The Clarke Historical Museum (formerly the Clarke Memorial Museum) in

Eureka, California Eureka (Wiyot: ''Jaroujiji'', Hupa: ''do'-wi-lotl-ding'', Karuk: ''uuth'') is the principal city and county seat of Humboldt County in the Redwood Empire region of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt ...

contains the area's premier collection of California North Coast regional and cultural history. The facility houses a Native American wing, Nealis Hall, which features an internationally recognized collection of basketry, regalia, stoneware, implements, and other objects indicative of the culture and creativity of local and regional Native American groups including the

Wiyot The Wiyot ( Wiyot: Wíyot, Chetco-Tolowa: Wee-’at xee-she or Wee-yan’ Xee-she’, Euchre Creek Tututni: Wii-yat-dv-ne - "Mad River People“, Yurok: Weyet) are an indigenous people of California living near Humboldt Bay, California and a s ...

(on whose ancestral territory the Clarke resides),

Yurok The Yurok (Karuk language: Yurúkvaarar / Yuru Kyara - "downriver Indian; i.e. Yurok Indian") are an Indigenous people from along the Klamath River and Pacific coast, whose homelands are located in present-day California stretching from Trinidad ...

Karuk The Karuk people are an indigenous people of California, and the Karuk Tribe is one of the largest tribes in California. Karuks are also enrolled in two other federally recognized tribes, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Ran ...

and

Hupa Hupa (Yurok language term: Huep'oola' / Huep'oolaa = "Hupa people") are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group in northwestern California. Their endonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinook-wa, meaning "Peopl ...

Tribes. The Eureka Visitors Center is located in the main hall of the museum. The Clarke Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

History

The Clarke Historical Museum was founded by Cecile Clarke (18851979). Miss Clarke was a local history teacher at Eureka High School. It was at there that she first started displaying her collection of local Native American basketry. In 1960, when the school ran out of room for her increasing collection of local history items, Miss Clarke sold her family sheep ranch and used the money to buy the Bank of Eureka building, where she moved her collection. Miss Clarke taught for over 40 years and dedicated her life to the museum. Originally named the Clarke Memorial Museum, after her parents, it was renamed the Clarke Historical Museum in 2001, and is now a privately operated non-profit organization for the use, benefit, and awareness of the City of Eureka, surrounding cities and the local Native American tribes. The Native American wing, Nealis Hall, was built in 1979. The museum is housed in the former The Bank of Eureka & The Savings Bank of Humboldt Building (1911) in

Old Town Eureka Old Town Eureka (formally the Eureka Old Town Historic District) in Eureka, California, is a historic district listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. I t is an area containing 154 buildings mostly from the Victorian e ...

, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

both as an individual landmark and as a contributing building to the Eureka Historic District. The bank building was designed by noted San Francisco architect

Albert Pissis Albert Pissis (1852–1914) was a prolific Mexican-American architect in San Francisco who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France and is credited with introducing the Beaux-Arts architectural style to San Francisco, California, des ...

in a

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

or Neoclassical style.National Park Service, "Bank of Eureka Building," National Register of Historic Places. Humboldt County, Eureka, 1982. reference numbe
82002180
The building is notable for its

glazed architectural terra-cotta Glazed architectural terra cotta is a ceramic masonry building material used as a decorative skin. It was popular in the United States from the late 19th century until the 1930s, and is still one of the most common building materials found in U ...

facade. Quoined

pavilions In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

flank the recessed

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

supported by

ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

and an extensive

balustraded A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

appears above the

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

References

External links

Clarke Historical Museum
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures in Eureka, California Commercial buildings completed in 1911 History museums in California Museums in Humboldt County, California Tourist attractions in Eureka, California 1911 establishments in California National Register of Historic Places in Humboldt County, California {{California-NRHP-stub

History

See also

References

External links