Bakersfield’s beautiful old brick buildings (and scores of greater Bakersfield’s building stock). While not all of East Bakersfield’s buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, of those that were, some were never rebuilt which has resulted in lots that have stood vacant from that point to the present. The following year, Southern Pacific laid off 109 employees who worked in the company shops along Sumner Street because of the conversion of locomotives from steam to diesel (Bakersfield Californian 1953 Mar 19). In 1959-1960 the Beale Avenue overpass was built, which essentially cut

of 24 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 097; APN: 016-050-05 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update Sumner and Baker streets off as a heavily trafficked commercial corridor (Bakersfield Californian 1959 Jul 4; Bakersfield Californian 1959 Nov 2). Over the next few years, shops like Kern Drug Company which had been operating continuously for 80 years at the southeast corner of Baker and Sumner streets closed because the area could no longer support the business (Bakersfield Californian 1968 Aug 13). The final hit came in 1971 when Southern Pacific closed all of its East Bakersfield shops and ceased passenger service, moving many of the jobs to Los Angeles (Bakersfield Californian 1971 Feb 12).




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Figure 11: Excerpt of Noriega’s handball court, restaurant, and hotel circa 1960 during Grace Elizalde’s tenure as manager. Photo published by Steve Bass and George Ansolabehere (Bass and Ansolabehere 2011).

After Grace Elizalde died in 1974, her relatives took over the business and members of her family still run it today (Bakersfield Californian 1974 Apr 16). The restaurant continues to serve traditional Basque cuisine. The handball court is still present, but its use decreased after 1974 when the Kern County Basque Club built a new court at a different location (Kern County Basque Club n.d.). In recent years, Noriega’s has received recognition in the press as an important cultural institution in Bakersfield. The New York Times featured Noriega’s in an article in May 2011 after the establishment won a James Beard Foundation “American Classics” award, an award that pays tribute to locally owned places that have played a crucial role in a community for at least a decade (Gordinier 2011 May 10). At that time, Noriega’s could boast playing a crucial role in the community for more than a century.

Evaluation Under NRHP Criterion A and CRHR Criterion 1, the property recorded on this form at 525/531 Sumner Street is significant at the local level for its association with the early development of a community of Basque immigrants in East Bakersfield, and for its continuous and on-going function as a place where Basque immigrants and their descendants gather to maintain their cultural identity. From the time F.M. Noriega constructed the Iberia Hotel (later Noriega Hotel) on Sumner Street in 1893, it served as a destination and source of support for immigrants arriving in Kern County. The hotel provided newly arriving immigrants with community connections that could provide invaluable information about finding jobs and navigating life in California, and offered food and social ties that provided some of the comforts of home. Once the first


*Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update handball court was built by at least 1899, the property also provided Basque immigrants with a familiar recreational activity that helped maintain their cultural identity through most of the twentieth century. The period of significance under these criteria is 1893 to the present. It is the oldest Basque boarding house in the country that is still operating and serving family-style meals at one sitting, and one of only five remaining in California. Please see “Noriega Hotel, Pyrenees Café, and Narducci’s Restaurant, Traditional Cultural Property Study” by Shelly Tiley (2015) for evaluation that concludes this property is also a Traditional Cultural Property.

Under NRHP Criterion B and CRHR Criterion 2, the property is also significant at the local level as for its associations with F.M. Noriega, Frank Noriega, and Grace Elizalde, each of whom made individual significant contributions to maintaining Basque cultural practices in East Bakersfield that took place at this property. F.M. Noriega was responsible for building the first hotel and handball court on the property, Frank Noriega invested in his community and in the property by building the handball court that is present on the property today, and Grace Elizalde managed Noriega’s for over 40 years during which time the restaurant was constructed, and the property was as one source characterized it, a “gravitational pull” for Basque immigrants in the area. The period of significance under these criteria is 1893 to 1974 when Grace Elizalde died.

This property is also significant at the local level under NRHP Criterion C and CRHR Criterion 3 because it is an intact complex of buildings that specifically reflect Basque immigrant culture. That specificity primarily lies with the handball court which was central to making Noriega’s a gathering place. It is apparent from the presence of the bleachers and the screened rooftop adjacent to the court that the sport drew quite a few spectators. The handball court, combined with the restaurant that served traditional family-style meals, and the boarding house that catered specifically to Basque immigrants is an exemplary example of built environment designed to serve Basque immigrants. The buildings that front Kern Street (address 531 Sumner Street), are also associated with these themes: one formerly housed a handball court built by F.M. Noriega in 1903, and Louise Noriega constructed the brick building on the corner of Sumner and Kern streets for her son Frank who, in turn, used the building as his office and hosted meetings of the Kern County Wool Growers Association at the office, an organization with close ties to the Basque community. The period of significance under these criteria is 1893 to the present.

The character-defining features of this property are the locations of the buildings in relation to one another, the massing and form of the buildings and the handball court, and the building materials. The boundary of the historic property (traditional cultural property) is its legal parcel.

B12. References (continued): Bailey, Richard C. 1984. Heart of the Golden Empire: An Illustrated History of Bakersfield. Woodland Hills, CA: Windsor

Publications, Inc.

Bakersfield Californian 1914 Jul 17. “Petrini Received a Percentage Says Woman.” Bakersfield Californian;2 (col. 3). 1920 Dec 2. “Fire Damages Noriega Hotel, East Bakersfield Landmark.” Bakersfield Californian. 1921 Jan 10. “Californian Files.” Bakersfield Californian; 12 (col. 4). 1925 Jun 15. “Five Hurt in Battle to Control Bad Blaze.” Bakersfield Californian; 1 (col. 1). 1926 Apr 21. “Noriega Garage is Opened Here.” Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col. 3). 1930 Oct 31. “Valley Motor Co. New Ford Agency.” Bakersfield Californian; 19. 1930 Nov 3. “Building Permits.” Bakersfield Californian; 14 (col. 8). 1930 Dec 19. “Building Permits.” Bakersfield Californian; 2.

1931 Jun 27. “Eighteen Per Cent City School Children of Foreign Race Groups.” Bakersfield Californian; 4 (col. 4). 1931 Dec 21. “Probate.” Bakersfield Californian; 17. 1937 Oct 28. “Judge Noriega to Seek Re-election Here During 1938.” Bakersfield Californian; 15. 1938 Mar 18. “Sheep and Wool Buyers Here to Take Over Crop.” Bakersfield Californian; 9 (col. 5). 1939 Oct 2. “East Bakersfield Hotel Destroyed by Flames.” Bakersfield Californian; 1. 1940 Jan 13. “Building Permits.” Bakersfield Californian; 13.

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1940 Apr 19. “New Addition Opens for Noriega Hotel.” Bakersfield Californian; 15. 1941 Mar 14. “Sheepherder Rites Slated for Monday.” Bakersfield Californian; 13. 1941 Apr 21. “John Elizalde” [obituary]. Bakersfield Californian; 17. 1943 Apr 13. “Heart Attack Takes Kern Sheep Raiser.” Bakersfield Californian; 13. 1946 Apr 4. “Castano, Pierre (Garcia)” [obituary]. Bakersfield Californian; 15. 1947 Oct 8. “Kern County Wool Growers to Meet in Bakersfield.” Bakersfield Californian; 1 (col. 4). 1948 Feb 9. “Iribarne, Arnaud” [obituary]. Bakersfield Californian; 19. 1949 Jan 20. “Roccro, George” [obituary]. Bakersfield Californian; 31.

1952 Aug 23, “Tomblike Solitude Marks Shaken Area,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 1). 1953 Jan 5. “Judge Noriega Wins High Civic Honor.” Bakersfield Californian; 17 (col. 5). 1953 Mar 19, “Dieselization Brings Layoff of 109 Men,” Bakersfield Californian; 2 (col. 4). 1956 Aug 20, “’New City’ Rises After ’52 Quakes,” Bakersfield Californian 25B (col. 8). 1959 Jul 4, “Here Comes Beale Ave. Overpass,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 1). 1959 Nov 2, Photo montage of Beale Avenue Overpass construction, Bakersfield Californian; 19 (col. 2). 1962 Aug 4. “Noriega Rules Court with Compassion.” Bakersfield Californian; 16 (col. 1). 1965 Feb 26. “Barazabal, Pedro” [obituary]. Bakersfield Californian; 34. 1967 Feb 4. “Recalt, Pierre” [obituary]. Bakersfield Californian; 29. 1968 Aug 13, “Kern Drug, County’s Oldest Pharmacy, to Close Its Doors,” Bakersfield Californian; 12 (col. 1). 1971 Feb 12, “Bakersfield to Lose $750,000 SP Payroll,” Bakersfield Californian; 13. 1971 Feb 18, “SP to Move 54 Men, Cut 16 Employees,” Bakersfield Californian; 9. 1974 Apr 16. “Rites for Basque Hotel Keeper, Restaurateur Set.” Bakersfield Californian; 11.

Bakersfield Daily Californian 1893 Jul 23. “A New Hotel in Kern City.” Bakersfield Daily Californian. 1893 Aug 4. “Notice to Contractors.” Bakersfield Daily Californian; 3. 1893 Nov 20. “City and Vicinity.” Bakersfield Daily Californian. 1902 Aug 23. “New Hotel Property.” Bakersfield Daily Californian; 4. 1903 Mar 1. “Destroys the Justice’s Office.” Bakersfield Daily Californian; 5 (col.3). 1903 Jun 13. “Contract Let.” Bakersfield Daily Californian; 5. 1903 Oct 26. “Opened Handball Court.” Bakersfield Daily Californian; 5 (col. 3).

Bakersfield Morning Echo 1906 Nov 6. “Pyrenees Hotel” [advertisement]. Bakersfield Morning Echo. 1906 Dec 15. “Grand Social Dance.” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 2 (col. 2). 1920 Dec 28. “Establish Free City Employment Office.” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 1 (col. 4). 1922 Jan 8. “East Bakersfield Banker and Early Settler is Dead.” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 1 (col. 4).

Bakersfield Panache. 1995a Feb-Mar. “Old Town Kern is Rich in History and Architectural Significance.” Bakersfield Panache; 34-37. 1995b Feb-Mar. “Old Town Kern: A Cultural Melting Pot.” Bakersfield Panache; 38-39.

Bass, Steve and George Ansolabehere. “Kern County Basque Owned or Operated Hotels and Boarding Houses,” Historic Kern, quarterly bulletin of the Kern County Historical Society, v. 61, n. 1 (March 2011): 1-6.

