Bellflower Home and Garden Annex occupies nearly all of the Chichizola Store. The earliest part of the building was completed in 1877. Located on Water Street, everyone passed the store on their way to the original gold mining encampment up stream. A large addition to the building was completed sometime in the next ten years. With two foot thick foundation walls and full steel doors to protect from fire, this building is authentic, surviving the fires that used to sweep through town. First, housing a General Store in the Gold Rush town of Amador City, it was filled with so much merchandise that rafters were used for displaying the goods! The Chichizola Store remains the largest commercial building in the town.
Many years later, the Antonini Family purchased the building. They operated a general store and converted part of the original building into a feed store. The family also operated the Associated Gas Station that used to occupy the current outdoor display area for Bellflower.
Dan Schutz, Proprietor, finds merchandize that helps tell the unique story of Amador City and its early history. These wonderful objects are displayed in vintage cabinets.
In original Amador City homes, there are antique shelf brackets. Expensive and hard to find, Dan carries cast iron reproductions of the original designs. Also, cast iron switch plates with similar traditional designs are available for restoration projects.
Note pads that feature Amador City as THE CITY of the world are printed on 50% recycled paper with a 15% post consumer content.
If you have just sampled wines from the 150 year old vines in the Shenandoah Valley, a fine selection of grape and wine oriented objects is available. A fruited olive branch is a reminder of the exquisite local olive oil that you just purchased from Andrae’s Bread and Cheese Shop.
A long time ago, when truck brakes were not so good and Highway 49, along the route that the original 49ers took, was very narrow, Tony Antonini was just a lad. While he was managing the Gas Station for his Dad, he heard a loud horn. Tony knew that a truck had lost its brakes. Being smart, and standing right in front of gasoline tanks, he ran! A Southern California truck was coming down Highway 49, overloaded with watermelons. Missing the gas pumps, the truck plowed through the Station and up the hill. It stopped after destroying a burial chamber in the City Cemetery. This is true, Tony himself told me the story just a few years ago.
Fast forward to today! The Associated Gas Station is gone, brakes are reliable and you will enjoy the fabulous yard art in Bellflower Annex.
