Martinez Museum

08/31/2026

Today the ground floor of this building is home to The Barber Pole, Broken Halo (piercings), Devine Records (vintage music memorabilia) and Teamsters Local 856. But in 1854, when the Gold Rush was still underway, the Hook Building was a general store that sold mining supplies, hardware and tools to prospectors. This was in addition to selling lumber and every day essentials to local farmers and Martinez residents.

The builder of the store, William Hook, arrived in California in 1850 to sell mining equipment and construction machinery. He soon realized that Martinez, which served as a primary ferry crossing and deep-water shipping port on the Carquinez Strait during the Gold Rush, was an ideal location for a new store that could function as a key outfitter for both local homesteaders and travelers en route to the Sierra Nevada mines. So in 1854, he constructed the building.

The original building burned down as a result of the 1925 Fire in Martinez. The building that we see today was constructed in 1926 (and dedicated in 1927). It was wisely built of brick, not wood.

Over the years, the current building housed many businesses. Here are a few notable ones:

• The James Hotel and Coffee Shop (proprietor James Bulger), which operated upstairs until closing in 1979.
• Along the Ferry Street side, the building hosted a cigar factory where the Hoffman family manufactured the locally famous Blue Bird Ci**rs.

If you know of other businesses that deserve mention, feel free to mention them in the comments section below the building photo.

08/26/2026

Art in the Park was 10 days ago. If you missed this once-a-year event, here is the Martinez Historical Society booth. In the first picture, Kathy O'Connell and Kelly Webster (right) operated the booth. Customers included both Council Member Debbie McKillop and Stan Toumazos (second picture).

08/24/2026

Yesterday afternoon (Sunday) the community was treated to a talk by KTVU's Joe Fonzi at the Veteran's Memorial Building on the history of baseball in Martinez. Joe also talked about both the major league and minor leagure baseball players throughout America who came from Martinez or were connected to Martinez in various ways. In addition, there was a brief discussion of women's baseball -- both during World War II and currently. The Martinez Museum also moved their baseball exhibit to the Memorial Building for the event.

08/21/2026

Don't miss this special presentation at the Veterans Memorial Building on Sunday at 1 pm about the History of Baseball in Martinez. Everyone is welcome. This talk is sponsored by the Martinez Historical Society -- and there is no cover charge.

08/10/2026

This picturesque building stood on the SE corner of Main Street & Las Juntas in Martinez where the Wells Fargo Bank building is now located at 902 Main Street. It was often described as an example of Beaux-Arts architecture, an opulent style defined as symmetrical, grand and clad with heavy ornamentation. It was a style deemed suitable for a respectable banking institution.

Notice in this 1904 photo that Main Street had not yet been paved. The dirt road surface was easier on horse hooves and provided a smoother ride for carts with iron rimmed wheels. But by 1918, with early automobiles and trucks replacing horse-drawn conveyances, Main Street was paved for the first time. There are photos of this paving project at the Martinez Museum.

The early 20th Century was a period in California in which smaller, independent banks were consolidated into larger regional institutions. That is what happened to this bank. In 1922, a controlling interest was sold to the American Bank of Oakland. Then in 1926, this bank merged into the American Trust Company. It was this company that continued operating the Bank in Martinez for the next 34 years. Then in 1960 the by-now much larger American Trust Company merged with Wells Fargo to form the Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Company. That name proved to be a bit too long and was shortened back to Wells Fargo Bank in 1962.

By 1967, the original building pictured above had reached the end of its useful life. Rather than restore the beautiful structure, Wells Fargo elected to tear it down. They completed construction of the replacement building in 1968. That is the same building which exists on the site today.

With the rise of online banking and automated teller machines, Wells Fargo elected to close the Martinez building as a branch bank in 2023. However, an active ATM machine is still located on the exterior of the building that can be accessed from the sidewalk. Wells Fargo also put the building up for sale. It is unknown to the Historical Society whether a buyer has yet purchased the building. But one day in the future, it will have a new occupant and a new use.

08/09/2026

Kathy O'Connell (far right) is an active volunteer at the Martinez Museum. Here she is speaking with visitors Phoebe Lin and Brandon Honore. They live in Walnut Creek, but were married a year ago in Martinez. They took pictures of themselves in front of the Museum on their wedding day, and came back on Thursday to see the building's interior and to receive a guided tour of the exhibits on display.

