Winehaven Historic District · Point Molate

The winemakers’ cottages

Photographs of the hillside cottages at Winehaven, taken on April 24, 2024. Click any image to view it larger.

Twenty-eight cottages (Buildings 31–54 and 56–59), built about 1910–1916, form the village on the slope above the Winehaven cellars. They were part of the California Wine Association’s company town, and later housed Navy families. The two-story Winemaster’s House (Building 60, 1910) sits farther upslope; see it in 1996 and 2024. The history page tells the story of the company town in more detail.

Many windows are now boarded and roofs have failed in places. In 2023 the Richmond City Council voted to spend $438,000 on temporary tarping of the cottages, a stopgap rather than a restoration; the Winehaven Trust’s lawsuit seeks proper maintenance. The Trust describes leaving the buildings open to the weather as demolition by neglect.

The photographs below were taken by Daniel Butt on April 24, 2024. The captions describe only what can be seen in each picture; the pictures are not tied to particular building numbers.

Cottages on the hillside

The cottages stand on the slope above the cellars, behind stone and brick retaining walls and chain-link fencing.

White cottage with boarded windows above a rough stone retaining wall; the side of a neighboring cottage with a boarded window is at right and trees rise behind — A cottage and its neighbor above a rough stone retaining wall along the road. Some windows are boarded. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Row of pitched-roof cottages on a hillside behind a chain-link fence, above a long red brick retaining wall beside a paved road — A row of cottages on the hillside above a brick retaining wall and a chain-link fence. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Two cream-colored cottages with boarded windows and small gabled porch roofs behind a chain-link fence on a dry grassy lot — Two cottages with boarded front windows behind a chain-link fence. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Side of a cream cottage with a boarded window and a green-roofed porch, a white cottage beyond, and shrubs and a low brick wall in the foreground — Cottages seen from the side, with a boarded window and shrubs in the foreground. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Side of a pale cottage with ivy climbing one corner, boarded windows, and uncut grass around the foundation — A cottage with vines on one corner, boarded windows, and tall grass at its base. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Cream cottage with a red-brown roof, gray boarded windows and flaking paint, standing in tall green grass beside a paved path — Boarded windows and flaking paint on a cottage standing in tall grass. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Close view of a cottage wall with boarded windows and a wooden board panel leaning against it, under a dark, weathered roof edge — Boarded windows and a worn roof edge on a cottage wall. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Condition up close

Details of paint, siding, stairs, and windows as they appeared on the day.

Corner of a cottage with flaking paint, several utility boxes and pipes on the wall, and a boarded window, with grass at the base — Peeling paint, utility boxes, and a boarded window at a cottage corner. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Gray lower siding of a cottage with a hole near the corner and a downspout, and a brick building and fence in the distance — An opening in the lower siding of a cottage. A brick building is visible beyond the fence. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

White cottage with a porch and boarded windows; broken boards, branches and tilted concrete steps lie in the foreground — Broken boards, branches, and tilted concrete steps at the foot of a cottage with boarded windows. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Narrow exterior stairs with worn, peeling paint and rust-stained treads rising to a boarded opening — Exterior wooden stairs with peeling paint, rising to a boarded opening. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Metal exterior staircase with handrails rising through tall grass beside a concrete-block wall — A metal exterior staircase rising through tall grass beside a concrete-block wall. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Multi-pane window beside a gray boarded panel under a worn eave, with overgrown shrubs and a bare tree at left — A multi-pane window beside a boarded panel, under a worn eave. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Outbuildings, grounds, and views

Long white outbuilding with several garage-style doors, two open with a loose panel hanging in one opening, and weeds and debris on the pavement in front — A long outbuilding with several garage-style doors, some of them open, and weeds in the pavement. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Cottage corner with a boarded window behind a chain-link gate, a concrete curb and steps, and a large shrub — A chain-link gate, concrete curb steps, and a boarded window at the corner of a cottage. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Tall weathered cottage wall with two boarded windows and ivy at the corner, with water and a distant shoreline at right — A weathered cottage wall with two boarded windows. Water is visible beyond. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Cracked paved area with weeds, a gray-roofed building with an open door, other rooftops beyond, wooded hills and a strip of water in the distance — A view across a cracked paved area toward cottages, with the water in the distance. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Orange spiral playground slide standing in uncut grass, with buildings and trees behind — An orange spiral slide standing in tall grass. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Then and now: the Winemaster’s House

According to the 1996 Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), the Winemaster’s House (Building 60) was “constructed about 1910.” It later served as the Navy commanding officer’s residence. The survey found that the house is sided in stucco placed over the original wooden shingles. It also found that “Building 60 retains a remarkably high degree of integrity.” In the living and dining rooms, it reported hardwood floors that “appear to be original and in an excellent state of repair,” and it described a built-in china hutch in the dining room.

The three photographs of the house from April 24, 2024 show the exterior only. They show peeling paint on the eaves and cornice, cracked brackets, a window with cracked and clouded glass, plywood panels over openings, a metal ladder leaning against the wall, and a shrub against the wall. The house is severely deteriorated and at risk. The 1996 survey’s findings about the floors and the china hutch describe the interior, which these photographs do not show, and the photographs are taken from different viewpoints than the 1996 view. In April 2023 the Trust filed a lawsuit seeking to compel maintenance of the historic buildings (see The Trust).

Black-and-white photograph of the front of the Winemaster’s House: a pedimented dormer, a brick chimney, and large multi-pane windows across the enclosed porch — 1996: the Winemaster’s House, facade, facing north. HABS CA-2658-J-1, Robert Hicks, 1996. Library of Congress. Public domain.

Close view of the corner of a house under a deep eave: paint peeling from the cornice and brackets, a multi-pane window with cracked, clouded glass, a plywood panel at right, and a leafy shrub against the wall at left — 2024: Eave and cornice with peeling paint and cracked brackets above a multi-pane window whose glass is cracked and clouded. A shrub grows against the wall at left and a plywood panel covers an opening at right. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Looking up at an eave with flaking paint on the cornice and cracked brackets, a brick chimney rising behind, and plywood panels covering openings on the wall below — 2024: Heavily peeled paint on the eave brackets and cornice, with a brick chimney above and plywood panels over openings below. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

Weathered dark and light plywood panels covering openings on a stucco wall, a metal ladder leaning against it beneath an eave with peeling paint, and a shrub at right — 2024: Weathered plywood panels over openings, a metal ladder leaning against the wall, and peeling paint on the cornice. Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024.

All 2024 photographs on this page: Photo: Daniel Butt, April 24, 2024. For Historic American Buildings Survey photographs of the cottages from 1996, see the photograph gallery. For more on the district, see the history of Winehaven and Winehaven in the press.