In 2019 we explored some mysterious ruined buildings...
.. that I'd accidentally discovered while flying my drone in the upper reaches of Napa Valley.
The Challenge then was to identify the buildings and learn a bit about the backstory.
In SRS 2/20/2019 Answer: What's the story... of these ruined buildings? we learned that this was the site of the former Napa Soda Springs Resort, a swanky resort in the late 1800s, a place where multiple natural springs flowed from the ground.
The Napa springs were discovered in 1855 and developed into a fairly well-known resort with extensive grounds and buildings. There were music rooms, a dance floor, a pagoda, spring houses, and buildings including the fabulous Rotunda, 75 feet high with a glass cupola at the top. It was the quintessence of a high-class Victorian-era resort.
And just this week I learned that the company RH (formerly known as "Restoration Hardware") has purchased the site for around $25M and has plans to restore it to some kind of a resort once more. As they write:
A 2019 press release announcing the listing detailed the property features, including “a stunning 80-foot waterfall, vistas of Poppy Hill, the magma rock-strewn slope of Babylon Plane, and a multitude of free flowing mineral springs that have been historically prized and bottled for their taste and health-giving properties.”
The RH CEO said in a conference call that the site:
"...still has the ruins. It's where we'll build a guest house, residences, and a winery. We have some of the best soil in all of the Napa Valley."
We'll see what happens here... but you heard it first in SearchResearch!
There might be a grand rotunda building at the Napa Soda Springs once more.
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| From a 1905 postcard showing the rotunda building |
Search on!
