In 2019 we explored some mysterious ruined buildings...
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.
From a 1905 postcard showing the rotunda building |
Search on!