La Tre

A Franklin Street storefront where a lively old bar, affordable fashion, books, collectibles, and today’s boutique shopping have all added their own layer to downtown history.

Overview

Some Franklin Street windows have seen more costume changes than the people walking past them.

Today, 363 North Franklin Street is home to La Tre, a women’s clothing and accessories boutique in the heart of downtown Fort Bragg. Current visitor information describes the shop as carrying contemporary clothing in inclusive sizes, undergarments, accessories, perfumes, lotions, candles, and gift items.

The storefront fits that use well. Its large windows, sidewalk visibility, and downtown location make it the kind of place designed to catch the attention of people walking past and give them a reason to step inside.

History

Community memories take the building back to a much livelier earlier chapter.

Before the clothing shops, books, and collectibles, the storefront is remembered as Shattuck’s Shanty, also called Shattuck’s Bar. Some memories place another bar known as Francheschi’s or a similarly remembered name in this earlier period, although that part of the history still needs confirmation.

Shattuck’s Shanty was remembered as a busy local bar during the 1960s and especially during Paul Bunyan Days. The building reportedly had access from both Franklin Street and Laurel Street, which helped create the kind of through-the-building activity that became part of its reputation.

One story recalled a motorcycle being ridden in one doorway and out the other.

Another memory came from a Paul Bunyan Days weekend when a man standing outside the bar without a beard was grabbed by the Kangaroo Court and tossed into the bathtub. Stories like that capture the playful disorder that once surrounded the celebration.

Paul Bunyan Days

The building itself also became part of the townwide Paul Bunyan Days decorations.

During one celebration, the outside of the bar was covered with slabs of redwood bark and redwood branches, turning the storefront into a logging-themed display. Longtime residents remember a period when businesses throughout downtown decorated their windows and buildings, making the celebration feel like something the entire town took part in.

That memory gives Shattuck’s Shanty a place not only in Fort Bragg’s bar history, but also in the history of Paul Bunyan Days.

From Shattuck’s Shanty to Mode O’Day

The building later entered a very different retail era as Mode O’Day.

Mode O’Day was remembered as an affordable women’s clothing store with dresses, tops, jeans, and practical fashion. One person remembered walking down from the courthouse during lunch breaks to see what was new. Another recalled that the store carried an especially good selection of girls’ jeans.

A shopper who was about thirteen remembered buying a pink gathered top there around 1979 or 1980 and wearing it to a concert at Cotton Auditorium. When the band played “Le Freak,” everyone stood up to dance and the auditorium floor seemed to bounce beneath them.

That kind of memory shows how an ordinary clothing purchase can remain connected to a particular place, age, song, and moment for decades.

Cheshire Books

Several people also remember Cheshire Books being in this storefront, although others place it nearby.

Published information lists Cheshire Books at 345 North Franklin Street, suggesting that the bookstore may have occupied another space on the same block. Still, repeated community memories connect it closely with this location and this stretch of Franklin Street.

The bookstore is especially remembered for its cat logo.

The uncertainty is worth preserving carefully. Downtown shops sometimes moved between neighboring storefronts, and after enough years the memories can overlap. What remains clear is that Cheshire Books was part of the same Franklin Street retail world.

Milvo’s

Milvo’s added another chapter to the property’s retail history.

The shop is remembered for collectibles, decorative objects, and interesting items that encouraged people to browse. One person recalled a friend buying a glass plate with an etched butterfly in its center as a birthday present. The plate is still treasured years later.

People also remember enjoying conversations with the shopkeeper, which made Milvo’s more than a place to purchase an object. It became one of those small downtown stores where the personality behind the counter was part of the experience.

The Building Today

Today, La Tre continues the building’s long association with clothing, personal style, gifts, and downtown browsing.

Some customers have kept clothing purchased there for years, which continues the same pattern seen in memories of Mode O’Day and Milvo’s. A top, a pair of jeans, a decorative plate, or another small purchase can become tied to a time in someone’s life and eventually become part of the history of the building where it was found.

The storefront has adapted repeatedly because it has the features downtown businesses need: visibility, foot traffic, useful display windows, and enough character for each new business to make the space its own.

Why This Place Matters

The history of 363 North Franklin Street is not clean or simple.

It comes in flashes: a bar covered in redwood bark, a motorcycle passing through the building, a Kangaroo Court bathtub, an affordable clothing store, a pink concert top, girls’ jeans, a bookstore with a cat logo, a collectible plate, and clothing still hanging in someone’s closet years later.

That is how local history often survives.

The records help establish names and addresses, but the memories explain what those places felt like and why people still care about them.

Sources: Original post text and photograph provided by Gee Bee. Comment threads provided by Gee Bee with contributor memories from Ann Richmond-Di Luciano, Evelyn Bishop Anderson, Anna Roeth, Susan Collins, Valerie Thornton, Nancy Fereira, Denise Hardcastle, Cordy Cordelia K Fortier, Craig Johnson, Bill Brazill, Jenny Shattuck, Sandra Liljeberg, Rick Sacks, Marissa Skari, Tammy Lowe, India Gingell, Kelly Hilliard, Michelle Braga, Heather Capps, Janet Del Fiorentino Lewis, Diane Williamson Swingle, Linda Stanton, and June Locke. Visit Fort Bragg — La Tre. NorthOfSF.com — Cheshire Books listing.