The Penny Farthing Building

This building borrows the look of old Mendocino, but it stands on a piece of ground where the village story was still being written well into the twentieth century.

Overview

The Penny Farthing Building at 45060 Ukiah Street is a two-story mixed-use building immediately west of the Mendocino Post Office.

Unlike many of the nineteenth-century structures surrounding it, the Penny Farthing is a comparatively modern addition to the village. Mendocino County's newly updated inventory of structures identifies it by name as the Penny Farthing Building, gives the parcel as APN 119-233-05, and lists 1986 as its earliest documented year, citing the July 2, 1986 Mendocino Beacon.

Its peaked rooflines, light-colored siding, divided windows and decorative trim clearly draw from the older architecture around it, but the building itself dates from a very different period in Mendocino's development. Today it continues to function primarily as professional and office space.

Location

The Penny Farthing Building stands at 45060 Ukiah Street, directly beside the Mendocino Post Office and just west of the historic Mendocino Beacon Building.

That location is especially interesting because the land itself has a much longer visible history than the present building. A Kelley House Museum photograph taken sometime between 1920 and 1949 looks northeast along Ukiah Street and shows this part of the village as an undeveloped fenced field. The Kelley House specifically notes that this field would later become the site of both the post office and the Penny Farthing Building.

That photograph makes the contrast clear: the Penny Farthing did not replace one of Mendocino's familiar Victorian commercial buildings. For at least part of the first half of the twentieth century, this was still open ground surrounded by an increasingly developed village.

History

The strongest documentation now available dates the Penny Farthing Building to 1986. The 2026 Updated Inventory of Structures for the Mendocino Historic Preservation District describes it simply as a two-story mixed-use building west of the Post Office and cites a July 2, 1986 Mendocino Beacon article as documentation for that year. Because it was constructed long after the period used to define Mendocino's historic buildings, the inventory does not assign it one of the traditional historic categories.

By 1996, the address was already being used by the law offices of Graham, Cone & Roberts, showing that professional offices were an established part of the building's use within its first decade.

The building has continued that mixed professional character. Mantras Hair Salon formerly occupied Suite C and described its entrance as being down a wooden walkway through the garden on the west side of the Penny Farthing Building. Redwood Roofers has also used 45060 Ukiah Street as its business address.

The Building Today

Today the building remains associated with several law practices. Attorney Colin Morrow lists his Mendocino office on the second floor and identifies its location as the Penny Farthing Building, while attorney Timothy Stoen also maintains an office at 45060 Ukiah Street.

Much of the building's own origin story is still open. Who designed the Penny Farthing, who commissioned it, who owned the property when it was constructed, and the exact story behind its unusual name have not yet been documented. The July 2, 1986 Mendocino Beacon cited by the County inventory is probably one of the best places to continue the search, along with Historical Review Board files, County building permits, property records, photographs and memories from people involved with the project.

Why It Matters

The Penny Farthing occupies an interesting place in Mendocino history. It is not a surviving nineteenth-century building pretending to be new. It is almost the reverse — a 1986 building deliberately designed to live among structures a century older, on land that historic photographs show was once simply an open field beside Ukiah Street.

Community Memories

In replies to the original history post, several people described its appearance as unusual for Mendocino and jokingly questioned how its design made it through historical review. Another remembered that a local craftsman named Scotty had worked on the building as well as on homes belonging to its owners.

Timeline

c. 1920-1949 — A Kelley House Museum photograph shows the site as an undeveloped fenced field.

1986 — The Penny Farthing Building is constructed; documented in the Mendocino Beacon of July 2, 1986.

1996 — The law offices of Graham, Cone & Roberts use the address.

2000s-2010s — Mantras Hair Salon occupies Suite C; Redwood Roofers uses the address.

Present — Law offices including Colin Morrow and Timothy Stoen occupy the building.

Sources & Original Research: Mendocino County 2026 Updated Inventory of Structures, Mendocino Historic Preservation District, Zone A — Penny Farthing Building, Structure 233-05-A, APN 119-233-05, earliest documented year 1986, citing the Mendocino Beacon, July 2, 1986, page 5; Kelley House Museum, Elevated View, Ukiah Street, historic photograph circa 1920-1949; Vannucci Momsen Morrow, current Mendocino office listing for Colin W. Morrow; Timothy Stoen Attorney, current office information; California Coastal Commission records, March 19, 1996 correspondence from Graham, Cone & Roberts; Mantras Hair Salon archived contact information; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration business record for Redwood Roofers. Community memories contributed by Clancey Kennedy, Chad Faulk and India Gingell in replies to the original Buildings and Businesses in Mendocino, Ca. with history post. Compilation by Gee Bee.