Echeverria, Jeronima. 1999. Home Away from Home: A History of Basque Boarding houses. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.

Ellison, O.C., “Kern City and the Kern River Oil Districts.” Overland Monthly 38, n. 1 (Jul. 1901): 66-90.

Gordinier, Jeff. 2011 May 10. “The Spotlight Finds a Basque Shepherds’ Canteen.” The New York Times.

Kern County Assessor. n.d. Current property data.

Kern County Basque Club. n.d. “History.” Accessed via http://kcbasqueclub.com/history, September 30, 2015.




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Morgan, Wallace M. 1914. History of Kern County, California with Biographical Sketches of the Leading Men and Women of the County who have been Identified with its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present. Los Angeles, Historic Record Company.

Paquette, Mary Grace. 1982. “Basques to Bakersfield.” Bakersfield: Kern County Historical Society.

R.L. Polk & Company. 1935-1965. Bakersfield City Directory. Los Angeles, CA: R.L. Polk & Company.

Sanborn Map and Publishing Company. 1892, 1899, 1905, 1912, 1949. Bakersfield. New York: Sanborn Map andPublishing Co., Ltd.

Sumner Standard. 1893 Apr 20. “The Kern City Mexican Club …” Sumner Standard.

US Department of Agriculture. 1937. Kern County Aerial Photographs.

US Department of the Interior. 1947. US Geological Survey. Kern County Aerial Photographs.

Zubiri, Nancy. 1998. A Travel Guide to Basque America: Families, Feasts, and Festivals. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.


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Photograph 2: The buildings that compose Noriega’s along Sumner Street. From right to left: handball court, restaurant, hotel/boarding house. Camera facing southeast, July 28, 2015 (A3697).

Photograph 3: Conglomeration of buildings that have been unified by a continuous façade at the corner of Sumner (leading to the right) and Kern streets. Camera facing southwest, July 28, 2015 (A3717).





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Photograph 4: 525 Sumner Street, Noriega Hotel. Camera facing south, July 28, 2015 (A3716).

Photograph 5: Detail of wood siding and lean-to on east wall of Noriega Hotel. Camera facing south, July 28, 2015 (A3710).





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Photograph 6: Detail view of cornice on front façade of Noriega Hotel, and horizontal wood siding on west side. Camera facing southeast, July 28, 2015 (A3700).

Photograph 7: Noriega’s handball court, constructed 1930-1931. Camera facing southeast, July 28, 2015 (A3703).





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Photograph 8: Noriega’s restaurant, constructed 1940. Camera facing south, July 28, 2015 (A3712).

Photograph 9: Detail view of screened rooftop at rear addition of Noriega’s restaurant.Camera facing southeast, July 28, 2015 (A3705).



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Photograph 10: Shed/stalls at left at alley; rear addition of restaurant at center; garage door at rear of mid-block building fronting Kern Street at right. Camera facing northwest, July 28, 2015 (A3736).

Photograph 11: 531 Sumner Street. Camera facing southwest, July 28, 2015 (A3702).





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Photograph 12: Brick wall visible at west side of 531 Sumner Street. Camera facing southeast, July 28, 2015 (A3701).

Photograph 13: Detail of brick wall at west side of 531 Sumner Street. Camera facing south, July 28, 2015 (A3709).





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Photograph 14: Storefronts along Kern Street. Camera facing northwest, July 28, 2015 (A3730).

Photograph 15: Detail of storefront on Kern Street. Camera facing west, July 28, 2015 (A3727).


Site Map:




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State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # __________________________DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # _____________________________

PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial ___________________________NRHP Status Code 3S

Other Listings ___________________________________________________Review Code __________ Reviewer ____________________________ Date


P1. Other Identifier: 622 East 21st Street *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Kernand (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.)

*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Oil Center Date 1992 T29S; R 28E; NE ¼ of Sec 29; M.D. B.M.

622 East 21stc. Address Street City Bakersfield Zip 93305d. UTM: (give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone _____; ______________mE/ _____________mNe. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate)

Assessor Parcel Number: 016-060-12 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)

This .42-acre parcel contains a two story building with an irregular footprint, located on East 21st Street in the formerly vibrant commercial center of East Bakersfield (Photograph 1). The building was constructed in 1899 and was heavily altered after sustaining extensive damage from a series of earthquakes in 1952. At the time of the earthquakes, the building featured ornate Neoclassical design elements, but it was repaired according to the modern aesthetic of the 1950s resulting in a building façade with references to International style architecture. Today, the building has a flat roof with a recessed parapet and a central hip-roof skylight structure (Photograph 2). The exterior is clad with smooth stucco. Small rectangular louvered vents are positioned around the perimeter of the building, just below the roofline (see Continuation Sheet).

*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP6 – Commercial Property, 1-3 Stories; HP5 – Hotel/motel*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.)

1 12 MR 107; APN: 016-060-12

P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date, accession #) Photograph 1. Camera facing northeast, June 23, 2015 (A3791)

*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: Historic Prehistoric Both1899 (Kern County Assessor)

*P7. Owner and Address:James C. Narducci 622 E 21st Street Bakersfield, CA 93305-5239

*P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation,address)

Heather Norby & Rebecca Flores JRP Historical Consulting, LLC 2850 Spafford Street Davis, CA 95618

*P9. Date Recorded: June 23, 2015

*P10. Survey Type: (Describe)Intensive

*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none.”) JRP Historical Consulting, LLC, “California High SpeedTrain Third Supplemental HASR, Fresno to Bakersfield Section: Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment,” 2015.*Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph RecordOther (list)DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information

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of 12 *NRHP Status Code 3S*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 107; APN: 016-060-12

B1. Historic Name: Cesmat Hotel, Amestoy Hotel B2. Common Name: Narducci’s CafeB3. Original Use: hotel & commercial B4. Present Use: commercial *B5. Architectural Style: Heavily modified Neoclassical*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alteration, and date of alterations) Built in 1899; architectural details removed and stuccoapplied over brick at unknown date(s). Handball court built in 1899 and removed before 1912.*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:

*B8. Related Features: ________B9. Architect: unknown b. Builder: C.J. Lindgren*B10. Significance: Theme Basque Heritage Area East Bakersfield, Kern County, California

Period of Significance 1927-1964 (A/1)) Property Type Restaurant, Bar, Boarding HouseApplicable Criteria NRHP A / CRHR 1

(Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.)

This property at 622 East 21st Street meets the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and theCalifornia Register of Historical Resources (CRHR) under NRHP Criterion A and CRHR Criterion 1 for its association witha thriving community of Basque immigrants and their descendants in East Bakersfield between 1927 and 1964 when it wasunder the proprietorship of Anselma Amestoy and her heirs. It is an historical resource for the purposes of the CaliforniaEnvironmental Quality Act (CEQA). This property has been evaluated in accordance with Section 15064.5(a)(2)-(3) of theCEQA Guidelines, using the criteria outlined in Section 5024.1 of the California Public Resources Code.

Historic ContextMarius Cesmat constructed the hotel building on this parcel in Kern City’s commercial core in 1899, the year after fireravaged the downtown and destroyed his original Cesmat Hotel (Morgan 1914: 125; Bakersfield Daily Californian 1898 Jul23; Bakersfield Daily Californian 1899 Aug 29). East Bakersfield, as it is now known, began its life as Sumner, a town thatSouthern Pacific Railroad established in 1874 along its southern San Joaquin Valley route. (see Continuation Sheet).




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B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes)


B13. Remarks:





of 12 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 107; APN: 016-060-12 *Recorded by H. Norby & R. Flores *Date June 23, 2015 Continuation Update

P3a. Description (continued): The front (south) façade faces East 21st Street and is characterized by its symmetrical openings and a slightly projecting central section. The main entrance is centered on this façade and consists of a nine-light door with sidelights flanked by Doric-style columns and sheltered by a canvas awning. A narrow curved balcony with two Doric-style columns and central glazed wood door with large sidelights and transom windows sheltered by a canvas awning is located above the main entry. A double-hung wood-sash window and an aluminum sliding window are present on either side of the balcony. Two storefronts are present on each side of the central door: the western storefront is filled with large fixed windows and a modern glazed door, and the eastern storefront is filled with glass blocks and brick veneer with a central wood paneling and a wood door.

The back of the building, designed as the kitchen, is two stories and narrower than the front of the building (Photograph 3). The only view available from the public right-of-way is from the alley on the north side of the building. A wood staircase leads to a centrally located door on the upper level. Double-hung wood-sash windows are present on both the upper and lower levels.

The west side has a single door at the north end. Second-floor windows consist of aluminum sliding windows with transom and a small fixed window. First floor windows include one-over-one double-hung wood-sash and fixed aluminum sash windows below a shed-roof awning constructed using wood planks. A mural that reads “Narducci’s Café” is painted on the upper level near the front (south) of the building.

A single-story addition with a flat roof abuts the east side of the building. This extension is constructed of concrete block and is characterized by its absence of windows (Photograph 4).

A single-story brick garage building with a flat roof is located at the northeast corner of the property (Photograph 5). The west side features a concrete block façade that was likely part of the earthquake repairs in 1952. Garage bay doorways filled with dilapidated wood panels are present along this façade. A single door opening is present at the south end of the building’s east side (Photograph 6).

B10. Significance (continued): Southern Pacific did not bring its rail line directly through downtown Bakersfield, so the depot in nearby Sumner was the company’s main Bakersfield station. The depot building (1889) is still standing at the southeast corner of Sumner and Baker streets (see DPR 523 form for Bakersfield Depot). Southern Pacific also established a railyard in Sumner, east of the depot that included maintenance shops and a roundhouse. After modest beginnings, the presence of the rail shipping, passenger access, and the jobs created by the Southern Pacific shops made Sumner a booming commercial and residential center by the late 1890s when it incorporated as the City of Kern (it was typically referred to as Kern City). By this time various industrial and agricultural businesses constructed facilities west of the depot, north of Sumner Street (originally I Street), while other commercial and residential development extended to the south of Sumner Street. In 1899, the year this building was constructed, Kern City enjoyed a brief period of particularly rapid expansion in the wake of the Kern River oil boom, and by the following year had approximately 1,300 residents. Kern City was annexed into Bakersfield in 1909 and since that time the neighborhood has simply been known as East Bakersfield (Bailey 1984: 72-75; Bakersfield Panache 1995a: 34; Bakersfield Panache 1995b: 38).

