Then

Then

Then: Silverado Museum era, ca 1978

Then: Silverado Museum era, ca 1978

Now

Now

The Taylor, Duckworth & Company Foundry Building was built in 1884 to accommodate its foundry and machine works, with a specialty in the winepresses so important to this viticultural region. It is one of several commercial warehouse buildings constructed along Railroad Avenue in the 1880’s, convenient to the Southern Pacific Railroad yard for loading and unloading.

The buildings comprise a unique 19th century warehouse district whose buildings have been converted to a variety of modern commercial uses. In 1890, Duckworth converted the building to the St. Helena Electric Light and Power Company, but the business failed. Labor unrest in the 1880’s and 1890’s in San Francisco forced Earl Raymond to move his leather glove factory to Napa and Petaluma and he also established another factory in this building. In 1930, Major Gardner had a chicken hatchery here and the building was called The Hatchery for many years after. In 1969, the upper floor of the Hatchery Building became the Silverado Museum devoted to the published works, original materials, and memorabilia of Robert Louis Stevenson. At street level was “La Belle Helene” Restaurant with offices upstairs. The R.L.S. Museum has been relocated to a building adjacent to the public library on Library Lane. The Hatchery, at one time, also housed a tearoom and The Hatchery Art Gallery. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1982.

1345 Railroad Avenue St Helena CA