Suzi Long's Blue Pelican Gallery~Atelier

Some buildings stay small and keep changing jobs. This one, overlooking Noyo Harbor, has been a sporting-goods store, a travel agency, recreation-district offices and now an art gallery.

Overview

Today, 401 N. Harbor Drive is Suzi Long's Blue Pelican Gallery~Atelier, a small art space overlooking Noyo Harbor.

For many longtime Fort Bragg residents, though, this building will always be remembered as Cooney's Sporting Goods.

People remember fishing tackle hanging from the walls, hunting equipment, a potbelly stove, ice cream cups with wooden spoons, a bench where fishermen and hunters gathered, and even a rifle-sighting range behind the building.

Later, the sporting-goods store became a travel agency, then offices for the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District, before becoming the gallery it is today.

Location

The small building sits at 401 N. Harbor Drive, above Noyo Harbor.

Its location was well suited to a sporting-goods store. Commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, hunters, and local families could stop for equipment, licenses, tackle, or conversation.

The harbor view remains one of the building's defining features.

History

The best-remembered early business at this address was Cooney's Sporting Goods, owned by Tom and Mary Cooney.

Tom had earlier worked in the sporting-goods department at Dornan's Hardware on Franklin Street before operating his own store.

Cooney's served fishermen, hunters, and local families. Customers remember rods, reels, salmon tackle, hooks, weights, lures, knives, hunting equipment, ammunition, and licenses.

Commercial fishermen also used the store. One recollection describes buying an annual commercial salmon-fishing license there during the mid-to-late 1960s, along with salmon gear.

Tom also made some of his own tackle. Hand-tied herring jigs were remembered as especially effective, and another fisherman recalled having good luck with a Lucky Lady salmon lure.

More Than a Store

Cooney's was as much a gathering place as a sporting-goods shop.

A bench beneath the windows gave fishermen and hunters a place to sit and talk, while a potbelly stove helped give the store its familiar atmosphere.

Children remember going behind the counter for candy or bubble gum and buying ice cream cups with small wooden spoons.

Those details are a large part of why the store remains so vivid in local memory.

The Rifle Range

One of the more unusual features was a rifle-sighting range behind the building and house.

Customers could buy ammunition and sight in a rifle before deer season. Community recollection describes a culvert being used as part of the range.

The range eventually closed. One memory says a child unexpectedly looked into the culvert while someone was preparing to shoot, frightening the shooter badly enough that the range was discontinued.

The Cooney Family and Travel Agency Years

Tom and Mary Cooney had three children, remembered in the community discussion as Tom, Joanne, and Kathy.

Their daughter Joanne Cooney Frazer later became part of the building's next chapter.

After Tom died, Joanne worked for a travel agency that had been located on Oak Street. Community memory says she later bought the business and moved it into the former family sporting-goods building at 401 N. Harbor Drive.

One person who worked there remembered spending 15 years with Joanne.

The change from tackle shop to travel agency was dramatic, but the building remained connected to the Cooney family.

MCRPD Offices

Joanne was also involved with the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District.

Community memory says that after her death, the building served for a period as MCRPD offices.

That gave the property another distinct chapter before its conversion to an art space.

The Building Today

Today, 401 N. Harbor Drive is Suzi Long's Blue Pelican Gallery~Atelier.

The building has changed from sporting goods to travel, public-agency offices, and now art, but its small scale, harbor setting, and long connection to local life remain.

Why It Matters

The story of 401 N. Harbor Drive is not built around one major event. Its importance comes from the many everyday Fort Bragg lives connected to it.

For decades, people stopped here for fishing gear, hunting supplies, licenses, conversation, travel plans, recreation-district business, and now art.

The uses changed. The little building stayed.

Community Memories

The strongest memories center on Cooney's Sporting Goods as both a supply store and a gathering place.

People remember the tackle, hunting gear, bench beneath the windows, potbelly stove, candy and ice cream for children, and the generations of fishermen and hunters who passed through the store.

Later recollections helped trace the building's transition to Joanne Cooney Frazer's travel agency, MCRPD offices, and finally the present gallery.

Timeline

Earlier Years — Tom Cooney is remembered as working in the sporting-goods department at Dornan's Hardware on Franklin Street before opening his own business.

Cooney's Sporting Goods Era — Tom and Mary Cooney operated the sporting-goods store at 401 N. Harbor Drive.

Mid-to-Late 1960s — Commercial fishermen remember buying salmon licenses and fishing gear at Cooney's.

Later Cooney Family Chapter — Joanne Cooney Frazer worked for a travel agency on Oak Street, later purchased the business, and community memory says she moved it into the former family sporting-goods building.

Travel Agency Era — The building operated as a travel agency for a number of years.

Later Chapter — The building served for a period as offices for the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District.

Present — Suzi Long's Blue Pelican Gallery~Atelier occupies the building at 401 N. Harbor Drive.