Kern City’s commercial district was centered along both sides of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks and Baker Street which crosses the tracks adjacent to the depot. In the early twentieth century, fueled by well-paid Southern Pacific jobs and the oil boom, business owners and investors developed a cluster of fine frame and brick buildings that housed hotels and boarding houses, restaurants, and various commercial businesses. After suffering through at least two large fires in the late nineteenth century, many of Kern City’s commercial buildings were constructed with brick that was locally produced in the Bakersfield Sandstone Brick Company yards in Kern City (Sanborn 1892, 1899, 1905, 1912; Overland Monthly 1901: 66-80; Morgan 1914: 125).




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*Recorded by H. Norby & R. Flores *Date June 23, 2015 Continuation Update In the early twentieth century, Kern City had all of the hallmarks of a thriving town. One description of Kern City written in 1901 described it as a thriving locale replete with churches and schools, and solid infrastructure that included water supplied by the East Side Canal, oiled roads, good drainage provided by a functional sewer system, and electric street lights. Housing stock in Kern City included many fine residences built according to the architectural trends popular at the time, many of which featured Queen Anne styling and details (Ellison 1901: 66-80).

From its earliest days, East Bakersfield was home to an ethnically diverse population, including members of the French, Italian, Basque, Mexican, and African-American communities. Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have been a substantial component of East Bakersfield since the nineteenth century and local clubs and social halls were frequently the center of cultural holidays and social events (Sumner Standard 1893: 1). French and Basque immigrants were also attracted to Kern City in the late nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century. Their presence as a community was strongly reflected in East Bakersfield’s built environment by such buildings as hotels, restaurants, and other service-industry businesses (Paquette 1984: xi-xv; Bakersfield Panache 1995a; Bakersfield Panache 1995b; Zubiri 1998: 129-132, 150-169). Ethnic diversity was also evident in local schools. By the 1930s for example, East Bakersfield’s Lincoln School (now called Bessie Owens) had the most ethnically diverse population of any school in Bakersfield (Bakersfield Californian 1931 Jun 27).

French immigrant Marius Cesmat built the Cesmat Hotel in 1899 to replace an older hotel that he owned on the parcel (Bakersfield Californian 1898 Jul 23; Bakersfield Californian 1898 Aug 29; US Census 1910; Bakersfield Californian 1938 Sep 10). Cesmat hired C.J. Lindgren to construct the $11,000, Neo-Classical two-story brick hotel in summer 1898 and it was ready to open the following spring (Bakersfield Californian 1898 Aug 29; Bakersfield Californian 1899 Apr 12) (Figure 1). The hotel maintained a livery and stable across the street that had also served the earlier hotel. Cesmat also had a handball court constructed in May 1899 at the northeast corner of the property that was advertised as the most modern in the state, complete with a cement floor (Figure 2) (Sanborn 1899; Bakersfield Californian 1899 May 25; Bakersfield Californian 1899 Jun 6). The handball court was short-lived at the property and does not appear in 1912 mapping of the parcel (Sanborn 1905, 1912). Sometime between 1912 and 1951 a single-story brick garage building was added at the rear of the parcel (Sanborn 1912, 1951). Cesmat retained ownership of the building and leased the hotel to second parties until 1927. Proprietors during this period included largely non-Basque hotel operators: T.J. Boyle (1902), Basque immigrants John and Mary Iribarne (1902-03), H. Hampshire (1903), F.W. Peaterson (1913), and Mr. and Mrs. James Brady II (1923). During those years various businesses and restaurants also operated out of the two storefronts on the lower level of the hotel (Bakersfield Daily Californian 1902 Mar 4; Bakersfield Morning Echo 1903 Jul 3; Bakersfield Daily Californian 1903 Jul 11; Bakersfield Morning Echo 1912 Dec 20; Bakersfield Californian 1913 Jan 6; Bakersfield Californian 1921 Aug 24; Bakersfield Californian 1921 Dec 22; Bakersfield Morning Echo 1923 Jul 29).

4 12 MR 107; APN: 016-060-12




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of 12 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 107; APN: 016-060-12*Recorded by H. Norby & R. Flores *Date June 23, 2015 Continuation Update


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Figure 1: Photograph of the Cesmat Hotel. Overland Monthly. 1901 Jul. Vol. 38, No. 1: 72. Compare to Photograph 3.

The Cesmat Hotel entered a period of stability in 1927 when Anselma Amestoy purchased the property (Echeverria 1999: 108; Bass & Ansolabehere 2011: 3). Frank Amestoy and Anselma Ballaz, both immigrants from the Basque region of Spain, met shortly after Anselma began working as a maid at the nearby Noriega Hotel (see DPR 523 form for 525 Sumner Street) in 1912 (Paquette 1984: 88). They took over proprietorship of the Noriega Hotel in 1921 and ran it during the difficult Prohibition Era. According to Jeronima Echeverria’s history of Basque boardinghouses, the Amestoys declined making F.M. Noriega an offer to buy his hotel because Anselma, having seen two fires at Noriega’s, worried that it would burn down, and she also disliked the bats that roosted in Noriega’s handball court. Anselma executed the financing and purchase of the Cesmat Hotel in 1927 (Echeverria 1999: 108). The Amestoys retained the original name of the hotel until 1936 when they changed it to the Amestoy Hotel (R.L. Polk 1935, 1936). “The Amestoy,” as it was locally known, offered boarding, a café serving family style Basque meals, and a bar (Bakersfield Californian 1948 Aug 7). Anselma, known locally as Chaparita, was known for her personality and local lore remembers her for chasing troublemakers out of her establishment with a meat cleaver. She was also known for her inventive ways to evade liquor restrictions during Prohibition (Bass & Ansolabehere 2011: 3; Echeverria 1999: 108-109). Frank Amestoy died in 1944 and Anselma continued to run it until 1948 or 1949 when her heirs took over (Bakersfield Californian 1944 Apr 17; Polk 1948, 1949). They continued to run it until 1964 when they sold it to Raymond Maitia (Echeverria 1999: 109).

Much has been written about the importance of Basque-run boardinghouses to the immigrants to the nineteenth century and early twentieth century Basque immigrants to the American West. The Cesmat Hotel / Amestoy Hotel under the Amestoys proprietorship from 1927 – 1964 was one of a few Basque-run boarding houses and eateries in East Bakersfield. Unlike its neighbor, the Noriega Hotel that opened in 1893, the Cesmat / Amestoy Hotel was not identified as a Basque establishment during the peak immigration years of Basques to California between 1890 and 1930. There was a high turnover of proprietors during the first three decades of the hotels existence and it was not until the Amestoys bought it that it became one of East Bakersfield’s entrenched Basque establishments. During the decades between 1927 and 1964 it served as one of a few places that provided not just shelter, but familiar food, and the familiar recreational activity, handball, along with community that helped launch many of the young men into the sheepherding business. Young single Basque women were part of the migration and the boardinghouses provided them with jobs in the kitchen and as maids. Turnover was high for these positions because the young women often met their marriage partners while working in the boardinghouses (Echeverria 1999: 1, 104-111; Paquette 1982: 40; Bass & Ansolabehere 2011:1-6).





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Figure 2: Excerpt of 1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map showing Cesmat Hotel at center, handball court at rear of hotel along alley, and hotel livery and stable across the street.

Because the Amestoy Hotel primarily served men associated with ranching pursuits, the business was somewhat sheltered from the twentieth-century forces that shifted East Bakersfield into a period of economic decline. An almost symbolic but very real natural event kicked off the decline in summer 1952 when a series of earthquakes damaged many of East Bakersfield’s beautiful old brick buildings (and scores of greater Bakersfield’s building stock). While not all buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, of those that were, some were never rebuilt which has resulted in lots that have stood vacant from that point to the present. This is most likely when the Amestoy Hotel lost the architectural features seen in Figure 1 and was given the smooth modern façade that it has today. Just a year after the earthquakes, Southern Pacific laid off 109 employees who worked in the company shops along Sumner Street because of the conversion of locomotives from steam to

of 12 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 107; APN: 016-060-12 *Recorded by H. Norby & R. Flores *Date June 23, 2015 Continuation Update diesel (Bakersfield Californian 1953 Mar 19). Then, in 1959-1960 the Beale Avenue overpass was built, which essentially cut Sumner and Baker streets off as a heavily trafficked commercial corridor (Bakersfield Californian 1959 Jul 4; Bakersfield Californian 1959 Nov 2). Over the next few years, shops like Kern Drug Company that operated continuously for 70 years at the southeast corner of Baker and Sumner streets closed because the area could no longer support the business (Bakersfield Californian 1968 Aug 13). The final hit came in 1971 when Southern Pacific closed all of its East Bakersfield shops and ceased passenger service, moving many of the remaining railroad jobs to Los Angeles (Bakersfield Californian 1971 Feb 12).

The Amestoy family owned and operated the hotel until 1964 when Frank and Anselma’s daughter Josephine sold it to Raymond Maitia (Echeverria 1999: 109). Sometime later in the 1960s Marino Narducci took over operation of the hotel and opened Marino Italian Dinners in the downstairs restaurant (R.L. Polk 1939, 1951, 1955, 1968; Bakersfield Californian 1967 Sept 21). Narducci’s Café replaced Marino Italian Dinners in 1979 and is still in operation under the Narducci family (R.L. Polk 1979; CoreLogic). The Narducci’s ran the hotel under the Amestoy name, but ceased its operation at some point after 1986 (R.L. Polk 1986; JRP site visit June 2015). Evaluation The property recorded on this form at 622 East 21st Street is directly associated with the community of Basque immigrants and their descendants who congregated at boardinghouses, restaurants, and ball courts in East Bakersfield. Although the Marius Cesmat constructed the building in 1899, it did not become strongly associated with the Basque community until 1927 when the Amestoys bought the business because Cesmat leased it to a series of non-Basque proprietors during the first three decades of the hotel’s existence. After 1927, under the proprietorship of the Amestoys, the establishment provided an important space for the community of Basque immigrants and their descendants to meet and socialize, which helped to maintain their cultural identity. The period of significance under NRHP Criterion A / CRHR Criterion 1 is 1927 to 1964, the period when it was owned by members of the Amestoy family. For a building to be eligible for listing in the NRHP or the CRHR it must meet at least one of the significance criteria for evaluation, and also possess historic integrity to the period significance. Although the earthquakes in 1952 damaged the building, and the subsequent repair stripped the building of most of its original architectural features, the repairs to the building in response to the damage occurred during the period of significance. The building has not lost integrity to the period of significance, even though it did change in appearance during that time. Instead, the building retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling and association the period of significance, albeit the latter part of that period.

