Adolph Coronado, the eldest son
of Mariano and Louisa Coronado, was always an entrepreneur. He was an auto dealer and a boxing promoter. But later in life, when he “retired”, my
uncle became a land developer. The news
article that follows was published in the Napa Journal[1] in
1936 as he was beginning to develop residences in an area just north of the
Napa State Hospital, which was a prominent landmark that visitors passed as they
entered the City of Napa from the south.
Dolph, as we knew him, would
eventually build many houses on the large tract of land he owned. He named one street Coronado Avenue, which is
the street where he lived. I grew up across
the street from him in one of the houses on Coronado Avenue that Dolph built
for his mother, Louisa Coronado, her daughter and my mother, Cecelia Coronado
Phipps, and my father. We moved into the
house in 1948.
____________________________________________________
20 COTTAGES CONTEMPLATED FOR
TRACT OF A. B. CORONADO
Early Development of Acreage Seen;
Cost Said to Be $40,000
Plans for development of privately
owned acreage adjoining Napa State hospital into restricted residential districts were disclosed here yesterday.
The disclosure came with
announcement that Adolph B. Coronado, owner of a tract of 41 acres, has
under consideration extensive building plans which he proposes
to complete within the next two years.
Coronado’s plans, call for the
installation of two paved streets through his
tract during the coming spring season, these
improvements to be followed by the erection of four modern cottages each year until a total
of 20 homes occupy the area. The site fronts on
Imola lane, directly opposite the state institution.
STREET PLANS
At present there are four cottages on the Coronado tract besides the owner’s home. They are under rental to employees
of Napa State hospital and have been continuously
since completion.
TO COST $40,000
In
disclosing plans for the project yesterday, Coronado
asserted that over a period of five years the cost of improvements will
aggregate approximately $40,000.
The present tentative plans of Mr. Coronado call for the building a score
of detached bungalows.
A NECESSITY
“I feel that the establishment of a residential district in this locality will serve a useful purpose and bring me satisfactory returns,” said
Coronado yesterday. “There is a
plan under way, I understand, to provide for the general expansion of
the state hospital. That means that additional living quarters will have to be provided for from
three to four hundred employees and if those
accommodations can be provided at small cost and
convenient to the hospital, the homes will be occupied throughout the
year.”
Coronado took over the acreage several years ago and has gradually developed them with much success. The homes on the tract
at present are modern in every respect. Among the numerous
features is the water supply furnished
direct from a 220 foot well.
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| The Development Tract in 1940 |
AUTO PIONEER
Prior
to taking over his present holdings Coronado for
years was engaged in business at Vallejo. Until retirement several years ago he
was the second oldest automobile dealer in point of service,
having established the first Overland, Willys-Knight
agency at the navy yard city in 1910.
