Slug Sister Vintage
44969 Ukiah Street, Mendocino — A vintage clothing shop inside the 1977 Sea Gull Water Tower, enclosed in 1987 and later home to the Water Gallery.
Last updated: August 21, 2026
Not every Mendocino water tower is just scenery - some of them have been pulled right into the working life of the village.
Overview
Slug Sister Vintage occupies one of Mendocino's more unusual little retail spaces: a converted water tower tucked off Ukiah Street at 44969 Ukiah Street.
The shop describes itself as a destination for vintage clothing from different eras and styles, and its current website confirms the Ukiah Street address.
Recent Mendocino travel coverage describes Slug Sister Vintage as a family operation involving two sisters and their mother, with vintage clothing filling the compact tower space along with handmade Slug Sister Creative candles.
The really interesting part, though, is the building. Despite looking like one of Mendocino's nineteenth-century water towers, county historic records show that this particular tower is considerably newer.
Location
The tower stands at 44969 Ukiah Street, near the intersection of Ukiah and Lansing streets and beside the property historically associated with the Sea Gull Restaurant.
Mendocino County's updated inventory of historic structures identifies it specifically as the "Sea Gull Water Tower." The county places it on the same parcel as the Stauer House and related structures and gives 1977 as its earliest documented year.
That location is important because 1977 was also the year the Sea Gull Restaurant was rebuilt after a devastating fire destroyed the previous restaurant building in December 1976.
History
The Sea Gull Water Tower was not an old village utility tower later inherited by the restaurant.
According to Mendocino County's 2026 historic inventory, it was built at the same time as the new Sea Gull building in 1977. The inventory further records that the tower was enclosed around 1987. That makes its history quite different from Mendocino's surviving nineteenth-century water towers.
The story begins with the Sea Gull Restaurant and Cellar Bar, which occupied the southeast corner of Lansing and Ukiah streets and became one of Mendocino's best-remembered gathering places during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The original Sea Gull building burned in an early-morning fire on December 12, 1976. Owner David Jones decided to rebuild, and designer-builder David Clayton created the replacement building during 1977. The new Sea Gull reopened that summer. County records indicate that the water tower was part of that rebuilding period.
The rebuilt Sea Gull itself continued until the restaurant was sold in 1985. The restaurant eventually closed in the early 1990s, and the building was subsequently divided into smaller commercial spaces with residential use above.
The Building Today
The water tower found a second life of its own.
By the late 1980s it had been enclosed, allowing a structure originally designed as part of the Sea Gull property to become usable interior space. That change is an excellent example of how Mendocino's water-tower form has continued to be adapted long after actual water storage stopped being the point.
More recently, the tower became associated with the Water Gallery. Artist William de la Mare listed the Water Gallery at 44969 Ukiah Street, and arts listings described the gallery as occupying the water tower and displaying photography, sculpture and ceramics. A 2021 visitor account likewise described the Water Gallery at 44969 Ukiah Street as an art gallery inside a Mendocino water tower.
Today Slug Sister Vintage occupies the address and continues the tower's evolution from architectural feature to working commercial space. Its official website lists 44969 Ukiah Street as the shop's current location, while recent regional coverage specifically describes Slug Sister Vintage as being tucked inside a historic water tower.
Why It Matters
Although the building looks perfectly at home among Mendocino's older towers, the documented story is more recent and more unusual: built during the rebuilding of one of Mendocino's legendary restaurants in 1977, enclosed about ten years later, used as an art gallery, and now packed with vintage clothing.
That is a pretty good Mendocino second life.
Timeline
December 12, 1976 - Fire destroys the original Sea Gull Restaurant building.
1977 - The Sea Gull is rebuilt and the Sea Gull Water Tower is constructed alongside it.
circa 1987 - The tower is enclosed, creating usable interior space.
Early 1990s - The Sea Gull Restaurant closes and the building is divided into smaller commercial spaces.
2010s-2021 - The tower houses the Water Gallery.
Present - Slug Sister Vintage occupies the tower with vintage clothing and handmade candles.
Sources & Original Research: Mendocino County Updated Inventory of Historic Structures, March 1, 2026 - identifies 44969 Ukiah Street as the Sea Gull Water Tower, states it was built with the Sea Gull Building in 1977 and notes it was enclosed circa 1987; Slug Sister Vintage official website; Outdoor Writers Association of California / Magical Mendocino County coverage describing the shop as a family operation in a historic water tower; Think in the Morning, "The Sea Gull: A Short History of its Location in Space" and "Rebuild Part I: Fits and Starts"; Kelley House Museum history of the Lansing and Ukiah property; ArtsMendocino listing for William de la Mare's Water Gallery; Real Estate Magazine Mendocino art galleries listing; original post text, photograph and research compilation provided by Gee Bee.