This building once had potential significance under NRHP Criterion B and CRHR Criterion 2 for its association with Anselma Amestoy who purchased the building in 1927 and operated it with her husband until 1944, and then continued to operate it until 1948 or 1949, after which point her heirs took over as proprietors. Within the context of Basque boardinghouse operators in East Bakersfield, she is one that stands out in the historic record as making a dedicated contribution to fostering the culture through providing a gathering place, boarding, and family-style food and drink. Anselma Amestoy was directly associated with the building from 1927 – 1949; although she may have retained an affiliation with the business and the building during the period when her heirs are listed as proprietors, it does appear that she retired by 1949. Again, the losses of integrity of design, materials, workmanship, and feeling must be considered when determining if the building can still convey its association with Anselma Amestoy’s contribution to Basque culture. In this case, however, the earthquake repair alterations occurred after the period when Anselma was directly related to the property; therefore, the property does not have integrity to the period when she was significantly associated with it and it is not eligible under these criteria.

This building is not eligible under NRHP Criterion C / CRHR Criterion 3 because it is not an important example of a type, period, or method of construction. Under these criteria, it must be considered for the building that it is today, a highly modified Neoclassical-style building with some references to International style architecture. It does not have integrity of design, materials, workmanship, or feeling to its date of original construction, 1899, because of the extensive alterations made to the building after the 1952 earthquake. It is not a good, fully articulated expression of any architectural style and it




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of 12 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 107; APN: 016-060-12 *Recorded by H. Norby & R. Flores *Date June 23, 2015 Continuation Update lacks any architectural distinction that would warrant significance under these criteria. This building is not eligible under NRHP Criterion D / CRHR Criterion 4 as a source (or likely source) of important information regarding history. It was built using typical materials, and does not have any likelihood of yielding important information about historic construction materials or technologies.

The character-defining features of this property are the form and massing of the main building fronting East 21st Street, not inclusive of the single-story concrete block addition on the east side, the rooftop skylight, the placement and size of the window and door openings, any existing original double-hung wood-sash windows, and the central projection on the front façade including the curved balcony and Doric-style columns. The brick garage at the rear of the property is also character-defining and its features include its form and massing, brick walls, and door openings.

The boundary of this historic property is its legal parcel.


Publications, Inc.

Bakersfield Californian 1913 Jan 6. “Removal Notice,” Bakersfield Californian; 5 (col. 3). 1921 Aug 24. “A New Hospital” [advertisement], Bakersfield Californian; 4 (col. 3). 1921 Dec 22. “Business Growth Seen Both Ways on Baker Street,” Bakersfield Californian; 9 (col. 1). 1931 Jun 27. “Eighteen Per Cent City School Children of Foreign Race Groups.” Bakersfield Californian; 4 (col. 4). 1938 Sep 10. “Marius Cesmat Pioneer of City Taken By Death.” Bakersfield Californian; 9 (col. 1). 1944 Apr 17. “Funeral Services for Frank Amestoy Slated,” Bakersfield Californian; 9 (col. 5). 1948 Aug 7. “Amestoy Hotel” [advertisement], Bakersfield Californian; 11 (col. 6). 1952 Aug 23, “Tomblike Solitude Marks Shaken Area,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 1).

1953 Mar 19, “Dieselization Brings Layoff of 109 Men,” Bakersfield Californian; 2 (col. 4). 1956 Aug 20, “’New City’ Rises After ’52 Quakes,” Bakersfield Californian 25B (col. 8). 1959 Jul 4, “Here Comes Beale Ave. Overpass,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 1). 1959 Nov 2, Photo montage of Beale Avenue Overpass construction, Bakersfield Californian; 19 (col. 2). 1968 Aug 13, “Kern Drug, County’s Oldest Pharmacy, to Close Its Doors,” Bakersfield Californian; 12 (col. 1). 1971 Feb 12, “Bakersfield to Lose $750,000 SP Payroll,” Bakersfield Californian; 13. 1971 Feb 18, “SP to Move 54 Men, Cut 16 Employees,” Bakersfield Californian; 9.

Bakersfield Daily Californian. 1898 Jul 23. “The Rise From the Ashes.” Bakersfield Californian; 1 (col. 3). 1898 Aug 29. “New Contracts.” Bakersfield Californian; 3 (col. 2). 1899 Apr 12. “Kern City.” Bakersfield Californian; 3 (col. 1). 1899 May 25. “Kern City.” Bakersfield Californian; 3 (col. 1). 1899 Jun 6. “Kern City.” Bakersfield Californian; 3 (col. 1) 1902 Mar 4. “The Cesmat is Leased.” Bakersfield Californian; 5 (col. 3) 1903 Jul 11. “Hotel Cesmat” [advertisement], Bakersfield Californian; 5 (col. 5).

Bakersfield Morning Echo. 1903 Jul 3, “A Hotel Changes,” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 5 (col. 2). 1912 Dec 20. “Kern Personals,” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 5 (col. 5). 1923 Jul 29. “Pioneer Hotel of Bakersfield Sold,” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 7 (col. 4).





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of 12 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 107; APN: 016-060-12*Recorded by H. Norby & R. Flores *Date June 23, 2015 Continuation Update Bass, Steve and George Ansolabehere. “Kern County Basque Owned or Operated Hotels and Boarding Houses,” Historic

Kern, quarterly bulletin of the Kern County Historical Society, v. 61, n. 1 (March 2011): 1-6.

CoreLogic. Property Detail Report for 622 E 21st St, Bakersfield, CA 93305-5239.

Echeverria, Jeronima. 1999. Home Away from Home: A History of Basque Boardinghouses. Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press.




R.L. Polk & Company 1935, 1936, 1939, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1955, 1968. Polk’s Bakersfield City Directory, Los Angeles: R.L. Polk & Co.

1979, 1986. Polk’s Bakersfield City Directory, Dallas, TX: R.L. Polk & Co.

Sanborn Map and Publishing Company. 1899, 1905, 1912, 1951. Bakersfield. New York: Sanborn Map and Publishing Co., Ltd.


United State Census Bureau. Population Schedule. 1910. California, Kern County, Kern City Town, Third Township Supervisor’s District No. 8, Enumeration District No. 25, Page No. 13A.



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Photograph 2: View showing vent on roof; facing northwest, June 23, 2015 (A3817).

Photograph 3: North side of main building with west side of outbuilding on far left; facing southeast, June 23, 2015 (A3822).





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Photograph 4: South and east sides; facing northwest, June 23, 2015 (A3796).

Photograph 5: North side and north end of the west side of the outbuilding; camera facing southeast, June 23, 2015 (A3823).

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Photograph 6: East side of outbuilding at right; camera facing southwest, June 23, 2015 (A3825).

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PRIMARY RECORD Trinomial __________________________NRHP Status Code 6Z

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Page 1 of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02

P1. Other Identifier: 601 – 607 Sumner Street *P2. Location: Not for Publication Unrestricted *a. County Kernand (P2b and P2c or P2d. Attach a Location Map as necessary.)

*b. USGS 7.5’ Quad Oil Center Date 1954 (Photorevised 1973) T 29S; R 28E; NW ¼ of Sec 29; M.D. B.M.

c. Address 601Sumner Street City Bakersfield Zip 93305d. UTM: (give more than one for large and/or linear resources) Zone _____; ______________mE/ _____________mNe. Other Locational Data: (e.g., parcel #, directions to resource, elevation, etc., as appropriate)

Assessor Parcel Number: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *P3a. Description: (Describe resource and its major elements. Include design, materials, condition, alterations, size, setting, and boundaries)

The two parcels recorded on this form are located at the southeast corner of Sumner and Kern streets in the heart of the formerly vibrant commercial center of East Bakersfield. The parcels have been united by the same ownership since 1930 (see Site Map) and contains five buildings. Celestini and Agata Petrini constructed two commercial buildings at 601 and 605 Sumner Street, in 1914 and 1925, and then purchased the residence at 607 Sumner Street in 1930. Both commercial buildings were heavily altered after sustaining extensive damage during a series of earthquakes in summer 1952. Before the earthquake, the buildings featured brick walls, but they were repaired with concrete blocks (Photograph 1). The residence at 607 Sumner Street is a two-story Queen Anne house that was constructed circa 1880 (see Continuation Sheet).

*P3b. Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP2 – Single family property; HP6 – 1-3 story commercial building*P4. Resources Present: Building Structure Object Site District Element of District Other (Isolates, etc.)

P5a. Photo or Drawing (Photo required for buildings, structures, and objects.) P5b. Description of Photo: (View, date, accession #) Photograph 1: Camera facing southeast, June 23, 2015 (A3738).

*P6. Date Constructed/Age and Sources: Historic Prehistoric Bothc.1880, 1914, 1925 (Polk-HustedDirectory & Bakersfield Californian)

*P7. Owner and Address:

John & Alice Lewis 6000 Diamond Oaks Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93306 *P8. Recorded by: (Name, affiliation,address)

Heather Norby & Rebecca Flores JRP Historical Consulting, LLC 2850 Spafford Street Davis, CA 95618

*P9. Date Recorded: June 23, 2015

*P10. Survey Type: (Describe):Intensive

*P11. Report Citation: (Cite survey report and other sources, or enter “none.”) JRP Historical Consulting, LLC, “California High Speed Train Third Supplemental HASR, Fresno to Bakersfield Section: Bakersfield F Street Station Alignment,” 2015. *Attachments: None Location Map Sketch Map Continuation Sheet Building, Structure, and Object Record Archaeological Record District Record Linear Feature Record Milling Station Record Rock Art Record Artifact Record Photograph RecordOther (list)DPR 523A (1/95) *Required Information

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Page of *NRHP Status Code*Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02

B1. Historic Name: Italia Hotel; Lucca Café; Palace Café; Salvation Army; Bernard Residence; Petrini Residence B2. Common Name: St. Francis Hotel / Pyrenees CaféB3. Original Use: hotel & commercial; residential B4. Present Use: hotel & commercial; residential *B5. Architectural Style: Two-Part Commercial Block; one-part commercial block; Queen Anne*B6. Construction History: (Construction date, alteration, and date of alterations) Residence at 607 Sumner (APN 016-060-02) wasconstructed circa 1880, and renovated and expanded circa 1900; balconies, porches, and balustrades removed at unknowndate; doors windows, and siding removed at an unknown date. 601 Sumner (APN 016-060-01) was constructed in 1914 andrepaired with concrete blocks in 1953. 605 Sumner (APN 016-060-02) was built in 1925 and repaired in 1953.*B7. Moved? No Yes Unknown Date: Original Location:

*B8. Related Features: ________B9. Architect: unknown b. Builder: unknown*B10. Significance: Theme n/a Area n/a Period of Significance n/a Property Type n/a Applicable Criteria n/a (Discuss importance in terms of historical or architectural context as defined by theme, period, and geographic scope. Also address integrity.)

