Windswept Mendocino Shows New England Past

There’s good reason why Angela Lansbury makes her home here in “Murder, She Wrote.” Why go to Maine to film the television series when you can find a New England town on the California coast?

Hollywood discovered Mendocino in 1943, when Paramount arrived to film “Frenchman’s Creek,” for which Joan Fontaine won an Oscar.

This city has since served as a setting in 19 films, including “East of Eden,” “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians are Coming” “Summer of ‘42,” “Same Time Next Year” and “The Karate Kid.”

It also has appeared on TV as the background for many commercials, as well as the hometown of mystery writer-cum-detective Jessica Fletcher. Jessica “lives” in the Elisha Blair House, whose exterior appearance has not been altered since it was built in 1888.

So many of Mendocino’s buildings have maintained their original looks that the city was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. A tour booklet describes the pasts of 32 buildings that line the streets of Mendocino’s historical preservation district.

Visitors are welcome at several of those that have become museums, restaurants and bed and breakfast inns.

Mendocino’s architecture reflects the New England heritage of the lumbermen who founded the town in the mid-1800s. Their homes of Victorian, saltbox and other Eastern styles were constructed from some of the redwoods they were cutting down for the building boom in San Francisco.

Although Mendocino’s loggers are gone, the city has 1,100 residents and countless visitors.

The community was dormant after the sawmills shut down, but artists soon discovered Mendocino’s windswept coast, picket fences and weathered homes with wooden water towers. They came to stay in the late 1950s, and applied paint to the buildings as well as to their canvases.

Townsfolk also banded together to preserve Mendocino’s picture post-card location. When development threatened the rocky headlands that abut the town on three sides, citizens fought to protect the open spaces.

Window to the Sea

Established in 1972, Mendocino Headlands State Park guarantees the town a window to the sea. Trails lead visitors to scenic overlooks for picnics and down the bluffs to sunbathing and swimming in the surf along Big River Beach.

A good place to become familiar with Mendocino’s past and present is the state park’s visitor center. It occupies the Jerome B. Ford House, built in 1854 by an owner of Mendocino’s first sawmill. Exhibits range from lumbering to marine life.

The restored home is on the headlands side of Main Street. Turn left from California 1 at the Jackson Street sign and look for Ford House beyond the S-curve. It’s open daily from noon to 4 p.m.

On the opposite side of Main Street, old-time photographs of Mendocino buildings are displayed in the William Kelley House. Built in 1861 for a co-owner of the first sawmill, it’s now headquarters of Mendocino Historical Research Inc. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. on Friday, weekends and Monday; entry costs $1.

Self-Guided Tour

For a self-guided look at the town’s vintage buildings, buy “A Tour of Mendocino” ($2.50). The booklet is available at the Gallery Bookshop on Kasten Street.

Landmark structures include the still-used Presbyterian church that dates to 1868, and a small century-old Chinese temple that is the last joss house along California’s north coast. You’ll also notice the 1860s Masonic Hall, crowned by a hand-carved redwood statue titled “Father Time and the Maiden.”

Visitors can make a major activity out of strolling Mendocino’s quaint streets, not only to view the architecture but to browse in gift shops and art galleries. Be sure to see the shows at the Mendocino Art Center, well known for instruction in the fine arts, ceramics and textiles.

Mendocino also is home to a performing arts company and a summer music festival. Information about the stage plays, music fests and other cultural events is available from the Coastal Visitor Center, 990 Main St. Call (707) 937-1938.

Among the outdoor activities available are hiking in Van Damme State Park to an unusual Pygmy Forest and camping at 74 sites.

Canoeing Upriver

A favorite pastime is paddling a canoe up Big River, a gentle waterway that appeals to even first-time canoeists. Paddlers can take it easy by going upriver on the incoming ocean tide and returning downriver on the outgoing tide.

Canoes for one to 10 persons can be rented at Catch A Canoe, just off California 1 at the mouth of the river. Cost per couple is $10 an hour (two-hour minimum) or $35 a day. Call (707) 937-0273.

The canoe facility is run by Joan and Jeff Stanford, who also offer accommodations at the Stanford Inn By the Sea/Big River Lodge that overlooks the ocean and town. Guests are allowed to take pets, who can share the spacious grounds with the Stanfords’ cats, dogs, horses and llamas.

Decorated with country antiques and works of local artists, the inn’s 26 rooms and suites feature view decks and fireplaces. A champagne breakfast is included in the $135/$160 room rates (suites from $185). Call (707) 937-5025 for reservations.

Mendocino has more than two dozen lodgings, including peaceful B&Bs; such as Rachel’s Inn, just off Coast Highway in neighboring Little River. Owner Rachel Binah has five rooms in her renovated farmhouse, all with private bath, a big breakfast and nightly rates of $89. (The Garden Room with a fireplace is $100.) For reservations, call (707) 937-0088.

Also popular are the 1878 Mendocino Hotel & Garden Suites, Hill House Inn, MacCallum House Inn and Blair House, a four-room B&B; and TV home of Jessica Fletcher. Get a list of lodgings by calling the Mendocino County Convention and Visitors Bureau at (707) 462-3091.

Among Mendocino’s best restaurants, MacCallum House also has a light menu in its Gray Whale Bar and stays open till 10 p.m. Other dining spots with outstanding chefs are Cafe Beaujolais and Restaurant, 955 Ukiah St., as well as the small Ledford House and Little River restaurant (not the inn), both just south of town along the coast in Little River.

To reach Mendocino from Los Angeles, you can fly to San Francisco or Oakland and rent a car to follow California 1 north along the spectacular coast of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The drive from Los Angeles, round trip, is 1,132 miles.