Nicholson House at Beaujolais

Some Mendocino houses do not just sit beside the village. They quietly keep score of it.

A restored Victorian lodging house next door to Café Beaujolais, Nicholson House carries more than a century of family history, village housing history, tourism, and a newer boutique-hotel chapter.

Overview

Nicholson House at Beaujolais stands at 951 Ukiah Street, immediately beside Café Beaujolais in Mendocino village. Today it is a luxury boutique inn and part of the larger Beaujolais Mendocino property, which also includes Café Beaujolais, the Brickery and the Waiting Room. The inn describes itself as the "House Next Door," restored with Victorian character while incorporating modern accommodations.

Its story, however, begins long before tourism became one of Mendocino's major industries.

Location

The house occupies 951 Ukiah Street in the eastern part of Mendocino village, next door to the historic house now occupied by Café Beaujolais.

The relationship between the two neighboring houses may go back to their construction. Nicholson House's own historical research says Theo H. Cramer and his wife Mary purchased the lot between 1887 and 1891 from Dr. W. A. McCornack for $250 and built their family home there. The inn notes that there is speculation that both Nicholson House and the neighboring Café Beaujolais house were constructed by Pete Hansen.

History

By 1900, the house was occupied by Theo Cramer, a German-born barber, his wife Mary, and their five children. The Cramer family left Mendocino during the first years of the twentieth century, eventually moving out of state.

During the 1910s the house became home to George and Mary Daniels and their children. At the same time, Pete Hansen and his family were living in the neighboring house that later became Café Beaujolais.

The Nicholson connection began around 1920, when Alfred "Allie" Nicholson, his wife Anna, their son Kenneth, Alfred's brother Arthur and their mother Eliza rented the house. Allie and Art both worked in the lumber industry.

After George Daniels died, his children inherited the property and in 1930 sold it directly to Art Nicholson. The Nicholson family remained associated with the house for at least three decades, giving the property the name by which it is still known.

A very different chapter began in 1976 when Big River Lodge owner Art Williams purchased the house. He added dormers, a front porch and entry and converted the former family residence into five separate townhouse-style apartments. The project was intended in part to provide badly needed housing in Mendocino, and some of the units were used by visiting Mendocino Art Center students. A gallery space was also created downstairs.

Norman Dennis McCrosky later became owner. During the late 1970s and 1980s, the property was further reshaped, with an artisan tower added and the building used for commercial offices, massage space and eight long-term housing units. The decorative tower was built in the style of Mendocino's familiar water towers but apparently never functioned as an actual water tower.

By the 1990s, Nicholson House had made another transition and was operating as a traditional Mendocino bed-and-breakfast. It was eventually sold to Judith Brown and was operated in association with the neighboring Sweetwater Eco Spa property.

The Building Today

In 2020, Peter and Melissa Lopez, owners of neighboring Café Beaujolais, purchased Nicholson House and began an extensive refurbishment. The restored property reopened in 2022 as Nicholson House at Beaujolais, bringing the two neighboring properties under the same hospitality family.

In 2024, longtime general manager and curator Mollie B. Warren became a part owner of Nicholson House. Today the inn offers individually designed rooms and suites that combine Victorian architecture with Art Deco-inspired furnishings and modern amenities.

Why It Matters

The result is a house that has served Mendocino in remarkably different ways: first as a family home, then as village housing, gallery and commercial space, a bed-and-breakfast, and finally a restored boutique inn linked directly with one of Mendocino's best-known restaurants.

Through all those changes, the old house at 951 Ukiah Street has continued doing essentially the same job — giving people a place to stay.

Community Memories

A former employee remembers the house being leased in connection with the Whitegate Inn and operated as Abigail's House from about 2004 to 2010, offering lodging that welcomed both children and pets. She also remembers working at Café Beaujolais during part of the same period.

Contemporary travel material supports the existence of an Abigail's Bed & Breakfast in Mendocino during that era and describes it as a child- and pet-friendly sister property to the Whitegate Inn. The surviving listings do not clearly connect the Abigail's name to the 951 Ukiah Street address, so the exact leasing and address history remains an interesting part of the story that could be strengthened by period directories, advertisements, photographs or reservation literature.

Timeline

1887–1891 - Theo H. Cramer and his wife Mary purchase the lot and build their family home.

1900 - The Cramer family, including five children, is recorded living in the house.

1910s - George and Mary Daniels and their children occupy the house.

c. 1920 - The Nicholson family rents the house.

1930 - Art Nicholson purchases the property from the Daniels heirs.

1976 - Art Williams converts the residence into five townhouse-style apartments with a downstairs gallery.

Late 1970s–1980s - Norman Dennis McCrosky adds an artisan tower and expands commercial and housing use.

1990s - The property operates as a Mendocino bed-and-breakfast.

c. 2004–2010 - Remembered as operating as Abigail's House in connection with the Whitegate Inn.

2020 - Peter and Melissa Lopez purchase the house and begin refurbishment.

2022 - Reopens as Nicholson House at Beaujolais.

2024 - Mollie B. Warren becomes a part owner.

Sources & Original Research: Nicholson House at Beaujolais' detailed property history and current website; period Mendocino lodging references; San Francisco Chronicle travel coverage mentioning Abigail's and the Whitegate Inn; original community replies provided by Jeni Lee Smith concerning Abigail's House and Café Beaujolais; original post text, photograph and research compilation provided by Gee Bee.