The old, the new, the boarded-up
The rest of this walk around the block starts on the the northeast corner of Fifth and Chestnut streets. The first building on your right, which houses the St. John Parish offices, isn’t bad looking, but about 20 years ago it replaced one of the South Campus neighborhood’s most historically significant houses.
The offices occupy the site of the Camper house. Built in 1872, it was the first house to grace W. Fifth Street, which connected downtown to the railroad station and surrounding hotels. The two-story structure had a seven-gabled roof. In its heyday, it was surrounded by a picket fence. It was built by Henry Camper, a wagon and carriage builder.
As you approach the end of this block your attention will be drawn across the street to St. John the Baptist Church, one of Chico’s few examples of Romanesque revival architecture. This version of the church has been around for more than 90 years. It replaced a gothic revival church that was built at the site in 1870, a year after John Bidwell donated the entire block to the Catholic Church. The church shares that block with Notre Dame Catholic School.
If you stand at the corner of this block and look across Fourth Street, you will see a boarded-up building that until recently was used as a fraternity house. The colonial revival structure was built in 1908. In the early 20th century, colonial revival was almost as popular as the craftsman bungalow style.
Turn right and head east on Fourth Street. The second house on your right, another colonial revival, built in 1903, is known as the Lizzie Crew Canfield House. It was built for A.H. Crew, a Chico banker. His daughter, Lizzie, inherited it from him, but never lived in it. In 1907, she rented to students at the Chico Normal School, setting a precedent that has turned the entire neighborhood into student rentals.
Join me again in a few weeks for another walk around the block.