Walking Tour
Learn about our historic setting by following along below while you stroll, or view our walking tour brochure (PDF).
Hatt Building Established in 1884
Napa River Inn Lobby, Amelia’s Gift Shop, Celadon and Historic Deluxe Rooms
The first floor was used for offices and mercantile retail of items transported by riverboat. The bricks were made from Napa River clay and fired on-site. When finished, the Hatt Building included a second story. Within the area on the second floor was a skating rink. A year later, in 1885, the Captain improved the rink with a new floor of tongue-and groove White Rock maple planking shipped from Cadillac, Michigan by Vernon Gerrish August 29, 1885 via Chicago. Additional improvements to the rink included another 50 pairs of new nickel-plated clamp skates to the 165 pairs already available at the rink. The Hatt skating rink was the scene of frequent social events enjoyed by Napans. The roller rink was in use until 1930.
Originally used as the business office for the Hatt Building and the Napa Milling Company, the Parlor of the lobby is now Amelia’s gift shop.
Hatt Building 1886
Sweetie Pies and Captain Hatt Suite and the Hatt Hall
Requiring more space to expand his warehouse operations, Captain Hatt added this two-story building in 1886, to accommodate the increased demand for storage for wine and spirits. The brick facing was made from the San Quentin brickyard. The first floor was built as a US Government bonded warehouse for the storage of wine and spirits. The second floor of this building contains Hatt Hall which included a large meeting room, library, anteroom and dining room where numerous civic and government agencies held meetings and events.
Under the Napa Milling Company’s operations after 1912 the first floor was used to mix feeds and to bag grains milled in the second floor Hatt Hall and dropped by gravity into the six bagging machines located on the first floor. Napa Milling used the Hatt Hall for the location of the Millstone and sifting operations. The Napa Mill developed feed and mash for the Seventh-Day Adventists because they couldn’t use any meat products in the blends. Once satisfied with the processed feed, Robert E. documented that formula in a book. This volume was the Napa Mill bible and had to be followed to the letter.
The meeting room was named Hatt Hall. Previously it was a society hall and meeting place for secret societies. Numerous organizations used the hall including the Unity Lodge, No. 3, Royal Argosy. On January 4, 1889, the women’s society installed its new officers during a ceremony in the Hatt Hall. When completed, the hall was finished with redwood wainscot and molding, thick carpeting and fine furnishings. Around 1905, the wainscoting was replaced with a pressed-tin wall covering. The state-of-the-art ventilation and heating system of the 1886 building was located in the basement. This system promised even and constant comfort. The final cost for the 1886 addition was $12,000.
Today, the second floor accommodates the Captain Hatt Suite which was originally the library and anteroom for the Hatt Hall. The suite retains the original clay brick wall windows and exact replicas of the moldings and trims from the Hatt Hall. The Hatt Hall has been restored to elegance with the repair of the wainscoting and tin wall covering and ceiling soffits, all hand painted in gold. The Hatt Hall also retains the original clay brick wall which Captain Hatt dredged from the Napa River and fired the clay bricks in the lot in front of the Hatt Building, and the original iron shutters and windows have been maintained.
Today, the first floor is Sweetie Pies Bakery where the last of the bagging machines remains in place.
Silo Building 1932
Vintage Sweet Shoppe, The Fink Neighborhood Bar
Napa Milling Company demolished earlier buildings to construct this building in 1932 which was to later include the 84’ tall silos constructed in 1944 and the hoppers placed in service in 1965. The Silo Building was home to the egg candling operation. The Keig egg candling business closed not long after the end of World War II. Most of the local poultry farms closed up around 1946.
In the earlier days, prior to 1940, all the feed ingredients were in sacks and had to be mixed by hand. Installed by J.H. Vienop, a local contractor-builder, the silos had four separate chambers to store different grains. This system added greater convenience by having bulk quantities of grains available for mixing feed. “You would dump the ingredients into the pit then the contents were drawn up into the 1 to 1-1/2 ton mixer. The finished feed would be emptied into sacks. Before the sewing machines, two men worked the filling.
The big doors allowed parking inside for the Napa Milling trucks and equipment and accommodated a drive-through passage from Main Street through the warehouse to exit on 5th Street through the metal doors in the original 5th Street brick wall.
Hay Barn 1959
Offices
The Hay Barn was constructed in 1959 after an earlier hay barn building burned in the 1958 inferno. The building was rebuilt to allow a sunken drive through access for hay trucks through the Main Street opening. The building is constructed of a myriad of building products on concrete pilings overhanging the Napa River. It was, of course, re-constructed with the most up-to-date fire sprinkler system.
Hatt Building 1893
Angèle
This small building was constructed by Captain Hatt in 1893 with an accompanying wharf. This building may have been the first building in Napa constructed of poured-in-place concrete reinforced with twisted square rebar. A rolling door in the southeast corner provided access to the wharf for loading operations. Napa Milling used the building for storage of agricultural chemicals and other products.