This property at 601 - 607 Sumner Street does not meet the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or the California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR), nor is it an historical resource for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This property has been evaluated in accordance with Section 15064.5(a)(2)-(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, using the criteria outlined in Section 5024.1 of the California Public Resources Code.

Historic Context Arsene P. Bernard constructed the residential building at 607 Sumner Street in the young town of Sumner in approximately 1880. East Bakersfield, as it is now known, began its life as Sumner, a town that Southern Pacific Railroad established in 1874 along its southern San Joaquin Valley route. Southern Pacific did not bring its rail line directly through downtown Bakersfield, so the depot in nearby Sumner was the company’s main Bakersfield station. The depot building (1889) is still standing at the southeast corner of Sumner and Baker streets (see DPR 523 form for Bakersfield Depot). Southern Pacific also established a railyard in Sumner, east of the depot, that included maintenance shops and a roundhouse (see Continuation Sheet).

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B11. Additional Resource Attributes: (List attributes and codes) HP5 – Hotel/motel


B13. Remarks:





of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update

P3a. Description (continued): The two-part commercial block building on the corner of Kern and Sumner streets (601 Sumner) is a two-story building with a flat roof and L-shaped footprint with a single-story rear addition. Exterior walls are concrete masonry units that are painted in a highly contrasting blocked color scheme differentiating the first and second floors. Two symmetrically placed pilasters on the front (Sumner Street) façade frame the recessed St. Francis Hotel business entrance (601 ½ Sumner), which is a single-panel metal door with a small square window at eye level. The entrance to the Pyrenees Café, also fronting Sumner Street (601 Sumner), has the same style door and is recessed with a metal frame and fabric awning affixed above. Two small rectangular fixed-pane windows flank the entry. A large bay with a roll-up door is present on the east side of the front façade. One two-part double-hung wood-sash window and one double-hung wood-sash window are symmetrically placed on either side of the pilasters on the upper level of the front façade (Photograph 2). A neon sign that reads “St. Francis Hotel” is affixed to the wall between the pilasters. Another neon sign that reads “Dinners – Pyrenees – Cocktails” is affixed to the northwest corner of the building (Photograph 3). The west side of the building features a smooth stucco exterior on the lower level and painted concrete block on the upper level (Photograph 4). Windows on the second floor are double-hung with wood sashes. A pair of wood doors is centrally located on the west wall and flanked by paired double-hung wood-sash windows with exterior screens. Two additional metal doors sheltered by fabric awnings are located on the west side.

A single-story addition with a flat roof extends from the rear of 601 Sumner Street to the alley (Photograph 5). The west side of the addition has a series of evenly spaced infilled window openings, a single-panel metal door at the north end, and a set of large metal double doors at the south end. The south end of the addition abuts the south end of the neighboring building, 605 Sumner Street. The south end of the addition features four evenly spaced filled window openings and one large bay opening enclosed by a metal fence. Part of the original brick wall and a filled arched window opening of 605 Sumner Street is visible through this bay (Photograph 6).

The single-story brick building at 605 Sumner Street has a rectangular footprint that is approximately 27 feet by 150 feet, the depth of the lot from the sidewalk on Sumner Street to the alley on the south. A smooth stucco finish has been applied to all sides of the building. It has a flat roof with a stepped parapet along the east side. The front (north) façade faces Sumner Street and is symmetrically organized and defined by three large openings (Photograph 7). The side openings each feature a set of glazed wood double doors with protective metal screens, transoms, and a two-part divided window above. At the center is a three-part window with one panel covered by a wood panel, while the upper three-part divided window features a ventilation fan inset in the center. A row of square metal tie plates are visible above the windows. The rear of the building features a centered bay with a metal roll-up door on the alley and abuts the addition to 601 Sumner Street. A row of square metal tie plates, like those on the front façade, are also visible on the south and east sides of the building, approximately 18 inches below the roofline (Photograph 6). The two-story Queen Anne residential property at 607 Sumner Street has an essentially rectangular footprint (Photograph 8). The building is topped with an irregular hipped roof with narrow overhang covered with composite shingles. A two story turret projects from the building’s northwest corner and a two story cutaway bay is present near the east end of the north side. The building has horizontal replacement siding. All windows are double-hung aluminum sash replacement windows. A concrete path leads to the main entrance with is through a modern replacement door centered on a full-width front uncovered porch. A two-story extension with a hip roof projects form the east end of the building’s rear (south) side.

Numerous alterations and additions are present at the rear of the residence, including a shed roof addition projecting from the west side of a two-story addition. There is a single-story gable-roof projection extending from the western shed roof addition, and a single-story shed roof addition extends from the east end of the south side. Two corrugated metal outbuildings with gable roofs are located behind the building. The detached outbuilding is rectangular in plan and rests on a concrete foundation. It is sheathed in metal corrugated metal siding, topped with a metal corrugated gable roof, and has a multi-light metal frame window on the south side and an aluminum frame sliding window on the east side (Photographs 9 and 10). The second outbuilding shares its western wall with the eastern wall of 601 Sumner Street, is rectangular in plan




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of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update and rests on a concrete foundation (Photograph 11). It is also sheathed in metal corrugated metal siding, is topped with a metal corrugated shed roof, and has window and door openings on the east side.

B10. Significance (continued): After modest beginnings, the presence of the rail shipping, passenger access, and the jobs created by the Southern Pacific shops made Sumner a booming commercial and residential center by the late 1890s when it incorporated as the City of Kern (it was typically referred to as Kern City). By this time various industrial and agricultural businesses constructed facilities west of the depot, north of Sumner Street (originally I Street), while other commercial and residential development extended to the south of Sumner Street. In 1899, Kern City enjoyed a brief period of particularly rapid expansion in the wake of the Kern River oil boom, and by the following year had approximately 1,300 residents. Kern City was annexed into Bakersfield in 1909 and since that time the neighborhood has simply been known as East Bakersfield (Bailey 1984: 72-75; Bakersfield Panache 1995a: 34; Bakersfield Panache 1995b: 38).

Kern City’s commercial district was centered along both sides of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks and Baker Street which crossed the tracks adjacent to the depot. In the early twentieth century, fueled by well-paid Southern Pacific jobs and the nearby oil boom, business owners and investors developed a cluster of fine frame and brick buildings that housed hotels and boarding houses, restaurants, and various commercial businesses. After suffering through at least two large fires in the late nineteenth century, many of Kern City’s commercial buildings were constructed with brick that was locally produced in the Bakersfield Sandstone Brick Company yards in Kern City (Sanborn 1892, 1899, 1905, 1912; Ellison 1901: 66-80; Morgan 1914: 125).

In the early twentieth century, Kern City had all of the hallmarks of a thriving town. One description of Kern City written in 1901 described it as a thriving locale replete with churches and schools, and solid infrastructure that included water supplied by the East Side Canal, oiled roads, good drainage provided by a functional sewer system, and electric street lights. Housing stock in Kern City included many fine residences built according to the architectural trends popular at the time, many of which featured Queen Anne styling and details (Ellison 1901: 66-80).

From its earliest days, East Bakersfield was home to an ethnically diverse population, including members of the French, Italian, Basque, Mexican, and African-American communities. Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have been a substantial component of East Bakersfield since the nineteenth century and local clubs and social halls were frequently the center of cultural holidays and social events (Sumner Standard 1893: 1). French and Basque immigrants were also attracted to Kern City in the late nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century. Their presence as a community was strongly reflected in East Bakersfield’s built environment by such buildings as hotels, restaurants, and other service-industry businesses (Paquette 1984: xi-xv; Bakersfield Panache 1995a; Bakersfield Panache 1995b; Zubiri 1998: 129-132, 150-169). Ethnic diversity was also evident in local schools. By the 1930s for example, East Bakersfield’s Lincoln School (now called Bessie Owens) had the most ethnically diverse population of any school in Bakersfield (Bakersfield Californian 1931 Jun 27).

Arsene P. Bernard, county treasurer, constructed a modest residence at 607 Sumner Street in approximately 1880 (US Census 1880; Sanborn 1888; Randall & Denne 1901). At the time of construction, the residence was a simple four-square design with a wraparound porch on the north and west sides (Sanborn 1888) (Figure 1). Between 1899 and 1901 an extensive remodel took place that removed the original porch, and added several elements, including the corner turret, the bays on the north and west sides, two additions on the south side, and two-story porch/balconies on the north and west sides (Sanborn 1899; Ellison 1901 Jul; Sanborn 1905). This renovation transformed the home into a rather grand example of the Queen Anne architectural style popular at the time (Figure 2) (McAlester 2002: 262-268). Arsene’s son, James Bernard who was involved in oil drilling, lived at the house with his family and his mother at the time of the renovation (US Census 1900). In 1906, James Bernard abandoned oil drilling in favor of real estate and also became a co-owner in the Metropole Hotel that was located just down the street at 623 Sumner Street (Bakersfield Californian 1908 Dec 21; Sanborn 1905). Bernard sold his interest in the hotel in 1911, bought a house in Ocean Park, and let his eldest son Arsene live in the family home (Bakersfield Californian 1911 Apr 10; Polk-Husted 1906). Arsene sold the property in 1915 to the Robert Blacker family who converted the residence into a boarding house after Mrs. Blacker died in 1916 (Bakersfield Californian 1915 Feb DPR 523L (1/95) *Required Information



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of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update 28; Bakersfield Californian 1916 Apr 1; Bakersfield Californian 1916 Apr 15). The property changed hands a few times through the 1920s, but appears to have been continuously run as a boarding house since that time (Polk-Husted 1916, 1917; R.L. Polk 1920, 1925, 1929, 1930).




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Figure 1: Excerpt of 1888 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company Map showing original configuration of 607 Sumner Street.

Figure 2: Photograph of the residence at 607 Sumner Street (Ellison. 1901).

