Downtown McCloud is a short walk from the Hoohoo Park. Points of interest are described below. Map
1. Historic Dance Hall (The Opera House)
- Location: 104 Pine Street
- Description: From Hoohoo Park walk west on Colombero to Broadway. Turn south on Broadway to Pine Street. Built in 1906 as the McCloud Opera House, this landmark features a legendary 5,000-square-foot maple floor “sprung” for shock absorption. For decades, it served as the square-dancing capital of Northern California.
2. McCloud Mercantile Building
- Location: 241 Main Street
- Description: Walk west on Pine Street to Main Street to this massive 1895 brick landmark. Originally the multi-department “Company Store,” it supplied everything from dry goods to meat for the town’s residents. Today, it is beautifully restored into the McCloud Mercantile Hotel, boutique shops, and a cafe.
3. McCloud Heritage Junction Museum
- Location: 320 Main Street
- Description: Walk north on Main Street to the museum. The museum houses an extensive collection of logging artifacts, vintage photographs, and exhibits detailing the life of the McCloud River Lumber Company workers.
4. Company Town Residential Houses
- Location: Bounded by Lawndale Court and West Minnesota Avenue
- Description: Take a side trip by turning left (west) on Lawndale Court. Unlike typical chaotic boomtowns, the lumber company planned this neighborhood symmetrically. Look for the uniform, preserved wooden worker cottages built based on the employee’s rank in the mill.
5. McCloud Hotel
- Location: 408 Main Street
- Description: Continue up Main Street to this grand wood-frame building constructed in 1916. It was originally built by the lumber company to house single mill workers. It features a large, welcoming stone fireplace lobby and now operates as a restored historic boutique hotel.
Return to the park by continuing up Main Street and turning east on Colombero.
