The Raku House Inn

Some Mendocino buildings seem to settle into their second lives so naturally that the newer use feels like it was waiting there all along.

Overview

The Raku House Inn at 998 Main Street is one of those Main Street places that still reads first as a house.

The broad porch, low roofline, chimney, front steps, garden and upstairs dormer give it the comfortable appearance of a Craftsman-era residence rather than a purpose-built hotel. That impression is accurate: the house began as a private home before passing through several very different uses and eventually becoming guest lodging.

Today Raku House operates as part of Alegria Oceanfront Inn & Cottages, which describes it as a four-room guest house across the street from its oceanfront property, with the Porch Suite, West Room, Aloft Room and East Suite available individually.

Location

Raku House stands on Main Street toward the eastern end of Mendocino village.

The Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce continues to identify the Raku House Inn at 998 Main Street. County records identify the same parcel as APN 119-250-19, although later county visitor-serving-facility records have also used 44820 Main Street for the property.

The house occupies an interesting position in the village because its architecture represents a later period than the Victorian buildings that usually define Mendocino in photographs.

History

Alegria Inn's own history provides the clearest detailed account of the property. According to that history, the house was built in 1917 as a residence for Mrs. Henry Nelson, a widow who wanted a Craftsman-style home. That choice made the building unusual in Mendocino, where much of the village's established architectural character came from the nineteenth century.

A barn behind the house was also placed on the property in 1917, but it was not newly constructed there. Alegria's history says the barn was moved from another location farther down Main Street. It also notes that a nearly identical barn survives on Ukiah Street near Corners of the Mouth.

The property remained a private residence until 1968. After that, the house entered the hospitality and restaurant chapter of its life. It became an annex to the Sears House Inn and later operated as a restaurant called the Sip and Sup.

That restaurant period is independently reflected in Mendocino County's historic-building inventory. The inventory identifies APN 119-250-19 and 998 Main Street as the Berry-Barton House, classifies it as a Category IIb historic structure, and records its use at the time as a restaurant. That older historic name adds another layer to the story, indicating that the building was recognized historically under a name different from both the Nelson residence and its later Raku House identity.

In 1988 the property was converted into a four-room lodging establishment called McElroy's Cottage Inn. The McElroy family operated it for approximately ten years before selling it to Bonnie and Larry Lawlor, who ran the inn for another seven years.

Then, in 2005, Eric and Elaine Wing Hillesland purchased the property and added it to their Alegria Inn operation across Main Street. That was when the house entered the chapter by which most visitors know it today.

The Building Today

The name Raku was chosen from the Japanese word associated with ease, comfort and openness to possibility — an appropriate description for a house that has repeatedly adapted without losing the feeling of being a home.

Raku House now contains four principal guest accommodations. Although they can be rented separately, rooms can also be combined for families or groups, preserving some of the feeling of occupying a private house rather than a conventional hotel.

There is still more to learn about the earliest chapter. The County inventory's Berry-Barton House name and Alegria's account of the 1917 Nelson residence do not by themselves explain the Berry and Barton connections or exactly when those names became attached to the property. That earlier history remains an open part of the story.

Why It Matters

The building's history connects several different eras of Mendocino hospitality: private residence, inn annex, restaurant, independent bed-and-breakfast and finally part of a larger village inn. The house at 998 Main Street has been welcoming people in one form or another for more than half a century while retaining the unmistakable feeling of the 1917 home at its center.

Timeline

1917 — The Craftsman house is built for Mrs. Henry Nelson; a barn is moved onto the property.

Until 1968 — The property remains a private residence.

After 1968 — The house becomes an annex to the Sears House Inn and later the Sip and Sup restaurant.

1988 — The property becomes McElroy's Cottage Inn, a four-room lodging.

c. 1998 — The Lawlor family purchases the inn.

2005 — Eric and Elaine Wing Hillesland purchase the property for Alegria Oceanfront Inn & Cottages.

Present — Raku House operates as a four-room guest house.

Sources & Original Research: Alegria Oceanfront Inn & Cottages, History of Alegria — the 1917 Nelson residence, relocation of the barn, Sears House Inn annex, Sip and Sup restaurant, McElroy's Cottage Inn, Lawlor ownership and the 2005 purchase by Alegria; Alegria Oceanfront Inn & Cottages, The Raku House — current rooms and suites; Mendocino County, Mendocino Town Plan Inventory of Historic Buildings, Zone A — APN 119-250-19, Category IIb, historic name Berry-Barton House, recorded use as restaurant; Mendocino County visitor-serving facility records; Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce, Raku House Inn listing; Visit Mendocino County. Compilation by Gee Bee.