Haystack Landing

As the story goes, one of the "most Haunted Places in the World" is located at the southern tip of Petaluma California. It's called Haystack Landing.

Our story begins in 1852,when a settler named Freeman Parker -- who had come to California in search of gold -- claimed 160 acres near the Petaluma River, including territory that would later become Haystack Landing. He built a house and ran a dairy. Meanwhile, Charles Minturn launched steam-boat service on the river. Another man, named Rudesill, built a dock at Haystack Landing where passengers could get on and off and where cargo could be loaded onto lighter boats before it was taken further up the narrowing river.

It was during this time that a second house was built quite close to the river, where Rudesill and Minturn were reported to have lived. That large, two-story white house was sold to David Walls in the 1800s. The Walls family owned the house until the 1940s, after which the property changed hands several times. Renters continued to live in the house until the 1970s, when it fell into greater and greater disrepair and became a haven for squatters.

There are some who say that the local Miwok Indians considered the land taboo and evil. There were whispers  of a Spanish missionary who committed suicide after attempting to bless the area. There are also claims of early settlers going crazy and killing several farmers on the site, and that Rudesill (whom they call Rudisville) vanished under mysterious circumstances shortly after building the dock.

There have been films made about Haystack Landing. In one filmmakers' detailed history, which is included on the film's Web site, there are claims that the site is plagued by bizarre phenomena and negative spiritual activity. There's the story of the first train to connect with the Haystack Landing dock exploding, killing 30 people. (This incident is also mentioned in a 2003 news article that claims the accident took place in 1866, after which the cargo cars were pulled by mules.) Other tales include a mysterious fire that killed dozens of dock loaders; children being crushed between a barge and the dock; an ill-fated bull-fighting ring; a ferry accident that killed David Walls and his family; and transients committing mass suicide. (If you dig deep enough you can probably find dogs dancing with cats, too.)

In the early 2000's, a developer came forward with plans to turn a portion of the site into the Haystack Marketplace, a project with 100 residential units and 30,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. That plan was scheduled to begin construction in 2004, but as of 2007 Haystack Landing remained a barge dock for shipping.

Currently, the property is owned by the Dutra Asphalt Company, a subsidiary of the Dutra Group, a family-run operation that mines rock and gravel in Petaluma, San Rafael, and Richmond. Dutra intended re-establishing its asphalt batch plant operation on the land. The historic house was to be transplanted to make way for the plant in 2004. That plan failed when a "mysterious" fire destroyed the structure.

With only the foundation left looks like the locals might be spending a bit more time at the Phoenix... stay Tooned...

Thank you to Sacred Sonoma for the info...it appears the site's moniker comes not from historical events but from a group of filmmakers who, in the late 1990s, set out to create a Blair Witch Project-style film called "Incident at Haystack Landing."

Gone But Not Forgotten...

‘‘I'm 55 years old, and there's no way I'm gonna sit here and tell you I believe in ghosts,” says Phoenix Theater manager Tom Gaffey, as he leans back in a wicker couch in the lobby, propping his feet on a table, then goes on to tell over a dozen stories about ghosts that have haunted the former opera house-turned-movie-theater-turned-sweat-box concert hall over the past four decades.

Weather you believe in ghosts or not it is sometimes hard to dismiss the things that go bump in the night like...

There was the night he slept in the theater as a teenager and heard footsteps “from someone really big walking across the stage.” 

Or the night he was managing the movie theater in the early '80s. He was all alone in the building when he got a phone call from the projection room, long after he had sent the projectionist home.

“So I pick up, and there's nothing — just this hot static. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.”

Bounding up the creaky staircase to the projection room, he yanked open the door “and there was no one there.”

It was the first of several calls over the years coming from the ghost projectionist.

         The Hill Opera House, March 30,1908

 

Here are few of the spirit regulars who call the Phoenix home:

Big Chris — Named after the lumbering cousin of a former Gaffey compatriot, Big Chris has been the most visible over time at the Phoenix. Known for clumsy, thundering footsteps, he could also be one of the apparitions referred to in AFI's song “Days of the Phoenix”: “The ghosts on the stage appeared/the time was so tangible I'll never let it go/ghost stories handed down, reached secret tunnels below.”

