FALLON HOUSE - WEST.
(AKA: Maine House, Fallon House, Fallon Hotel, Kress Hotel, Columbia Hotel, Smith Hotel, Columbia Inn.)
1859
© Webmaster's collection.
The buildings along Washington Street - c1854.
1852 Justice Carly's courthouse.
1854 Burns, rebuilt of wood and used as a temperance house and bakery.
1856 Maine House, a boarding house or hotel.
1856 Owen Fallon, who was born in Ireland, grew up in New York, comes to Columbia after being in California some years.
1857 June - Owen Fallon purchases the Maine House, by this time it has a bath house at the back.
1857 August 24 - the structure burns, and by September is again rebuilt of wood.
© Floyd D. P. Øydegaard.
The brick Fallon House.
1859 August 27 - Burns again, Fallon builds a fire-proof brick building. The Fallon House is a boarding house.
1860 August - Cardinell with the help of Fallon, builds a two story building of brick next door to the Fallon House.
1863 After purchasing Cardinell's brick building to the east of his structure, Fallon pierces the wall to form a single building, the Fallon Hotel. The second floor is made into a ballroom.
© Webmaster's collection.
As seen in the Tuolumne Courier April 22, 1865.
1864 Fallon buys land on the west side of his hotel for a garden and stable.
© Columbia State Historic Park.
Columbia Mine behind the Fallon - c1866
1869 William J. Gorham and Henry Wilson (born 1832 of Irish parents in Montreal, Canada) are proprietors.
1871 Gorham withdraws from the partnership and later P. H. Medley runs the hotel. He converts the upstairs ballroom into 4 bedrooms and builds a new ballroom.
1873 Henry Wilson sells to Owen Fallon and Fallon is again running the hotel, advertises as a "headquarters for mining men."
1880 Owen Fallon deeds the hotel and other buildings to his wife, Ellen.
1885 James G. Fallon inherits the buildings.
© Columbia State Historic Park.
James G. Fallon - c1891
1886 The ballroom on the first floor of Cardinell's structure is converted to a bar.
1887 Fallon deeds the hotel property to Rose Gallagher.
1889 Gallagher sells to Tom Conlin. He moves the Wells Fargo office to the hotel and also has a variety and stationery store there.
1890 September - Edward Kress owns the property.
© Columbia State Historic Park.
The Old Columbia Hotel c1892.
1892 June 25 - The Fallon Theatre (the second floor of the hotel was not partitioned) had a performance by The Gold Run Amateur Dramatic Association. The Comedy-Drama in two acts, entitled: "Hick'ry Farm" (A romantic picture of New England life). The cast & crew included James G. Fallon as Scenic Artist (of the late East lake Amateurs) and in the role of Uriah Skinner. "The whole to conclude with the Laughable Farce entitled "Fallon, hit that big drum once more, for my darling's dying." sample of poster.
1901 In a divorce settlement, Kress's wife Emilia receives the "Kress Hotel".
1904 Called the "Columbia Hotel and Opera House", proprietor E. H. Kress.
1907 Ownership transferred to Elisabeth Francis Joyce and Matilda Kress, daughters of Kress.
© Floyd D. P. Øydegaard collection.
Columbia Hotel Room Keys - c1905.
1909 Columbia Hotel run by J. W. Bennett.
1913 Murphy and Kress rent the hotel to Arthur Bixel, George Hill and Tony Mundello.
1921 Mary and Charles Smith and Kate and Harry Peters are now the owners of the Smith Hotel, Charles Smith and Kate Peters are brother and sister.
1928 Smith and Peters leased hotel to the Nelsons then the Conrad's (This may be spelled with a K).
1932 Ed Cook and Fred Ward operate the Columbia Inn.
1933 The Smiths sell to the Peters.
1937 J. E. Palmer leases the property.
© Columbia State Historic Park.
Old Columbia Hotel Token - c1937.
1940 April 9 - Census states that Mable Palmer is the proprietor of the Columbia Hotel. She is 44 and born in Nevada. Listed as a Widow with four children and one nephew.
1944 The Peters sell to the College of the Pacific.
Purchase by Robert and Grace Burns. Robert Burns is the president of the College of the Pacific.
1947 State buys the property for $1.00 from the College of the Pacific.
© Columbia State Historic Park.
The Fallon complex - c1947
1950s Residence for COP drama students during the summer until the Eagle Cottage is built. Students drape their beds in canvas to protect them from bat guano, falling plaster and bricks. Windows on the west wall had wooden shutters made to resemble iron shutters. They are supposed to keep out bats, bugs and curious visitors.
Mid 1950s Wood buildings at the south end of the structure, called the kitchen and barber shop, removed.
1986 Entire structure "restored" and reopened as Fallon Hotel operated by the City Hotel corporation.
2006 Concession purchased by Forever Resorts.
2009 June 21 - Forever Resorts contract ends.
2010 May 14 - Concession reopened by Briggs Hospitality LLC.
2014 February - Briggs Hospitality LLC who had the contract for this business gave their notice to vacate.
2014 April - The state separates the Ice Cream Parlour from the Fallon Complex as a stand alone concession.
2014 May - State Park to operate City Hotel with Fallon House.
The FALLON HOTEL
11175 Washington Street
Columbia, California
209 536-1479
This page is created for the benefit of the public by
Floyd D.P. Floyd D. P. Øydegaard.
Email contact:
fdpoyde3 (at) yahoo (dot) com
A WORK IN PROGRESS,
created for the visitors to the Columbia State Historic park.
© Columbia State Historic Park & Floyd D. P. Øydegaard.