1225-1227 Main Street and 1231 Main Street

The C. E. Davis buildings were built in 1875. Dr. Davis was born in New Jersey in 1832. Eventually he became more interested in dentistry, rather than medicine, so after completing his education in dentistry in Philadelphia, he moved to St. Helena in 1868, where he practiced dentistry for over 20 years. He invested his savings in real estate and, as the town grew, he prospered rapidly until he became one of the wealthiest citizens of Napa County.

The property he bought with his earnings encompassed two buildings. At 1231 Main St. was the J. E. Straus store and then it became A & P Coffee. It was later converted to St. Helena Meat Market and that business remained there for 35 years. Inside the store were racks with hooks and wheels for moving sides of meat from the back door to the cooling rooms that were walk-in iceboxes. The large doors were insulated with cork. The attic spaces were filled with blocks of ice by way of small doors.

Outside, in the back, was a brick smokehouse. The building had a wood ceiling and cement floors and was designed to let in natural light before there was electricity.

At 1231 Main is one of the earliest brick buildings on Main Street. In 1978, the building housed the Little Dress Factory and in 1986, it became St. Helena Antiques. The building at 1225-1227 Main St. contains two storefronts of unequal width. At 1225 is Kings X Barbershop. That space has been a barbershop for many years. At 1227 Main was the Otto Behrns Grocery in the 1880’s. Behrns sold to W. J. Giugni in 1911. Giugni Grocery eventually became a deli, as it is today.