956 Monterey Street is located on the northwest corner of Monterey and Morro Streets. It has been used as a commercial site since at least 1874.
In the 1870s, S. B. Call received the deed to property along both sides of Morro Street between Monterey and Palm.2 His widow, Nancy E. Call, subdivided the site in approximately 1895, to make this site Block 18, Lot 13.1
Between 1874 and 1886 a brick building was constructed on the site (date based on the 1874 and 1886 Sanborn maps), replacing an earlier wooden structure. In the 1886 Sanborn the building was listed as "General Store." In 1889, C.H. Reed & Co. Agricultural Implements moved in.6
By 1914 the building transitioned to a billiards/pool parlor, and remained a pool parlor until 1968. Newspapers include several names of the parlor through the years, including "Stag Pool Room" and "Stag Billiard Parlor."
In approximately 1968, the owner Andrew Renetzky (owner since about 1948) demolished the building, and for a time the site is used as a used car lot, until a new building was constructed in 1972-1973, which was first occupied by the Commercial Credit Corporation.3,4,5
A timeline of some of subsequent businesses that operated in the building:
- 1980-1989: Blenders Coffee and Cream
- 1991-1995: Chocolate Soup Restaurant
- 2000-2005: Bladerunner Spa
- 2008: Shadow Canyon Cellars (demolition planned?)
Citations
1. "Map of the subdivision of part of Block Nos 14 & 18 in the City of San Luis Obispo, Cal." H. Dittrich, Surveyor, October 9, 1895. Accessed from SLO City Public Works Department https://slocountypwd.org/MapFiles/RS/RS_001/RS_001_043_001.pdf 2023.
2. M. Colleen Hamilton, Kholood Abdo, and Keith Warren. "From Mission to Commercial District: Archaeological Excavations at CA-SLO-1419H." December 2017: https://www.appliedearthworks.com/publications-and-awards
3. "Stag heads for oblivion," Telegram-Tribune, February 7, 1968, pg. 13.
4. "Construction rushed for tenant," Telegram-Tribune, February 14, 1973, pg. 19.
5. "Consumer credit firm has office," Telegram-Tribune, February 28, 1973, pg. 15.
6. "C. H. Reed & Co., Successors to Reed, Smith, & Co.", Morning Tribune, October 29, 1889.
