Blowhard, Esq. writes:
I had to make a quick business trip to the city of Placerville recently, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The town, a California Historical Landmark, was one of the central locations of the Gold Rush. Here are a few snaps I took of the area.
Click on the images to enlarge.
The plaque that designates the city as a landmark.
Love those autumn trees.
Charming little downtown, no?
Whoever put up that River City Bank sign should be ashamed of himself.
The Cary House Hotel. Mark Twain, Buffalo Bill, and Horace Greeley all stayed here. Some shots of the interior a little later.
This is sort of the city square.
A detail of two buildings in the previous shot.
I only had about an hour at night and an hour in the morning for pictures. Sorry for haziness of this shot.
This used to be the firehouse. Empty now, looks like they’re trying to restore it.
Emigrant Jane was quite a woman, I imagine.
Lots of plaques around town commemorating historic sites.
The doors of Placerville Hardware. I assume this used to be the location of the town newspaper.
The newspaper today.
The El Dorado county courthouse.
Some details in the daylight.
A shop window.
Placerville even has some cool neon.
The lobby of the Cary House Hotel.
Some stained glass. Don’t know if it’s original or was put in later.
The front desk.
The hotel’s register from back in the day.
Love the wood and the bannister.
The lobby from the staircase’s landing.
A shot of the city from the hotel’s balcony. Horace Greeley delivered a presidential campaign speech from this very spot.
I’ll share some shots of Sacramento in a later post.
Related
- Paleo Retiree was in Gold Country not too long ago, here’s his post on the appeal of Nevada City’s architecture.
Blowhard, Esq.
Callowman
Sherbrooke
Eddie Pensier
Enzo Nakamura
Epaminondas
Fabrizio del Wrongo
Fenster
Brundle Guy
Glynn Marshes
Paleo Retiree
Atypical Neurotic
Question Lady
Sax von Stroheim
Sir Barken Hyena
The Mistaken
Uncouth Reflections 
Nice snaps. Looks like a pretty place, and a lot like Nevada City. Lots of retirees, tourists and old hippies?
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The person I was in town to see was indeed a retiree. He lived further up the mountain so downtown Placerville was as far as he was willing to travel — Sacramento was out of the question. He loves living in Placerville for the fishing and general peacefulness.
From what I could tell, the town catered mainly to retirees and tourists. Can’t say I saw too many hippies, but I was only there for 24 hours, so my survey was by no means extensive. I’m eager to return someday and explore some more.
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Placerville is a jewel to visit whether headed from or to Tahoe from the Sacramento side. I have passed through twice and fell in love with it. Some nice used book shops as well.
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Apple Hill is a nice little area. For those who have never been there, it is a bunch of small family owned apple farms that open up to weekend tourists coming up from Sacto / Bay Area. There is not much to do there but eat apple pies and gawk but it is fun for youngish children and mom and dad.
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Just avoid Apple Hill from Oct – Dec, it is a madhouse. I live in Placer County about an hour from Placerville. The whole Gold Country area is beautiful and dotted with charming towns like Placerville. Grass Valley, Nevada City, Auburn, Cool, Volcano, Jackson, etc. And of course there’s Truckee a little farther north, and Lake Tahoe ain’t so bad. And then Davis and Winters to the south. I’m a Bay Area native and moved to the Sacramento area 12 years ago, reluctantly. I’ve grown to love it, the perfect spot between the coast and the mountains, with Sacramento itself becoming a thriving little metropolitan city. It’s pretty damn conservative and religious (especially the small town I live in), which some readers here may appreciate, I don’t know. Lots of guns and god bumper stickers. But hey, there’s also plenty of weirdos, in the best way.
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