Building the C & AV, or, What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

[5thwheel]

I agree with you Bill G.  Kind of a strange looking windmill.  I am guessing it was used to pump water for the Livery. I notice a pipe coming down from what appears to be wooden water tanks. I guess this was part of the livery stable,note the person and horse but the wall. Very interesting project.

[Ray Dunakin]

That windmill looks very peculiar to me as well. I would be very curious to see a better view of it.

[Greg Hile]

That's one of the reasons I went back to the historical society yesterday. So far I haven't found anything but am continuing my research. Here is a blow-up of the 1888 Sanborn map.



It shows the livery on the SW corner of Escobar and Ferry so I am assuming the other building in the photos is the office and the I.O.O.F. Hall, or just the Hall. On the other side is a vacant lot and then the skating rink (other sources refer to it as a skating pavilion). In the earlier 1884 Sanborn map, the site is described as the I.O.O.F. and the livery is there but under construction, and in the later 1891 map the vacant space on the other side of the livery says "corral" and in place of the skating rink is the Martinez Opera House.

And so the journey continues. There are also 1897 Sanborn maps at the county library and I will head over there next week to see if they shed any more light, as well as other resources.

I blew up a couple of the photos to show the windmill and what appears to be a sign. Can anyone make it out?

[Greg Hile]

All righty then, I did some further research and things are starting to make sense now. I was able to better date the photos of the livery after I found a similar photo in a book at the county library.

Here is one of the original photos I posted and below that is the 1865 photo:





The people are different and the tree has a lot more foliage than this photo, but the structure is virtually identical, so they weren't taken at the same time, but most likely rather close in time. I had estimated these photos came from the 1890s, but it turns out the photo in the book was from 1865. This would also explain why the Opera House is not there and why the Sanborn maps show the livery in a slightly different location, as Mr. Bennett rebuilt the livery at some point on the street corner next door.

The upshot of it all is why I say that my layout is "loosely" based on Martinez, California at the turn of the 20th century. Note, however, that the 1881 Sanborn map shows the I.O.O.F. Hall as "under construction," so maybe I wasn't so far off after all.

A report of my progress on the build will come a bit later.

[Bill Gill]

Greg, yeah, sometimes doing the research is as much fun as building the layout/diorama/models

[Ray Dunakin]

I often enjoy researching for my models.

[detail_stymied]

ditto. so many things I didn't realize I was interested.

[Greg Hile]

I have finally started to make some real progress this weekend. I have almost completed the main level framing. The facade, rafters, and other components are being assembled and will be attached soon. I temporarily clamped some of them together to examine the fit, and so far everything seems to be coming together relatively nice.







I need to start on the various doors, windows, and hardware, especially for the sliding doors. Once the framing is completed, I can also start on the exterior, staining, weathering, and detail work.

And the best part? I've only managed to shoot myself with the pin nailer once, and it didn't even draw blood!

[Greg Hile]

Here's a couple shots of the exterior I started on today. I forgot I had these strips laying around and used up what I had. Now I need to mill 64 more of them ...

[Bill Gill]

Nice framework. That's going to be quite a building. What kinds of wood are you using for the frame and siding?

[Greg Hile]

Thanks! The framing is redwood and the fencing is cedar.

[Ray Dunakin]

Great start!

[Greg Hile]

I agree with you Bill G.  Kind of a strange looking windmill.  I am guessing it was used to pump water for the Livery. I notice a pipe coming down from what appears to be wooden water tanks. I guess this was part of the livery stable,note the person and horse but the wall. Very interesting project.

Yes, it is a very interesting structure. So far I have not been able to find any other photographs of it or information about it, but it has piqued my interest.

BTW, it took awhile to notice it, but there are two more people in that photo. Kinda creepy if you ask me ...

[Greg Hile]

Thanks Ray!

On the other forum, someone said it was too bad it would all go up in smoke. Well, it doesn't necessarily have to all go up in smoke, but I do want at least some of it to go. My initial thoughts on this project stretch back over the last few months, before I considered doing it for the Mik's Challenge, and it was always intended to be a structure that was either under construction or partially destroyed.

The challenge for me has largely been how to preserve and maintain it, not only the wooden structure but also the surrounding rubble, debris, and detritus, on an outdoor layout. It was by sheer coincidence that I, independent of each other, came across an article on the 1904 fire and photographs of the livery and then put two and two together. Anyway, I'm still working out the logistics and I'm open to suggestions! In fact, HELP!

[Greg Hile]

Here is the latest. I've started to assemble the various components. I've also started the windows and the doors. I'm not having much luck finding the hardware for the sliding doors, so I'm thinking I might have to design and get something 3D printed quickly. Tomorrow I will start some tests on the exteriors. A well-weathered whitewash is primarily what I'm looking for.