A Trip to Occidental, CA

Dateline: 7 April 2017

A Trip to Occidental

Elisa and I, along with our 2 dogs Bella and Oreo have been staying in our Legacy motorhome here in Bodega Bay.  For the past 2 days we have pretty much been holed up in the motorhome because of the constant rain.  During a brief respite in the rain we decided to venture out to the town of Occidental to try to revisit the Union Hotel.  See my earlier post.

The idyllic town of Occidental lies about 15 miles inland from the Sonoma coastline and it sits among rolling hills and redwood groves.  The town resides on the aptly named Bohemian Highway, since it is home to artists, nature lovers and others wanting to escape the urban rat race.  On the way to Occidental, we go through the small town of Bodega (different from Bodega Bay).  This is the location of one of the key buildings featured in the film “The Birds”, it is Potter’s Schoolhouse.  It is pictured above.  Interestingly, when the film crew arrived in the area, they loved the look of school and they decided to use it in the film and they would end up editing the film to make it appear as though it was actually in nearby Bodega Bay.  When the studios arrived, the school house was abandoned.  They renovated the exterior so they could use it in the film.  All interior shots were shot at the Universal Studios in Hollywood.  After the film was done a family purchased the building and converted it to a private home.  We are told that occasionally they will open the home up for tours to fans of the film.

Rolling along another 15 miles down the Bohemian Highway, we come across the little town of Occidental.  the town was established in the 1870′s when a man named “Dutch” Bill Howards, a homesteader in the area offered to grant a right of way on his land to the Northern Pacific Railroad.  In return Dutch Bill would receive a lifetime rail pass.  However, he would profit in many other ways.  With the arrival of the railroad a town would soon emerge.  There were no fewer than 6 saw mills in the area that would utilize the railroad to deliver all the wood they could cut to the growing city of San Francisco to the south.  A post office would soon follow and the town of Occidental was now on the map.

In the late 1870′s Dutch Bill would sell a small parcel of land to Amelia Jones.  She would go on to build a two story wooden structure.  Dutch Bill was so taken with the building he purchased it back from Amelia Jones for $1000.  A few years later, he would agree to sell the building in 1879 to Giovanni and Giovanna Gobeti for $2000 in gold.  The Gobeti’s would rename the building the Union Saloon and would successfully operate it for the next 35 years.  They would go on to sell the building in 1925 to Carlo Panizzera who would rename it the Union Hotel he would expand it to include a bar, cafe, bakery and dining room.  The Union Hotel has stuck with Carlo’s original family style meals and 5 generations later it is still operated by the founding family.

The town of Occidental is designated a California Historic Site and it is also home to the Occidental Hotel and Negri’s Restaurant and Bar.  Negri’s was founded in 1938 and it too is still operated by the founding family.  We haven’t tried it yet but will try to catch it another time.  Occidental would be a great place to stay.  It can serve as a great jumping off point for day-trips to Napa wine country, redwood groves, near by Russian River, hiking/biking trails and many championship golf courses.