In January 1914 the local newspaper announced that Celestino Petrini planned to construct a new two-story and basement brick building on the corner of Sumner and Kerns streets, next door to the old Bernard house (Bakersfield Californian 1914 Jan 30; Bakersfield Morning Echo 1914 Jul 16). The building was designed according to common practice of the time as a two-part commercial block with storefronts on the lower level and a hotel on the upper level (Longstreth 2000: 24-53).

of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update Research did not produce any historic photographs of the building that shows what it looked like prior to being extensively damaged and then repaired after the earthquakes in 1952; however, it would likely have had an exposed brick exterior.

At the time the plans for the new building were announced, Petrini was running the Sacramento Exchange Hotel (formerly known as the Pyrenees Hotel – see DPR 523 form for 525 Sumner Street) and a saloon across Kern Street in the Noriega Building. In June 1914 the City Board of Trustees ordered that the Sacramento Exchange be immediately closed down and they revoked Petrini’s liquor license; he also faced criminal charges related to unlawful liquor sales and prostitution (Bakersfield Californian 1914 Jun 20). Petrini’s new building, initially operating under the name “Italia Hotel” included a saloon. He tried unsuccessfully to get the Board of Trustees to allow another saloon operator to transfer his liquor license to the new building (Bakersfield Morning Echo 1914 Dec 31; Bakersfield Californian 1915 Apr 29; Bakersfield Californian 1915 Apr 29). In 1917 the police raided Petrini’s hotel and arrested him on charges of selling liquor without a license (Bakersfield Californian 1917 Jun 18). Police raided proprietors of the hotel and saloon many times through the Prohibition Era. One of the ensuing trials of a man named Olivera, who was arrested at the establishment in December 1922, was highly sensationalized in the local press (Bakersfield Californian 1920 Dec 6; Bakersfield Californian 1922 Dec 28; Bakersfield Californian 1923 Jul 3; Bakersfield Californian 1928 Feb 16; Bakersfield Californian 1930 Aug 25; Bakersfield Californian 1930 Nov 4).

From the time that Petrini constructed the building on the corner at 601 Sumner Street in 1914, until the early 1930s, there was a very high rate of turnover of businesses and proprietors in the lower level of the building. The upper level was consistently used as a hotel, operating under the name the Italia Hotel until 1930 when it became the St. Francis Hotel, the name that it retains today (Bakersfield Californian 1930 Feb 4). Various proprietors operated Italian restaurants at 601 Sumner Street. through the early 1930s. Julius and Susie Antongiovanni offered Italian dinners under the name “The Palace Café” in 1928. A few years later, Pasquale Scantini was arrested on liquor charges in 1931 at his pool room and café at 601 Sumner Street, followed by Joe Moretti, who remodeled the restaurant space and opened a new Italian restaurant in 1932. Just a year later, in 1933, Antongiovanni and Pasquini opened the Lucca Café (Bakersfield Californian 1926 Oct 13; Bakersfield Californian 1928 Jan 29; Bakersfield Californian 1932 Jan 11; Bakersfield Californian 1932 Jan 22; Bakersfield Californian 1933 Apr 27; Bakersfield Californian 1933 Sep 8).

The high turnover of Italian restaurants at 601 Sumner Street ceased in 1934 when Inocencio Jaurena and Jeanne Iribarne Dunns, Basque immigrants, opened the Pyrenees Café at the location. For at least the first few years, the newspaper reported that they still served Italian food at the restaurant before converting to Basque family-style meals. Jaurena successfully operated the restaurant until the 1970s (Bakersfield Californian 1934 Sep 5; Paquette 1984: 91-92). Newspaper accounts through the decades between the 1930s and the 1970s indicate that the restaurant was frequented by local clubs and organizations holding meetings (Bakersfield Californian 1936 Mar 3; Bakersfield Californian 1953 Aug 10). After Jaurena’s death, the café appears to have entered a period of decline, while some of its nearby competitors serving Basque food (Noriega’s, Wool Growers) continued to thrive.

Celestino Petrini also built the single-story brick building at 605 Sumner Street that abuts the St. Francis Hotel / Pyrenees Café building (601 Sumner Street). In 1925 the local newspaper announced that Petrini was to build a 27-foot by 150-foot brick building to serve as the new East Bakersfield post office (Bakersfield Californian 1925 Mar 27). The building appears to have been used as the post office until World War II. After the war, the Salvation Army operated a thrift store there until approximately 1954 after which it suffered many periods of vacancy, and it appears to remain vacant today (Polk 1939, 1945). The building briefly – during 1940 and 1941 – served as a food stamp office (Bakersfield Californian 1940 Oct 14).

Petrini and his wife Agata further expanded their ownership at the corner of Sumner and Kern streets in 1930 when they purchased the Queen Anne-style boarding house at 607 Sumner Street. After Celestino’s death in 1936, Agata continued to run it as a boarding house into the early 1960s (R.L. Polk 1929, 1930, 1935, 1939, 1945, 1951, 1955, 1960; Bakersfield Californian 1936 May 22). The building has been stripped of all of the architectural embellishments that it had around the turn of the twentieth century that gave it its distinctive Queen Anne style. All of the balconies and turned balustrades have been removed, the wraparound porch has been removed, and the original doors, windows, and siding have been replaced. Agata died in 1964 and the buildings passed to her heirs (Bakersfield Californian 1964 Feb 20).




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of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update Today, the building at 601 Sumner Street has a roll-up utility door on the north façade of its eastern bay along Sumner Street; however, this used to be the storefront of 603 Sumner Street. From the 1930s until the earthquakes in 1952 this storefront successively housed a creamery, grocers, and a meat processor. It appears that it was incorporated into the Pyrenees Café or St. Francis Hotel business after the renovation following the 1952 earthquakes (Bakersfield Californian 1922 Feb 11; Bakersfield Californian 1925 Sep 26; Bakersfield Californian 1930 Oct 10; Bakersfield Californian 1930 Dec 19; Bakersfield Californian 1950 Mar 28).

Vacancy in the building at 605 Sumner Street and the decline of the Pyrenees Café after Jaurena’s death in the 1970s is largely attributable to twentieth-century forces that shifted East Bakersfield into a period of economic decline. The series of earthquakes in summer 1952 that damaged many of East Bakersfield’s beautiful old brick buildings (and scores of greater Bakersfield’s building stock) was both the symbolic and very real start of the decline. Not all of East Bakersfield’s buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, but of those that were, some were never rebuilt, leaving lots to stand vacant from that point to the present (Bakersfield Californian 1952 Aug 23; Bakersfield Californian 1956 Aug 20). The following year, Southern Pacific laid off 109 employees who worked in the company shops along Sumner Street because of the conversion of locomotives from steam to diesel (Bakersfield Californian 1953 Mar 19). In 1959-1960 the Beale Avenue overpass was built, which essentially cut Sumner and Baker streets off as heavily trafficked commercial corridors (Bakersfield Californian 1959 Jul 4; Bakersfield Californian 1959 Nov 2). Over the next few years, shops like Kern Drug Company, which had been operating continuously for 80 years at the southeast corner of Baker and Sumner, closed because the area could no longer support the business (Bakersfield Californian 1968 Aug 13). The final hit came in 1971 when Southern Pacific closed all of its East Bakersfield shops and ceased passenger service, moving many of the jobs to Los Angeles (Bakersfield Californian 1971 Feb 12; Bakersfield Californian 1971 Feb 18).

The buildings at 601-605 Sumner Street were among those that were severely damaged by the earthquakes. Agata Petrini had them repaired, which involved extensive use of concrete block that covered the original brick facades (Figure 3). Research did not produce any pre-earthquake photographs that would have shown what other architectural ornamentation and embellishments were lost. Once the buildings were repaired, they continued to serve as the Pyrenees Café, St. Francis Hotel, and Salvation Army (Bakersfield Californian 1953 Sep 12). The residence at 607 Sumner Street did not apparently suffer as much earthquake damage, but as described above, has undergone extensive alterations and additions since its original construction.




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Figure 3: 601 – 605 Sumner Street in 1953 after completion of repairs of extensive damage caused by earthquakes in 1952 (Bakersfield Californian 1953 Sep 12).

of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update Heirs of Celestino and Agata Petrini continue to own the buildings on these two parcels. St. Francis Hotel continues to be run as a hotel, and the Pyrenees Café, under new ownership, has recently renovated the interior of the building. The single-story commercial building at 605 Sumner Street is vacant, and the house at 607 Sumner Street still offers rooms for rent.

Evaluation

This cluster of buildings at the corner of Sumner and Kern streets has associations with the early founding of Sumner (residence at 607 Sumner Street) and East Bakersfield’s early twentieth-century thriving commercial district (601-605 Sumner Street); however, the buildings have lost substantial integrity to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For a building to be eligible for listing in the NRHP or the CRHR it must meet at least one of the significance criteria for evaluation, and possess enough historic integrity to convey that significance -- these buildings do not retain integrity.

Under NRHP Criterion A / CRHR Criterion 1, the Queen Anne residence had an association with the early founding of Sumner when it was built in circa 1880, and the subsequent success of the town reflected in the substantial architectural upgrades made to the building around the turn of the twentieth century. Several decades later, the siding and windows were replaced, ornate porches were removed, and additions added to the building. The building, therefore, does not have integrity to its built date circa 1880, and because of the loss of virtually all of the architectural embellishments that distinguished the building as an example of the Queen Anne Style, it does not have integrity to the early twentieth century either; therefore this building is not eligible for either register under these criteria.

The significance of the Petrini commercial buildings (as well as the residence bought by the Petrinis in 1930) within the community of East Bakersfield was the most pronounced from 1914 when 601 Sumner Street was built, until the early 1950s when the community entered a period of decline. Because of the extensive alterations made to the buildings following the 1952 earthquakes, they have lost significant integrity of design, materials, workmanship, and feeling. These buildings would be nearly unrecognizable to those who patronized them in the 1920s through the early 1950s, and are not eligible under these criteria for their associations with the early twentieth-century thriving commercial district of East Bakersfield.

The building at 601 Sumner Street where the Pyrenees Café has operated continuously since 1934 is not eligible for its association with the café because the café does not meet the NRHP Criterion A or CRHR Criterion 1, and because of the substantial losses of integrity the building has suffered since the café opened in 1934. The Pyrenees Café was one of many cafés serving Basque fare in East Bakersfield. It does not have the distinction of also offering boarding (St. Francis Hotel has always been a separate business) and/or recreation like some of the other establishments in the area, and it does not appear to have functioned as a central gathering place for members of the community in the way that nearby Noreiga’s has both historically and currently.