Former Banner Warehouse Site 1862
Embarcadero Building - Napa River Inn
This was the former site of Napa’s original Embarcadero and home of two warehouses built in 1862 which were later acquired by Charles Carpy for wine storage. Behind the Embarcadero building Hatt constructed a wharf on the Napa River in 1897 that included a derrick facilitating the loading and unloading of steamships that Hatt used for receiving and shipping his goods up and down the Napa River. Hatt also used the wharf to moor his personal schooner and small fleet of steamships used for shipping. As the shipping industry waned and the Napa Valley went from farming to grape growing, the wharf fell into disrepair and was removed.
Today the Embarcadero Building is part of the Napa River Inn with 26 guest rooms that feature a yacht cabin theme of cherry wood, porthole mirror, wainscoting and coffered paneling.
1091 5th Street 1949
The Spa at Napa River Inn
This small building was constructed as the City of Napa’s Police Station in 1949 on the site of Napa’s first coal-gasification plant built in 1869 which provided coal-gas for lights in the Hatt buildings, the Opera House and downtown Napa until it was demolished in 1891. Subsequent to use by the City of Napa, the building was home to Hyde and Hyde Engineer and later as offices for attorneys and the Napa Economic Development Corporation. It was extensively damaged by the 1986 flood.
The Plaza Building and Riverbend Plaza
Plaza Building Napa River Inn
The Riverbend Plaza and the 32-room Plaza Hotel building occupy space formerly contained in the interior of the three warehouse buildings constructed for Captain A. Hatt in the 1890’s and later modified and enlarged by the Napa Milling Company in the 1930’s when steel-truss roof systems were installed to replace the wooden roofs.
The Plaza, the outside patio overlooking the Napa River, provides guests an area to dine, relax and enjoy cultural shows and events hosted by the Napa Mill. Incorporated into the Plaza’s foundation is a large mosaic of the Napa River and caricatures of the Napa River wildlife and steamship vessels that traveled the river. A cascading waterfall from one of the Napa Mill’s original silos provides panoramic mosaics of the Napa River flora and fauna, and the history of the peoples occupying the banks.
Lieutenant William W Murphy
On April 8, 1944 while flying a routine combat training mission over Napa, Army Air Forces Lt. Murphy’s aircraft went out of control at 5,000 feet and plunged into the Napa River, not far from this site.
Lt. Murphy, a veteran combat pilot during World War II, was instructing three other pilots on combat maneuvers over Napa when his plane suddenly went out of control and into a dive. Lt. Murphy’s aircraft appeared headed directly for the busy downtown Napa business district. Lt. Murphy stayed with his aircraft, miraculously guiding it to the Napa River where it crashed costing Lt. Murphy his life. Lt. Murphy’s sacrifice saved lives of the people in Downtown Napa and workers returning from local war plants crossing the Third Street Bridge at the time of the crash.
Shortly after the crash, the Napa city council and Mayor Charles F. Moffitt honored Lt. Murphy for his heroic actions and self-sacrifice.
In memory of Lt. Murphy’s actions and self-sacrifice, the City of Napa and its citizens dedicate this plaque.
The Napa River: A Napa Valley Legend
Long considered nature’s thoroughfare for pioneer settlement and development, the Napa River has played a major role in the growth and prosperity of Napa County. From its headwaters near Mt. St. Helena to its southern mouth merging with San Francisco Bay, the River has contributed significantly to the welfare of all along its banks.
Early riverbank residents include Native Americans and pioneer settlers who took advantage of the River’s abundant supply of fish, fowl and game for daily sustenance. Later riverboat steamers and ferries navigated up and down the River offering reliable transportation and shipping. Passengers used these vessels for traveling from the San Francisco Bay area to Napa Valley resorts and connections to stage and rail services. Regional commerce relied on water transport to ship lumber, agricultural goods, livestock and textiles. Numerous wharves were constructed along the river providing docking for waterway commerce.
Although the role of the Napa River in Napa Valley life is not as obvious today, the beauty and the legacy of its waters are integral to the charming ambiance of the Napa Mill. A flood control project was first envisioned by Captain A. Hatt in the 1880’s, the first builder on this site.
Shepp Mosaic Fountain
Ars Longa Vita Brevis (Life Is Brief but Art Endures)
Alan Shepp’s mosaic reflects the Napa Valley’s role in the epic of the American West. The work of art seeks to capture the essence of the Napa Valley story, its glories and its tragedies.
The mosaic captures “The Glories” of theValley’s development, from the days of the Nappa Indians through the Spanish conquest, and on to the eras of Mexican and American domination. The development of agriculture featured at different times, cattle, wheat, prunes, grapes and wines, brought to market by horse, train and boat. The Hispanic, American and Chinese communities all played vital roles in this development. These glories survive in our institutions, laws, culture and historic buildings.
The “Tragedies” include the elimination of the Nappa tribe of Wintum Indians by smallpox and harassment. Actions of some residents led to the burning of Napa’s Chinatown and support of Klu Klux Klan measures directed against African-American, Chinese and Jewish people. These tragedies lie forgotten in dusty books.
By bringing the past to life Alan Shepp has helped to create a more hopeful future.
The Living River
The mosaics beneath the waterfall reflect the flora and fauna living in the Napa River. The several varieties of fish and fowl survive within the environs of sunken boats, wagon wheels and other vestiges of land based civilization.
The Riparian Habitat
The mosaics located on the Riverbend Plaza reflect the map of the downtown reach of the Napa River and native animals inhabiting its banks.