AgdaPkt 2016-09-12 Closed and Joint SA PFA

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Alpha Reference: D Historic Name: Diller-Chamberlain Store Address: 726 Main Street Construction Date: 1859 Parcel#: 057-374-140 The Diller Store is a highly significant little structure, the sole remnant of Redwood City's earliest days as a lumber town. Its location suggests the importance Main Street had as Redwood City's main commercial thoroughfare, and its west side faced Redwood Creek, which was a waterway important for floating redwood logs to the San Francisco Bay. The building's scale and straightforward composition of classical forms offer great visual interest. So, too, do such details as the cast iron shutters of the rear facade. The Diller Store resembles simple, classical, false-fronted commercial buildings in the Mother Lode Country. From 1875 to 1911 the store served as the Wells Fargo Express Agency. The actual business was owned and operated by a series of individuals and companies. Not until November 1887 did P.P. Chamberlain purchase the building from the Diller estate. After 1882, Chamberlain as County Treasurer kept the County's funds in a 6,500 pound iron safe owned by the County in the rear of the store. Chamberlain added a sidewalk veranda to the store in June 1887. The store was little damaged by the 1906 earthquake. A portion of the south parapet snapped off, leaving the flat roof exposed. When the bricks were replaced the exterior was cleaned, and the trim was repainted. The store closed its mercantile business in 1916. During World War I the building served as a classroom for an aviation school. During the 1920's it was a garage. In the 1930's James and Gertrude Quong Lee converted the building into a laundry. The front facade was "modernized” with regular store windows in the front, and the entry was moved to the left. Only the arch and fanlight of the center front remained. The back facade has been less disturbed. In 1950 Gong Yuey purchased the property. In 1982 the property was purchased by Ken and Get Hom. The building suffered damage in the 1989 earthquake and was subsequently seismically retrofitted. The facade was restored to its original 1859 appearance. In 1859, J. V. Diller built this flat-roofed one-story building to house his general store. Its walls are of load-bearing brick, designed before modern, seismic, reinforcement methods. The brick walls were painted during the 20th Century, but have since been cleaned. Seismic activity has opened cracks between the bricks, some of which have been epoxied shut. The building has undergone numerous minor alterations to its doors and windows, making it difficult to determine what features are original. The front (east) facade is separated into Page 27 7.B. - Page 38