The two original restored bay windows (at the rear and at the side) were installed while we were at the Conference. What a difference it makes. All these restored architectural elements are what makes this house historic. Fifty years of neglect made good today !
The Queen Mary’s maiden voyage was in 1936; that’s a long time ago. That’s also the year my mom was born. But then the Francis House was built in 1886, that’s 50 years before the Queen Mary sailed. I apparently have a deep affinity for things of old. 🙂
What better venue for a Conference for InnKeepers and Small Hotel Owners than the Queen Mary ship docked in Long Beach. It’s a great time to break from the cold and wet weather in San Francisco to learn from the wealth of resources and attendees and speakers, all stalwarts in the hospitality industry ! …
On the road to the Francis House this morning. I stared at this sight for a long time today. The third storey took some time to appear ! Here are some old photos of the old wooden French mansard roof before we took it down. The new one is being made in the…
The skies are still dark but the sight of the new trusses (right length and angle this time) are making us see the rainbow at the end of the tunnel. When the rain goes away, the roof will come!
Contemplating this…
It’s raining so might as well enjoy meals indoors for less $ all week Jan 23-29. See list of restaurants here.
It was hairy getting up two flights on a rickety ladder but the view from the top was exhilarating ! Considering the height restrictions on buildings in Calistoga, because of the historic nature of this property we are “grandfathered” and are the exemption to the rule. We can claim our “height” as one of the…
The weather called for a visit on a real “Sun-day”. After a weeklong of rain, this was a welcome sight on the way. A quarter of the trusses are up. More to go. But after many weeks of (seemingly) no developments on the 3rd Floor (rain is to blame) here we are !…
The week long continuous rains that has caused flooding in nearby Yountville and St. Helena has luckily spared the Francis House. I attribute this to our location being far from the larger bodies of water but more because of altitude. Calistoga is 348′ above sea level compared to 253′ for St Helena and 98′ for…