The Historical Building

On the location of Gold Country Artists Gallery in 1851 stood the wooden building of Mr. Bloom's Clothing Store, becoming Hunter's Express Office the following year (1852).

In 1855 the frame building was replaced when Hass and Co. built a brick store, now the west half of the Gallery. This was a timely endeavor, for in 1856 most of Placerville was leveled by fires, which was a common occurrence in mining towns. Only the brick buildings remained standing.

In 1859 Mr. Hass sold the use of his building’s east wall to Bamberger and Silberman who also built a brick store. This later became the east half of the present building. Their opening was advertised in the Mountain Democrat as “New Fireproof Store!...Clothing, Boots, Shoes, Hats…Highest Price Paid for Gold Dust”. Fireproof structures were built of brick, metal roof (often insulated with a layer of sand), and iron doors, which became a standard of Main Street buildings.

In 1873, L. Landecker was the owner of the east building and advertised “Miner’s Supplies, Provisions and Hardware”. He sold the building to M. Simon who had purchased the west building for dry goods in 1861. While under his ownership, the common wall was removed and a second story with a balcony was added. The remaining bricks of the original center wall can still be seen by the back stairway. Used bricks, some of which were scorched, came from various sources to build the second level.

In 1910, Albert Simon, son of M. Simon, became the proprietor of the store, which was named the New White House. An advertisement appeared in the newspaper for “Dress Ginghams, Muslin Underwear, Flannelette Gowns, and Laces.” Later, the building became known as The Quality Shop, which sold dry goods for over 60 years. Around 1950, Baglin’s, who continued the well-known name Quality Shop, ran the store. The Robinson’s purchased the building.

In the 1970’s, the store became D & E Western and by 1990 was Hangtown Tee’s. The present owner purchased the structure in 1995 and did extensive restoration while preserving its character down to reusing the original square nails. In 1996, Gold Country Artists Gallery moved into the building and now continues the heritage of this beautiful, historical building.