Known informally as the Octagon Building, the
redbrick octagonal building at 118 Cooper Street (at the corner of Front Street) in
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...
was built in 1882, adjacent to the first (1866) County Court House, to serve as the County Hall of Records. In 1894, a major fire destroyed most of the nearby buildings, including the adjacent courthouse, but the brick Octagon survived.
In 1968, the records were moved to a new County Government Center. Many historic brick buildings on the
Pacific Garden Mall
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a popu ...
were damaged during the
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...
, but again the Octagon survived. On March 24, 1971, it was added to 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 ...
.
Since 1993, the Octagon has been used as the Museum Store for the adjacent
Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History
The Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History (MAH) is a nonprofit educational institution and museum founded in 1996 and located in Santa Cruz, California, at the downtown McPherson Center. Its mission is to ignite shared experiences and unexpected c ...
(MAH), and later as a coffeehouse. Vacant as of October 2016, the building is administered by the MAH.
Santa Cruz California Old Town Center 1890s.jpg, Downtown Santa Cruz, ca. 1890, Octagon Building at left rear
USA-Santa Cruz-Octagon Building-2.jpg,
See also
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Octagon house
Octagon houses were a unique house style briefly popular in the 1850s in the United States and Canada. They are characterised by an octagonal (eight-sided) Floor plan, plan, and often feature a flat roof and a veranda all round. Their unusual s ...
References
External links
Institutions in Santa Cruz County – 1850–1950The History of the Santa Cruz Courthouse by Margaret Souza
{{Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
History of Santa Cruz County, California
Octagonal buildings in the United States
Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz County, California
Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Government buildings completed in 1882
National Register of Historic Places in Santa Cruz County, California