Pine Street Saloon
1234 Pine Street is the oldest standing wooden building in the downtown area built in 1860 and rumors of hauntings in the past prompted it to be featured on Ghost Adventures. It, and the old brick building next to it, were used as a candy and gift store, a card room, a billiard parlor, a rumored bordello and a saloon. Today, it is a hot spot for tourists to drop by, saddle up to the bar and toss one back.
Almond City
For a time, Paso Robles was known as the “Almond City” because the local almond growers comprised the largest concentration of almond orchards in the world. That’s right, the world. Many of these ranch lands and orchards have been converted to vineyards for the many wineries now throughout the area. To show their appreciation to the ranchers, the business people established Pioneer Day in October 1931, which is still a huge annual celebration.
Marylin Monroe
The iconic Hollywood actress and singer, spent the first night of her honeymoon – with baseball legend Joe DiMaggio – at the Clifton Motel (now Clifton Apartments) here in Paso.
Ignacy Paderewski
The Paso Robles wine region gained more notoriety when Ignacy Paderewski, the famous Polish statesman and concert pianist, visited Paso Robles, fell in love with the area, and purchased 2,000 acres for planting Petite Syrah and Zinfandel. Today, the annual Paderewski Festival is held in the Paso area.
The Outlaw Jesse James
As the story goes, Drury James hid his famous wanted outlaw nephew Jesse James out here in Paso to heal him in the local hot springs from a gun shot wound for about a year and a half. Eventually, he had to force his nephews, Jesse and brother Frank, to leave town for they were hanging out downtown and starting to make trouble and be noticed.
Mel Gibson
The Central Coast’s rolling hills and lush grasslands doubled for the Ia Drang Valley in “We Were Soldiers,” Mel Gibson’s 2002 Vietnam War drama. Cast and crew members filmed in Morro Bay, Camp Roberts and Fort Hunter Liggett. During his time here in the area, locals got a few sightings when Mel frequented a few local Paso spots like Bistro Laurent.
Camp Roberts
Camp Roberts helped bring an influx of population to the Paso Robles area in the mid-20th Century. Paso never really blossomed in size until the Army built Camp Roberts during World War II, just a dozen miles northwest of town, and today is now home to the National Guard.
Arachnophobia
While most people know that our local beach community of Cambria was the main town featured in Stephen Spielberg’s 1990 movie Arachnophobia, the Victorian home and old barn shown in the movie was filmed on Paso’s own Halter Ranch Winery property. Thankfully, that was movie magic and those wanting to visit the winery and property now have nothing to fear!
Underground Tunnels
Yes, there are stories and rumors about the tunnels under downtown Paso Robles. Some say that they were opium dens, where they hid out Jesse and Frank James, or perhaps that they were actually “speakeasies” since a story tells it that Paso Robles went “dry” and underground five years before prohibition in 1920. Want the speakeasy experience? Check out our favorite local speakeasy – 1122 Cocktail Lounge.
The Paso Inn
The hotel required over one-million bricks and cost a whopping $160,000 and opened for business in 1891 as the Hotel el Paso de Robles. The hotel also featured a seven-acre garden and nine-hole golf course, a library, beauty salon, barber shop, and various billiard and lounging rooms. The new hotel also offered an improved hot springs 20′ x 40′ plunge bath as well as 32 individual bath rooms.
The Fair
Since 1946, the annual California Mid-State Fair is hosted in Paso. Locals know to expect triple-digit temps and also some hot concert artists to take the stage with just a bit more traffic in town as over 220,000 visitors attend the fair.
Fact:
In 2007, Aerosmith announced the U.S. Summer Tour with only one stop in California and that was in Paso Robles at the Mid-State Fair. As soon as tickets went on sale online, the concert was sold out in under 3 minutes!