INDUSTRY · HISTORICAL MARKER
Fashion Shop
Novato, California
· 800 Grant Avenue
Industry
8
Stephen Porcella's Fashion Shop, a blacksmith shop and iron works built circa 1893, took its name from Porcella's practice of fashioning tools to suit each customer. He made and repaired iron equipment, built wagons, filed saws, and filled many special orders for ranchers throughout Marin County. Porcella lived modestly at the back of the shop until he married and built the family home directly behind it in 1900. In 1980, the Fashion Shop and Porcella House were listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1984 the shop underwent a major reconstruction that preserved the original walls and historic exterior. The building later had many uses, including as The Fixit Shop in the 1960's, the café Hotdogs and Apple Pie in 1984, the Blacksmith's Café in 1988, and, as of 2014, the coffee shop and café Dr. Insomniac's.
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Novato, California
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