1200 Main Street

Then

1200 Main Now

Now

In 1903, Luther M. Turton of Napa built this Dutch Colonial style Noble-Galleron Building for businessman and undertaker, John S. Noble.  It was, for many years, a furniture and undertaking business.  Often the two businesses were located together, since it took the same skills to make tables as to make caskets.

The front window of the store displayed furniture, as it would be set up in a private home.  The entrance was lit with electricity at night.  Noble’s desk was just inside the entrance where he could greet people and direct them to the appropriate part of the store.

Inside was a reception room for ladies, a funeral chapel, a stockroom for caskets and coffins, a morgue in the rear, and a showroom for the furniture department, including pianos, sideboards, bedroom sets and decorative items.  An unusual feature was the concrete floor covered with linoleum.  Upstairs were galleries of items not on the floor display.

The St. Helena Star newspaper, Allison in Wine Country (a clothing store), Coldwell Banker Realty, and Farmers Insurance are now housed in the Noble-Galleron Building.

1200 Main Street St Helena CA