Roseville with Karen...

Karen had an errand to run in Roseville and since my calendar had been cleared, due to smoke, I tagged along. This was a new city for me to explore so I was excited. Road trip!

Before Roseville became Downtown Roseville, it was home to the Maidu Indians and plenty of oak groves. However, when the gold rush drew people to California, early settlers raised livestock and established ranches because of the land, which was excellent for grazing.

To begin our history lesson, we went to the Carnegie Museum, housed in Roseville's first permanent library. The building was constructed in 1912. with brick and terra cotta from Gladding McBean in nearby Lincoln and granite from Rocklin. Roseville labor built the structure on the land donated by Roseville businessman A. B. McRae. The original cost of the building was $12,500. This library, like many others built during the early part of the century, was funded in part by Andrew Carnegie. The Women’s Improvement Club helped to raise the remainder of the funds and their efforts were matched by funds from the City of Roseville.

In the museum, we learned more about the history and also the people of Roseville. During the 1870s and the 1880s, Roseville seemed to remain at a standstill, but that changed in the 1890s when the orchards in the area started to send fruit out of Roseville by rail.

When the Southern Pacific Railroad decided to move the switching yards from Rocklin to Roseville the town saw its first real growth spurt.

More growth came to Roseville when Pacific Fruit Express made the decision to keep all of its refrigerator plants, in order to ice the fruit cars, here. What really began as a stagecoach town is now the largest city in Placer County and one I was excited to explore.

The current highlighted exhibit was all about the Belvedere Hotel, a fixture in the community since 1917. This recently demolished building served as an apartment building, hotel, and private family home.

The exhibit showcases the features of the Historic Building, the wonderful people behind the door, and the local history housed within.

"Four families have owned the building and experienced the unique lifestyle that living in a bustling business provides. The registry of guests, now housed in perpetuity at the Roseville Historical Society, shows a cross section of those people visiting the town, each guest with a unique story to be shared, often helping to build Roseville as many worked with the Railroads, helping to put us on the map in 1906. The guests each must have enjoyed the one hotel in Roseville boasting hot water in every room!"

The last family to own the hotel was actually a woman- Pearl Manring. In the 1940s, looking for a job of her own, she purchased the Belvedere. Mrs. Manring continued to live on the premises until her passing away at the age of 78 in 1989. Daughter, Dee (Dolores), who returned to Roseville after the death of her father, lived in one of the last remaining "Homes away from home" before the building's demise.

Dolores was a star in her own right. A Cal grad, she was a pretty famous opera singer and she held on to everything from her Hotel home. The collection wouldn't be without her.

I not only love this dress but I love the image (to the right) of Dolores wearing it. There was so much about this interesting woman housed here (love letters, wardrobe, photos and even recorded songs).

A brief stroll introduced us to some of the more interesting buildings in town.

In the early days of the 20th century, if a town did not have an Opera House it was not considered a proper town. In keeping with that sentiment, Alexander Bell McRae (the man who donated the land for the Carnegie Library) decided to move his house three blocks from where it stood, at the corner of Lincoln and Main Streets, to build a first-class building in the center of town that would be deemed Roseville’s Opera House. The building was completed in 1908, and many events have taken place in the upstairs portion of the building, including live theatre, a roller-skating rink, semi pro boxing matches, and even the local newspaper operated out of the upstairs, but there has never been an opera. The downstairs housed Mr. McRae’s real estate office, and later many businesses. The McRae building still stands as a grand reminder of Roseville’s past.

This was Roseville’s first fire station. It was constructed in 1927 to replace a hose cart house.

The Tower Theater originally opened November 7, 1940 with Lucille Ball in Too Many Girls and a seating capacity of 1,100. The Tower Theater was remodeled and reopened on July 1, 1955 with James Stewart in Strategic Air Command. It was closed in 1983. The Magic Circle Theatre operates the Tower Theater and the nearby Roseville Theatre. The group has renovated the exterior and lobby of the Tower Theater. Since 2002, the restored theater has been a venue for performing arts with classic movies being screened occasionally.