The Monroe Orchards, named after Nancy and Peter’s Grandson Pearley Monroe still stand today, although in desperate need of preservation and protection. What remains of the orchards sits on approximately 2 of the 576 acres that make up the park. In their glory they covered 10 acres including the hillside. The Monroe Orchards grew apples peaches, and plums, but the trees no longer produce fruit, and each season trees are lost. There are apple tree varieties that are found in just a handful of orchards, one of them is, you guessed it, the Monroe Orchards in Coloma, California. But without a plan in place to protect them, all of what remains may be lost forever. 

In 2010, citizens emerged in full force to defend the 1940s red-and-blue Art Moderne tile façade of Fagiani’s bar at 813 Main Street in downtown Napa. They wore buttons that read “Free Fagiani’s” and gathered hundreds of signatures for a petition asking the city council to allow the tiles to remain. They succeeded. But nine years later, the building has reopened again as the AVOW restaurant, this time without the tiles—and without the controversy. A lot changed in the interim.

The Atascadero Printery, a 100 year old structure along California’s Central Coast, now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, stood vacant and vandalized when the Atascadero Printery Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, formed out of an online community discussion about the building and its historic role in the development of the City, and a vital purpose for its future.

It’s never easy saying goodbye – especially for a preservationist. But I’m glad to be leaving at a high point in CPF’s history, following the passage of the California Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (SB 451), as well as an incredibly successful conference in Palm Springs and awards program in San Francisco. I have no doubt that even better things are in store for CPF’s future.