The Pythian Castle is a building in
Arcata
Arcata (; Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first ...
, northwestern
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, that was built during 1884-85 for the North Star chapter of the
Knights of Pythias fraternal order. It is notable for its commercial
Queen Anne style architecture which features five projecting towers: two square towers projecting from the center of the two street-fronting sides of the building, and three round towers projecting from the street-side corners. Patterned shingles covered the tower roofs in the past. The corner ones have "witch hat"-shaped tops and used to sport tall
finials
A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the apex of a dome, spire, towe ...
. The side ones once had
cresting.
[
It was 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 ...
in 1986.[ Although many of its details have changed, the building was deemed significant as the "only remaining Victorian commercial building n Arcatathat has not lost its architectural and historic character."][ with ]
See also
* List of Knights of Pythias buildings
This is a list of notable buildings of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization. Many of these are named, primarily or as an alternative, "Pythian Castles", and are built to resemble medieval castles, consistent with the theme of the Py ...
* Odd Fellows Hall (Eureka, California) — ''another historic lodge in Humboldt County''.
*
References
Arcata, California
Knights of Pythias buildings
Buildings and structures in Arcata, California
Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Cultural infrastructure completed in 1885
Queen Anne architecture in California
National Register of Historic Places in Humboldt County, California
1885 establishments in California
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