We were attracted to this property because there is nothing else like it in downtown Salida. It's a detached house - we were not interested in a condo above a retail space. Even with it's downtown location, it has wonderful outdoor space - a deck with two grills and seating area, plus a large stone patio surrounded by green grass and and two trees.
Some history:
The building was constructed as the First Church of Christ, Scientist in 1924. This parcel is indicated as vacant in on the 1914 Sanborn fire insurance map, while the building is shown on the 1929 edition.
As early as 1907, a small group of Christian Science believers met in private homes. In 1909, the church and reading room were housed in a commercial building at today's 131 E. 2nd Street. A 1948 Salida Mail article reported that members had held services for twelve years at the "cottage chapel" on E. Third Street; it had the same address as our building. In 1923, the Salida Daily Mail reported that the First Church of Christ, Scientist, would build a brick church on E. Third Street on the site of its reading room. The newspaper reported that plans had been received in June: "The structure will be of light brick and will be 38 X 50 feet. It will seat 150 people." The building was erected to house the growing congregation. The church was still listed here in the 1951 city directory.