Under NRHP Criterion B / CRHR Criterion 2, these buildings have direct associations with Arsene Bernard (607 Sumner), Celestino and Agata Petrini (owners from 1914 – 1964), and Inocencio Jaurena (proprietor, Pyrenees Café – 601 Sumner). The house at 607 Sumner Street has no integrity to the house that Bernard built, nor to the version of the house that his son created after the renovation circa 1900. If it were found that either of these men, or any member of their families, made any important contributions to history at the local, state, or national level, the loss of integrity of design, materials, workmanship and feeling would prevent this building from being eligible under these criteria for its association with any of them. The historic record did not reveal that either of the Petrinis made significant contributions to history within the context of their endeavors as landlords, innkeepers, and saloon operators that would warrant eligibility under these criteria. Further, the loss of integrity suffered by the buildings after Celestino’s death, and toward the end of Agata’s association with the buildings, prevents them from being illustrative of any contribution they may have made to history. And finally, Inocencio Jaurena, proprietor of the Pyrenees Café from 1934 until his death in the 1970s, was not found to have made a significant contribution within the context of his endeavors as a restaurateur that warrants significance under these criteria.

None of these buildings individually, or collectively are eligible under NRHP Criterion C / CRHR Criterion 3 because they are not important examples of a type, period, or method of construction. Under these criteria, they must be considered for the buildings they are today, a stripped-down version of a formerly grand Queen Anne residence, and highly modified




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of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update commercial block buildings. None of these buildings possess any architectural distinction that merits significance under these criteria.

These buildings are not eligible under NRHP Criterion D / CRHR Criterion 4 as a source (or likely source) of important information regarding history. They were built using typical materials, and do not have any likelihood of yielding important information about historic construction materials or technologies.


Publications, Inc.

Bakersfield Californian 1908 Dec 21. “Metropole Hotel.” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 4). 1911 Apr 10. “Bernard Sells The Metropole.” Bakersfield Californian; 3 (col. 4). 1914 Jan 30, “Petrini Building Is To Be Handsome Structure,” Bakersfield Californian; 6 (col. 3). 1914 Jun 20, “Trustees Revoke License of Dive,” Bakersfield Californian; 1 (col. 7). 1915 Feb 28. “East Bakersfield.” Bakersfield Californian; 5 (col. 5). 1915 Apr 29, “Campion License Troublesome,” Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col. 1). 1916 Apr 1. “Mrs. Robt. Blacker Dies After Brief Illness.” Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col. 2). 1916 Apr 15. “For Rent.” Bakersfield Californian; 27 (col. 5). 1917 Jun 18, “C. Petrini Charged with ‘Blind Pigging,’” Bakersfield Californian; 6 (col. 4). 1920 Dec 6, “Soft Drink Bars Raided by Police,” Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col 3). 1922 Dec 28, “Set Trial Dates for Alleged Dry Violators,” Bakersfield Californian; n.p. (col. 6). 1923 Jul 3, “Olivera Attorneys Appeal Conviction,” Bakersfield Californian; 2 (col. 5). 1925 Mar 27. “Local Post Offices To Be In New Homes.” Bakersfield Californian; 9 (col. 5). 1925 Jul 23. “Petrini Will Erect Business Building.” Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col. 3). 1926 Oct 13, “Moretti’s Italian Dinners,” advertisement, Bakersfield Californian; 11 (col. 3). 1930 Feb 4, “Grand Opening St. Francis Café and Hotel,” Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col. 4). 1930 Aug 25, “Appoint New Leader for Kern County Dry Squad,” Bakersfield Californian; 11 (col. 4). 1930 Oct 10, “East Bakersfield Gets New Market,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 2). 1930 Nov 4, “Council Revokes Pool Hall Permit,” Bakersfield Californian; 11 (col. 4). 1930 Dec 19, “East Side Market,” advertisement, Bakersfield Californian; 14 (col. 7).

1931 Jun 27. “Eighteen Per Cent City School Children of Foreign Race Groups.” Bakersfield Californian; 4 (col. 4). 1932 Jan 11, “Joe Moretti Will Open Restaurant,” Bakersfield Californian; 9. 1932 Jan 22, “Booths Give Privacy at Reopened Café,” Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col. 3). 1933 Apr 27, “Palace Café,” advertisement, Bakersfield Californian; 10 (col. 3). 1933 Sep 4, “Lucca Café,” advertisement, Bakersfield Californian; 10 (col. 4). 1934 Sep 5, “K. of C. to Hold Dinner Meet Here,” Bakersfield Californian; 10 (col. 3). 1936 Mar 3, “P.T.A. Executives Bid to Luncheon,” Bakersfield Californian; 4 (col. 6). 1936 May 22, “C. Petrini, County Pioneer, Is Called,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 5). 1940 Aug 9. “10-Year Lease Signed by U.S. for New Post Office.” Bakersfield Californian; 20 (cols. 4-5). 1940 Oct 14, “County Food Store,” advertisement, Bakersfield Californian; 3 (col. 1). 1945 Aug 24. [advertisement].” Bakersfield Californian; 12 (col. 2). 1950 Mar 28, “Joe’s Meat Market,” advertisement, Bakersfield Californian; 8 (col. 1). 1952 Aug 23, “Tomblike Solitude Marks Shaken Area,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 1). 1953 Mar 19, “Dieselization Brings Layoff of 109 Men,” Bakersfield Californian; 2 (col. 4). 1953 Aug 10, “Calvert Tribute,” Bakersfield Californian; 25 (col. 3). 1953 Sep 12, “After Seven Months of Repairs,” Bakersfield Californian; 40 (col. 6).




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*Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update 1956 Aug 20, “’New City’ Rises After ’52 Quakes,” Bakersfield Californian 25B (col. 8). 1959 Jul 4, “Here Comes Beale Ave. Overpass,” Bakersfield Californian; 13 (col. 1). 1959 Nov 2, Photo montage of Beale Avenue Overpass construction, Bakersfield Californian; 19 (col. 2). 1964 Feb 20, “Agata Petrini, Pioneer Matron, Succumbs at 88,” Bakersfield Californian 17 (col. 2). 1968 Aug 13, “Kern Drug, County’s Oldest Pharmacy, to Close Its Doors,” Bakersfield Californian; 12 (col. 1). 1971 Feb 12, “Bakersfield to Lose $750,000 SP Payroll,” Bakersfield Californian; 13. 1971 Feb 18, “SP to Move 54 Men, Cut 16 Employees,” Bakersfield Californian; 9.

Bakersfield Morning Echo 1914 Jul 16, “East Bakersfield,” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 5 (col. 6). 1914 Dec 31, “Trustees Probe Saloon Licenses,” Bakersfield Morning Echo; n.p. (col. 5). 1922 Feb 11, “Springer Says,” advertisement, Bakersfield Morning Echo; 8 (col. 1). 1925 Sep 26, “The Lilly Dairy,” advertisement, Bakersfield Morning Echo; 9 (col. 3). 1928 Feb 16, “Resorts Raided by Dry Agents, Owners Arrested,” Bakersfield Morning Echo; 1 (col. 6). 1928 Jun 29, “Italian Dinners – Palace Café,” advertisement, Bakersfield Morning Echo; 2 (col. 3).


Bass, Steve and George Ansolabehere. “Kern County Basque Owned or Operated Hotels and Boarding Houses,” Historic Kern, quarterly bulletin of the Kern County Historical Society, v. 61, n. 1 (March 2011): 1-6.

Echeverria, Jeronima. 1999. Home Away from Home: A History of Basque Boardinghouses. Reno: University of Nevada Press.


Kern County Assessor. n.d. Current property data.

Longstreth, Richard. 2000. The Buildings of Main Street: A Guide to Commercial Architecture. Walnut Creek, CA: Bowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

McAlester, Virginia and Lee. 2011. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.



Polk-Husted Directory Company. 1906. Bakersfield and Kern City Directory, Oakland: Polk-Husted Directory Co. 1916, 1917. Bakersfield City Directory, Sacramento: Polk-Husted Directory Co.

Randall & Denne. “Index Atlas of Kern County, California” [map]. San Francisco: Randall & Denne, 1901.

R.L. Polk & Company 1920, 1925, 1929. 1930, 1935, 1939, 1943, 1945, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970. Polk’s Bakersfield City Directory, Los Angeles: R.L. Polk & Co.

1980, 1986. Polk’s Bakersfield City Directory, Dallas, TX: R.L. Polk & Co.

Sanborn Map and Publishing Company. 1888, 1899. 1905. Bakersfield California. New York: Sanborn Map Co., Ltd.


10 17 MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02


State of California – The Resources Agency Primary # EPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION HRI # ___

ONTINUATION SHEET Trinomial

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of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02 *Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update Tiley, Michelle. “Fresno to Bakersfield: Basque Traditional Cultural Property Study,” by Shelly Tiley, 2015. United State Census Bureau. Population Schedule. 1880. California, Kern County, Sumner, Supervisor’s District No. 210, Enumeration District No. 20, Pg. 19. 1900. California, Kern County, Town of Kern, Supervisor’s District No. 5, Enumeration District No. 22, Pg. 9.






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Photograph 2: North side of 601 Sumner Street; camera facing southwest, June 23, 2015 (A3744).

of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02*Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update




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Photograph 3: 601 and 601 ½ Sumner Street. Note electric signs for Pyrenees Café and St. Francis Hotel. Camera facing southwest, June 23, 2015 (A3745).

Photograph 4: West side of 601 Sumner Street; camera facing southeast, June 23, 2015 (A3747).





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Photograph 5: South and west sides of 601 Sumner Street; camera facing northeast, June 23, 2015 (A3748).

Photograph 6: Rear (south) of 601 Sumner at left, 605 Sumner at right. Note original brick wall of 605 Sumner visible through bay door. Camera facing northeast, June 23, 2015 (A3749).





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Photograph 7: Front (north) façade of 605 Sumner Street. Camera facing south, June 23, 2015 (A3767).

Photograph 8: North (front) side of 607 Sumner Street. Camera facing southwest, June 23, 2015 (A3770).

of 17 *Resource Name or # (Assigned by recorder) MR 105; APN: 016-060-01, 016-060-02*Recorded by H. Norby & M. Walker *Date July 28, 2015 Continuation Update




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Photograph 9: North and east sides of 607 Sumner Street. Note outbuilding at rear (left). Camera facing southwest, June 23, 2015 (A3772).

