Jordon Studios

A well-used East Redwood Avenue building where postal service, dance, professional offices, small businesses, living space, and public art have all shared the same corner.

Overview

Some Fort Bragg buildings are remembered by what happened inside them. Others are remembered by how they looked. The building at 301 East Redwood Avenue has managed to become both.

Today, the corner is hard to miss. Much of the exterior is covered by "Sunlit Redwood Forest," a mural created by Ryan Grossman. The towering trees and filtered sunlight turn what was once a fairly plain commercial building into one of the more recognizable pieces of public art in town.

The redwood scene feels especially appropriate for Fort Bragg. It does not simply decorate the building; it gives the entire corner a sense of place. People may notice the mural first, but the history inside the building reaches back through many different chapters of community life.

The Old Post Office

Long before the mural and the studios, local residents remember this building as Fort Bragg's post office, before postal operations moved to the present facility on Franklin Street.

That history gives the corner an importance that is easy to overlook today. A small-town post office was more than a place to mail letters and pick up packages. It was part of the town's daily rhythm, where residents checked their boxes, exchanged greetings, conducted errands, and regularly crossed paths with neighbors.

Several people immediately recognized the building as the old post office. One longtime resident still remembered the family's post-office box number decades later. Another recalled falling from the step as a small child and breaking an arm. Memories like these turn the building from a former government office into a deeply personal landmark.

Second Story Studios

The upstairs later became the longtime home of Second Story Studios, a dance studio that operated there for approximately 35 years.

The studio opened in 1985 and continued until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought its long run to an end. For generations of local dancers, the building was associated with lessons, rehearsals, music, performances, exercise, friendships, and the familiar trip up the stairs to class.

Thirty-five years is a substantial chapter in the cultural history of any building. During that time, Second Story Studios became part of the lives of children, adults, instructors, parents, and families throughout the Mendocino Coast community.

The studio's closure marked the end of an era, particularly because dance depends so heavily on people gathering, moving, and learning together in the same room.

Jordon Studios and Other Uses

Jordon Studios has also occupied the building for many years. Community recollections place the studio at this location for approximately 18 years, adding another long-running creative use to the property.

Like many older commercial buildings, the address has held more than one business or activity at a time. Residents also remember professional offices, including a lawyer's office, as well as a hair salon. Portions of the property have reportedly been used for residential or short-term lodging.

These smaller chapters are an important part of the building's history. They show how the property has continually adapted, serving public, commercial, artistic, professional, and residential purposes without losing its familiar place on the corner.

The Forrester Building and the Mural

The property is now also known as the Forrester Building. According to information from the Fort Bragg Alleyway Art Project, artists Randy Tuell and Cynthia Sumner purchased the building in October 2019 with the goal of creating a place where artists could work, live, and gather.

That vision continued the building's long connection to creative activity. In early 2022, Art Scene Studios opened in one of the street-level spaces at 309 East Redwood Avenue, bringing additional artists and studio work to the property.

The "Sunlit Redwood Forest" mural became the most visible expression of that transformation. It wraps the building in a scene that connects the corner to the forests surrounding Fort Bragg and turns the outside wall into a public attraction of its own.

Today

Today, this building brings together several layers of Fort Bragg history.

It is remembered as the old post office where residents collected their mail and knew their box numbers by heart. It was the home of Second Story Studios for 35 years. It has held Jordon Studios, a hair salon, professional offices, residential space, and other small local uses. More recently, it has become an arts-oriented property distinguished by one of Fort Bragg's most noticeable murals.

The outside may be what catches the eye now, but the building's real importance comes from everything that has happened inside it. Postal workers, dancers, artists, business owners, clients, tenants, children, and generations of local residents have all left a little history on this East Redwood Avenue corner.

Sources: Original post text and community discussion provided by Gee Bee; contributor recollections from Camille Parsons, Violet Fox, Charmaine Caster, Lisa Broderick, Jeanine Jordon, Jeni Lee Smith, Chelan Brayton Hill, Yvonne Crytzer Brown, Joni Goble, Linda King, Sandra Liljeberg, Heather Capps, and Donna Winters; Fort Bragg Alleyway Art Project, "Sunlit Redwood Forest"; Real Estate Magazine, June 2020.