08/07/2026

This picturesque building stood on the SE corner of Main Street & Las Juntas in Martinez where the Wells Fargo Bank building is now located at 902 Main Street. It was often described as an example of Beaux-Arts architecture, an opulent style defined as symmetrical, grand and clad with heavy ornamentation. It was a style deemed suitable for a respectable banking institution.

Notice in this 1904 photo that Main Street had not yet been paved. The dirt road surface was easier on horse hooves and provided a smoother ride for carts with iron rimmed wheels. But by 1918, with early automobiles and trucks replacing horse-drawn conveyances, Main Street was paved for the first time. There are photos of this paving project at the Martinez Museum.

The early 20th Century was a period in California in which smaller, independent banks were consolidated into larger regional institutions. That is what happened to this bank. In 1922, a controlling interest was sold to the American Bank of Oakland. Then in 1926, this bank merged into the American Trust Company. It was this company that continued operating the Bank in Martinez for the next 34 years. Then in 1960 the by-now much larger American Trust Company merged with Wells Fargo to form the Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Company. That name proved to be a bit too long and was shortened back to Wells Fargo Bank in 1962.

By 1967, the original building pictured above had reached the end of its useful life. Rather than restore the beautiful structure, Wells Fargo elected to tear it down. They completed construction of the replacement building in 1968. That is the same building which exists on the site today.

With the rise of online banking and automated teller machines, Wells Fargo elected to close the Martinez building as a branch bank in 2023. However, an active ATM machine is still located on the exterior of the building that can be accessed from the sidewalk. Wells Fargo also put the building up for sale. It is unknown to the Historical Society whether a buyer has yet purchased the building. But one day in the future, it will have a new occupant and a new use.

www.MartinezHistory.org/

plus more sites:

www.MartinezHomeTour.com/
www.MartinezOralHistory.org/

08/03/2026

Museum Director Vivian Rittenhouse (right) speaks with a visitor (Liz) on Saturday. Liz is from Penn Valley. She and her family took the train from Sacramento to Martinez on Saturday for a summer day trip. Behind Liz is the Joe DiMaggio exhibit on the left and the Martini exhibit on the right. She and her family had not previously known that Martinez was the birthplace of the Martini.

07/10/2026

Rose Christiansen stands in the Waterfront Room at the Martinez Museum in this photo with two visitors. Rose sits on the Martinez Historical Society Board of Directors and is, among other things, a grant writer. The Museum visitors are Carmen and Oscar Medina from South San Jose.

07/03/2026

Today this building houses the U.S. Bank branch in Martinez. But it was constructed in 1924 to house the newly-chartered Bank of Martinez. That Bank was formed the same year by local businessmen, farmers and civic leaders specifically to serve the citizens of Martinez. To project wealth, permanence and stability, the Bank’s new building featured classical architecture, high ceilings, robust interior columns, and a secure vault -- the hallmarks of early 20th-century American finance architecture. Fortunately, those features have been preserved and remain in place today.

In 1927, the new bank was sold to the Bank of Italy, the first successful state-wide banking institution in the United States. In 1933, the Bank of Italy rebranded itself and adopted a new name: the Bank of America. After World War II, Martinez underwent a rapid increase in population and a commercial boom. The 1924 building then proved too small to handle B of A’s expanded business, so they moved into more spacious quarters at 600 Main Street. B of A continues to serve Martinez today, but from their current location south of Highway 4 – not downtown.

After 1951, the building housed a number of commercial businesses. But on July 4, 1993, the Martinez Historical Society placed Historical Marker No. VIII on the building to commemorating its role as a bank. Then in the late 1990s, the building was acquired by Bay View Bank, a San Mateo based business. This returned the building to what it was designed to be: a banking institution.

After a less-than-successful diversification strategy, Bay View Bank sold its 57 branches to U.S. Bank. On November 1, 2002 – over a single weekend, the Bay View Bank had its systems swapped out, its signs changed, and reopened the following Monday morning as the U.S. Bank, which is how it remains today.