The Little Boy — Around 7 or 8 years of age, the little boy has free reign over the building and has been known to follow people around. One night as Gaffey and the crew were setting up for the theatrical metal band GWAR, a security guard pointed backstage and asked, “Who's that little kid back there?” It was 3 a.m. There were no kids in the building.

The Old Man in the Attic — He's about 5-foot-10 with thinning gray hair, wearing tan or green matching shirt and pants, possibly a uniform. He lives in or under the attic. Years ago, a psychic came through the Phoenix and pointed him out. Apparently “he's got issues with the idea that he harmed someone, but in fact he didn't,” Gaffey says. 

Just a few weeks ago, the Phoenix crew was lowering the stage lights before a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and stopped several times to listen to the Old Man's not-so-stealthy footsteps.

The Lady in the Bathroom — The High Priestess of Haunt may have finally vacated the building, but for decades the girls' bathroom was the most shriek-worthy spot, with frequent reports of eerie reflections in the mirror. “I had janitors, a husband and wife team, that would always clean the girls' bathroom together,” says Gaffey.

Since William Hill built the Hill Opera House in 1904, the theater has risen from the ashes of two fires. The second blaze was reported around noon on Sunday, July 4, 1957. No one was in the building at the time. Fire investigators said it started near the projection booth. The cause? A short circuit or cigarette.

Like I said before Petaluma is not a young town and these folks that hang out at the Phoenix had to live some were, like the old Victorian house by the river at the edge of town ...stay tooned...

 

"New" old Landmark

Petaluma is not a new town. Because of the Petaluma River, that great brown vein that leads to the bay and San Francisco, it was the hub of commerce for the valley for years .

Being the hub brought with it wealth, culture and the arts. To showcase the arts there was built a theater. Now known as the Phoenix Theater, many changes and incarnations were in store for this once and again venue.

Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater has a century of colorful and varied history. From opera house to movie theater to rock and roll venue and teen center, the Phoenix has repeatedly emerged from the ashes, recreating itself as a valuable community resource.













        
 

         

The Phoenix began as a rare old bird—a small town opera house. Opened in 1905 as the Hill Opera House, its stage was graced by the likes of Harry Houdini, Enrico Caruso, and Lily Langtree. It was nearly destroyed by a fire in the early 1900s. Consequently, the theater had to be shut down. By 1935, it had been restored and opened as a movie theater. The building was purchased by California Movie Theater around 1935 and was continued to be used as such.

On August 5, 1957, another fire this time taking the roof of the building. The building was restored and renamed the Showcase Theater by the Tocchini family and soon after, a live concert was put on at the theater by Petaluma native, Jeff Dorenfeld.



The Tocchinis employed a boy named Tom Gaffy, who managed to be rehired by Ken Frankel after his purchase of the building, became the theater manager and renamed the building The Phoenix because it seemd to always rise from the ashes.


 In the early 1980s, movies continued to be shown at the theater and live music was played late at night. There were performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Ramones, I even saw The Grateful Dead under the name Jerry Garcia and Friends one night. Along with then-local bands Metalica,  Green Day, and Primus the fans kept coming.

 In the late 1990s, despite public opposition, its landlord announced plans to sell the Phoenix Theater for demolition and reconstruction as an office building. The sale was in escro when four employees from Cerent Corporation, whom were all musicians and two of which were former Phoenix Theater frequenters, intervened and took over the escrow. With other leading local citizens, they established the non-profit Petaluma Phoenix Center, Inc, to not only own The Phoenix Theater, but preserve and expand the services the Phoenix provides to its community. These services include, but are not limited to, a free weekly health clinic for teens, free music and art programs, even an informal job mentoring program (for the past 20 years, most of the Phoenix staff has been teenagers and young adults).

A Sonoma County artist who got his start painting the walls of the Pheonix has embarked on an ambitious project to paint the largest mural in Petaluma’s history.






















The five-story tall multi-color mural on the theater’s southern wall (facing Western Avenue) is a sort of homecoming for 32-year-old Ricky Watts, who credits the popular teen hang out for orienting him toward a career in the arts.

Did you know it is also HAUNTED! Stay "tooned"

Thanks to Wikipedia for well you know...