Photograph 10: Rear of 607 Sumner Street. Note outbuildings and irregular roof form. Camera facing southwest, June 23, 2015 (A3786).





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Photograph 11: Outbuilding at rear of 607 Sumner Street, attached to east wall of 601 Sumner Street; camera facing southwest, June 23, 2015 (A3787).


Site Map




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Appendix C




Appendix C



APPENDIX C: RESUME OF KEY PREPARER

Appendix C




MICHELLE M. (RAVEN) TILEY 3133 Big Cut Road Placerville, California 95667 (530) 626-8938, (530) 409-3442 EDUCATION:

B.A. - Anthropology, Kirkland/Hamilton College, Clinton, NY - 1977 M.A.. - Anthropology, California State University at Sacramento - 1981 Ph.D. – Anthropology, University of California at Davis - 1990

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY: Tiley Research (Ethnographic Services) (2009 to present) Owner/Principal Pacific Legacy, (2005 to 2009), Project Supervisor, Archaeologist/Ethnographer

Archaeological Research Center, California State University, Sacramento, (2000 to 2005), Staff Archaeologist/Ethnographer

Engineering-Environmental Management, Inc. (1999 to 2000) Principal Investigator Brian F. Smith and Associates (1995-1999) Field Director, Principal Investigator School for Field Studies, Northeastern University (1991-1995) Adjunct Professor Archaeological Research Services (1990-1991) Field Director, Ethnographer Intermountain Research (1987-1990) Archaeologist Wirth and Associates (later Dames and Moore) (1981-1986) Ethnographer, Archaeologist U.S. Forest Service, Alturas, California (1980-81), Archaeologist Bureau of Land Management, Folsom, California (1979-1980), Archaeologist California State Indian Museum, Sacramento, California (1977-1979), Park Interpretive

Specialist PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATIONS/AFFILIATIONS AND GRANTS:

The Society for Professional Archaeologists (SOPA/ROPA) The Society for American Archaeology The Society for California Archaeology San Diego County Archaeological Society (Board Member, Research Issues), 1999-2000 Overseas Development Agency, United Kingdom. Research grant, microeconomic study of

fisheries, Turks and Caicos Islands. Sigma XI, Research grant, ethnoarchaeological research, Torres Strait, Australia National Wildlife Federation, Research grant, Torres Strait, Australia Society for Intercultural Research, Research grant, Torres Strait, Australia TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

Graduate Student Assistant, Cross Cultural Resource Center, California State University, Sacramento, 1980. Readership, University of California at Davis, Native American Studies, 1983. Teaching Assistant, University of California at Davis, Phonetics, Language and Culture, Cultural Anthropology, 1983-1985. Adjunct Professor, Northeastern University, School for Field Studies, U.S. Virgin Islands. Courses: Cultural Ecology, Caribbean Studies, Directed Ethnographic Research, 1986-87.

Research Assistant: Interdisciplinary Study of Boundary Behaviors, Department of Ecology, University of California at Davis, supervised by Peter J. Richerson, 1987. Associate Professor, Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno, Nevada. Course: Introduction to Anthropology, 1990.

Adjunct Professor, Northeastern University, School for Field Studies, South Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies.

Courses: Humans in the Marine Environment, Directed Research (Applied Anthropology: Fisheries), 1991-1994.

Lecturer, Part-Time, California State University, Sacramento. (2001 to present) Courses: Indians of California, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Introduction to

Archaeology, Magic, Witchcraft and Religion, Cultural Resource Management, Fall 2009 REPORTS, PAPERS, AND PUBLICATIONS: 2015 Draft Traditional Cultural Properties Report, Study Description T1-S1,Bucks Creek

Project, FERC No. 619. Prepared with CARDNO Entrix for Pacific Gas and Electric, Chico, Ca.

2015 Ethnography of Contemporary Chumash People with Ties to Cuyama Valley. Paper

presented at the Society for California Archaeology Annual Meetings, Redding, California.

2014 (with Hillary Renick) Ethnographic Report for the Fort Bragg Coastal Restoration and

Trail Project: All That Stuff is Worth Remembering. City of Fort Bragg, California 2014 (with Pat Mikkelson, Paula Carr, Julia Costello, and Nathan Stevens) The Long Road

Traveled: Archaeology, Native Americans, and Europeans in Cuyama Valley. California Transportation Commission.

2014 (with Helen McCarthy) Traditional Cultural Properties Study, Aspen-Fales Project,

Bridgeport, California. Caltrans District 9. 2014 (with John Johnson) Ethnohistory Report for Cuyama Valley. Caltrans, San Luis

Obispo.

2013 Breaking New Ground (movie) Assistant Director/Interviewer in conjunction with Phil Gross and Far Western Anthropological Research Group.

2013 Guide to Traditional Cultural Resources. Workshop Lecture, Cultural Resources

Training, Sherwood Valley Rancheria. 2013 (with Terri McBride) Ethnographic Synthesis and Context for the Carson City District

Office, Bureau of Land Management. Prepared by Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Carson City.

2012 Ethnographic Study for the North Elko Pipeline Project. Prepared by Zeier and

Associates for the Bureau of Land Management, Elko, Nevada 2011 (with Shannon Tushingham) Native American Ethnogeography, Traditional

Resources, and Contemporary Communities and Concerns. Prepared by Far Western Anthropological Research Group for Caltrans District 1, Eureka, Ca.

2011 (with Penny Rucks) Ethnographic Synthesis of the Eagle Lake Field Office,

Susanville Bureau of Land Management. Copy on file, BLM. 2011 (with Robert Jackson) Ethnography, Ethnographic Research Issues in Work Plan,

Olancha-Cartago Phase 2 Project, Owens Valley, Inyo County, California, Prepared for Caltrans District 9, Bishop, California.

2011 Rebuttal to the Beckham Report Regarding the Mechoopda Indians. Far Western

Anthropological Research Group, for the Mechoopda Tribe, Chico, California. 2010 Consultation with the Western Shoshone Regarding the Tosawihi Quarries

Traditional Cultural Property. BLM, Elko District 2010 Consultation with the Western Shoshone Regarding the Dee Arturo Mining Project.

BLM, Elko District 2009 Documentation of Hatchet Ridge for the RES America Wind Farm Project. Pit River

Tribe, Burney, Ca. 2009 Traditional Cultural Properties Report, Study Description CR-S2: Pit River Tribe. In

McCloud-Pit Hydroelectric Project FERC Project N. 2016, Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

2009 (with Amy Kovak) Class III Inventory and Traditional Cultural Properties Study,

Carson Lake and Pasture, Churchill County, Nevada. Prepared for the Bureau of Reclamation, Sacramento, Ca.

2009 (with Pat Mikkelson and James Nelson) The Pit River Aboriginal Cultural District.

Paper presented at the Society for California Archaeology Northern California Data Sharing Meeting, Sausalito.

2008 Ethnographic Contributor, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for

the Pit River Prehistoric and Ethnographic Cultural District. Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Davis.

2008 Phase III Data Recovery Archaeological Excavations at CA-KER-4623/H and CA-

KER-1304. Prepared for the California Department of Transportation, District 06, Fresno.

2008 (with Robert Jackson and Lisa Shapiro) Discussion of Ethnohistoric Research

Issues. In: Phase III Data Recovery at Six Archaeological Sites Affected by the Aberdeen-Blackrock Fourlane Project, Highway 395 in Owens Valley, Inyo County, California, Prepared for Caltrans District 9, Bishop, California.

2007 A Synthesis of Ethnographic Information on the Steamboat Vicinity. Report prepared

for the Bureau of Land Management, Carson City, Nevada.

2007 Consultations with the Pit River Tribe for the Hatchet Ridge Wind Project. Report on file, Pacific Legacy, Cameron Park, CA.

2004 (with Wendy Pierce) Additional Traditional Cultural Properties Supplemental Report

for the Pit 3, 4, and 5 Relicensing Project (FERC 233), Shasta County, California. Report on file, Pacific Gas and Electric, Chico.

2004 Rereading Steward. Paper presented at the 50th Great Basin Anthropological

Conference, Reno, Nevada. 2003 Wadatkuta Band of Northern Paiutes of Honey Lake Valley: Documentary Evidence

for Federal Recognition. Submitted to: Wadatkuta Band, Susanville, California. 2002 Data Recovery Plan for Site CA-SLO-1355, A Prehistoric Archaeological Site on the SLO/KER Four-Lane Project, San Luis Obispo, California. Caltrans, Fresno. 2000 Native American Knowledge and Perception of the Battle of Infernal Caverns. In conjunction with Archaeological Research Services, Inc., Virginia City, Nevada. Copy on file, Bureau of Land Management, Alturas, California. 1992 Ethnographic Report for the Pit 1 Relicensing Project (FERC 2687), Shasta County,

California. Copy on file, Pacific Gas and Electric, San Francisco.

1992 Historic Washoe Subsistence and Settlement Patterns. In: Changes in Washoe Land Use Patterns: A Study of Three Archaeological Sites in Diamond Valley, Alpine

County, California, edited by C. Zeier and R. Elston, Prehistory Press, Madison, Wisconsin.

1991 Ethnographic Study of the Tosawihi Quarry, Nevada (with Mary and Elmer Rusco).

Report on file, Bureau of Land Management, Battle Mountain. 1992 Don’t Quarry, Be Happy: Replicative/Ethnographic Studies at Tosawihi Quarry,

Nevada (with C. Carambelas). Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology meetings, New Orleans.

1993 Sensitivity Study of the Pit 3, 4, and 5 Project. Report on file, Woods Cultural

Research. Evergreen, Colorado. 1991 The Point of No Diminishing Returns: Hunters’ Response to Resource Depletion.

Unpublished PhD. Dissertation, University of California, Davis. 1986 Geothermal Public Power Line: Cultural and Paleontological Resources Technical

Report, Wirth Environmental Services, San Diego, California. 1985 The Archaeology of Creation: Ethnographic Resources at Pilot Knob. Report

prepared for the Bureau of Land Management, El Centro. 1984 Great Basin Ideochronology: Ideological Clues to Great Basin Ethnic Movements.

Paper presented at the Great Basin Anthropological Conference, Boise, Idaho. 1981 The Devil He Walks Behind You: Pit River Use and Avoidance of the Devil’s Garden.

Unpublished Master’s Thesis, California State University, Sacramento.

Appendix D



APPENDIX D: INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Appendix D




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