Angels Camp, CA…Hope springs eternal must have been my frame of mind when the Lode hotel was purchased by me in 2002. The flamboyant history of what the place has meant to so many and the building echoing all the past lives it had lived (see history below article prepared by historian) was especially enthralling to me. The hotel stands very close to the major gold mines and was a central place for miners to live and work while gold fever was running rampant in City of Angels Camp. More recently, the building was deemed not in livable condition according to the City of Angels and therefore the low income housing it had long provided to many of the less fortunate was shut down. My understanding is the former owner spent years fighting for the Lode’s survival only to lose it in a fight similar to mine

My hope was to clean, repair and restore the hotel to once again be a pride to the city and make it commercially and housing viable. The front of the building facing main street sported a second floor deck and sculpted support beams affixed to the concrete sidewalk. This hotel, to this day, is memorialized as the single largest structure in a painted rendition of downtown Angels Camp pictured in the Bass Pro store in Manteca, California. It’s “used to look” accuracy is uncanny and is enjoyed by thousands every year.

The restoration began as most do… haul away the years of debris. After all the old and unusable equipment was pulled out we started on the floors. We found carpet, pad and more carpet, pad, and then two-three layers of vinyl and then, the big surprise-newspapers of the day (1900’s) laying on top of solid wood floors in remarkably good condition. Much in the way of these papers have been preserved along with samples of linoleum and wallpapers in hopes of putting together some window collages in the hotel after it was restored.

Thus began the odyssey from someplace besides Heaven. The hotel had been boarded up by the City of Angels prior to my ownership. Only the front windows facing main street were visible. I requested a permit to completely redo all the hotel windows. You may be able to imagine my surprise when seeking such permit I was told “no” and that “unless you submit plans and engineering for a complete building restoration no further permits will be issued”. To me this was like being in love with a person and someone telling you the only way you can marry this person is to immediately support three children, buy a house, take out a $250,000 mortgage, spend the next two years repairing the house, and quit your day job because you can’t afford to hire the work done. Plus, you need to sell your motorcycle and get a van large enough to haul your instant family around. How many people would jump at the chance to marry your love under those conditions. This veto of my request for a permit and future permits began a protracted tug-of-war which continues to this day.

The sad thing in all of this for me is to own a piece of historic property and pay all the costs associated with the property for the past sixteen years and never being able to utilize the property in any effective way while constantly incurring requirements from the City. Some of these requirements were understandable, many others have been totally unnecessary in what appears to be a concerted effort to have the building torn down . For instance, a recent cited concern was “Violating building standards for habitable dwellings by, among other things, failing to provide adequate sanitary and water facilities for the structure located on the property. All water/drain pipes are substandard and missing throughout structure”. There is no one living there, no habitation, no use of water or sewer. Must “new” of everything cited be replaced/repaired when really the objective is to make repairs so expensive that one can not comply? Hence, it appears the City can never be pleased and thereby continues to push towards demolishment, even after all the new engineered structural work required by City was done and “approved as complete” over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays of 2010. It has been a disappointing and frustrating sixteen years. I don’t recall ever receiving a compliment or a single word of encouragement in any efforts expended by me or my crews in any Lode endeavors.

Now, a Superior court action brought on by the City of Angels is attempting to force the action suggested by the Code Compliance Department, the long sought total demolishment of the Lode Hotel and at my ultimate cost. The case, a Petition for Inspection and Abatement was filed by the attorney for the City on August 8, 2018. I received notice of this Petition on August 21st. The hearing is scheduled for September 7th. This is clearly the official attempt to do what one of the code compliance officers personally stated to me while I was attempting to restore and paint the exterior front. His words “my goal is to have this property torn down” reflected the attitude I have been living with for many years, but, this was the first time the words were spoken so bluntly. There were, to me, no alternatives or specific things I could do that would result in a different mindset or ultimate outcome.

I write this letter to you, the citizens of Angels Camp, to let you know that almost from year one the Lode has been under attack for its survival. My hopes of being one who can effect a restoration are over. My voice is small and pocketbook is thin. My current goal is to fight this action as you can’t put back an old historic building once it’s gone any more than you can make a “new” old friend. The property was listed for sale on May 8, 2018. I was hopeful that the City would be satisfied that within a reasonable period of time it would be out of my hands and hopefully in the hands of someone, well capitalized, sensitive enough to appreciate the historic nature of the property and explore all options to save it. A new buyer may be a welcome relief to the City, and, in any event, should have the right to determine what to do next and have the full cooperation of the City Council.

Giving the “Lode” a chance for survival may well hinge on whether or not the City prevails in their Petition. I will not tear it down. That decision will be the responsibility of the City and/or new owners. My hope is that there will never be a major “hole” in the downtown facade.

Tim Ashlock, The Lode Hotel

More history of the Lode Hotel.

Old Names: Fred Lavagnino Saloon and Lodging House, Girardi Saloon and Lodging House.

Original Use: Saloon and Lodging House.

Present Use: Vacant

Architectural Style: Italianate False Front Commercial

Construction History: (Construction date, alterations, and date of alterations) The hotel was built in 1893, with an ltalianate false front and two-story porch over the sidewalk. Alterations in the 1930s include the replacement of the original first floor storefront with a large multi-light window and modern doors. The porch was recently removed due to deterioration.

Significance: Theme Settlement and Commercial Development Area Angels Camp Period of Significance 1890s-1930s

This two-story false front frame building has always had lodgings on the second floor, with various commercial enterprises on the first. They included a saloon, a soft drink establishment during Prohibition, and other commercial enterprises. The first owner was Fred Lavagnino, who took out a mortgage in 1893 to erect the building, completing it in 1895.

In the 1920s James Girardi operated a bar and rented rooms, as well as residing on the property. Harry Moore later ran a bar and café, as well as a barber shop, while World War II rations were dispensed from here in the early 1940s.

The Lode Hotel appears eligible for listing on the NRHP as a contributor to the Angels Camp Historic District under Criteria A and C. Under Criterion A, it was built during the 1890s Second Gold Rush hard rock mining boom in Angels Camp, a period important in the history of the Mother Lode and California, and provided lodgings and a saloon for many of the local miners.

The lower story facade was altered in the 1930s, when the mines reopened and a new boom occurred in the town; again providing lodgings for miners. Under Criterion B, it is not associated with any persons important in history.

Under Criterion C, the building embodies the distinctive characteristics of the type, period, and method of construction when two-story frame buildings (sometimes identified as “Mother Lode Architecture”) lined the main streets of California’s Mother Lode region. Although in poor condition, the second story and false front retain their integrity to the 1890s period of significance in Angels Camp, while the lower story was altered in the 1930s, a secondary period of significance for the building.