Page 2 · The alternative place
The Alternative Place
San Gregorio, California
Between redwood forest and 250-foot sea cliffs, an old general store remains a casual surprise—and a California cultural landmark.
The distinctive California thought lives in San Gregorio. Its central point is an original general store with Douglas Fir floor. Ranching and gardening proceed in a simplified manner reminiscent of Spanish colonial time through fields that jump the north-south highway and touch the sea.
As the decades pass, the redwood bar and ancient floor host waves of America’s most influential thought. Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti visited the 1889 store. Balladeer Neil Young drops down from his ridgetop ranch.
Redwood forest to the east, 250-foot sea cliffs westward—a landscape of presence.
The place is a casual surprise but a fitting cultural reference point, with redwood forest to the east and 250-foot sea cliffs westward in a landscape of presence.
In such a place defined by respect and strong opinion, even the salmon in the sea find recognition. One of the state’s longest-running environmental initiatives protects their spawning lagoon beneath the tall cliffs.
California: Walking Through Change occupies a vintage shelf behind the bar.