Atascadero Printery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Atascadero Printery
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 Location in California
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| Location | 6351 Olmeda, Atascadero, California |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Architect | Walter Danforth Bliss |
| Architectural style | Italian Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 00001368 |
| Added to NRHP | January 2, 2004 |
The Atascadero Printery is a special old building in Atascadero, California. It was built in 1915. At first, it was a busy place where a printing company made magazines and newspapers. Over the years, this building has been used for many different things. It was a college, a school, a meeting place for the Masons, and even a sheriff's office. It also housed a photography studio, a karate studio, and other businesses. People also used it for community events.
By 2017, the building was in bad shape and needed a lot of repairs. It was sold at a public auction. A group called the Atascadero Printery Foundation bought it. This group is a non-profit, which means they don't make money for themselves. They plan to fix up the building and turn it into a community center for everyone to enjoy.
A Look Back: The Printery's Story
The person who started the city of Atascadero, Edward Gardner Lewis, was also a publisher. He built this large building in 1915. He wanted a place to print his many magazines and newspapers. The building was quite big, about 16,000 to 19,000 square feet!
In 1916, a huge number of copies of the Atascadero News were printed here. About 100,000 copies were made! Edward Lewis also published several magazines for women and a national daily newspaper. For a while, even the Sunday paper for the San Francisco Chronicle was printed in this building.
Some people say the Atascadero Printery had the first and biggest special printing press called a rotogravure press in the United States. Others say it was at least the first one in the western part of the country. During its busiest time, nearly one million copies of printed materials were made here. This made it one of the largest printing places in America.
The printing company closed down in the late 1920s. After that, two different prep schools used the building. In the 1950s, a group called the Masonic Temple Association bought it. Around 1994, the Masons gave most of the building to the City of Atascadero. They hoped it would become a youth center.
However, the city found it would be too expensive to fix up the old building to be safe from earthquakes. It was cheaper to build a new community center. Then, in 2003, a big earthquake, the 2003 San Simeon earthquake, caused a lot of damage to the Printery. This made it unsafe for people to use. By 2017, experts said it would cost about $9 million to fix it completely.
A New Chapter: The Foundation Steps In
In 2015, a non-profit group called the Atascadero Printery Foundation was started. Their goal was to save the building from falling apart. The building was owned by a local citizen at the time. This owner had plans to use the building for public events a few times a year. However, these plans were put on hold due to legal problems the owner faced. This also meant the city could not enter the building.
The building was set to be sold at a public auction in May 2016. It had a large debt and unpaid taxes. In 2017, the new non-profit foundation needed to raise money to buy the building. They had raised about $40,000 and started talking with the government to help with the debt.
Later in 2017, the Atascadero Printery was sold in an online public auction. The Atascadero Printery Foundation won the bid! They paid just over $300,000 for it. About $60,000 came from donations, and a secret helper gave them the rest as a loan.
The foundation has big plans for the building. They want to make it a "multipurpose, community facility." This means it will be used for many things, like:
- A community theater
- After-school arts programs for kids
- A club for senior citizens
- A museum
- And much more!
As of 2018, the foundation was still working hard to raise money. They needed about $8 million to finish all the repairs and changes. They have held many events to help reach this goal.
Historic Importance
The Atascadero Printery is considered a very important building. It was nominated for a special list in 2000. In 2004, it officially became part of the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is recognized as a historic site that should be protected.
