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| THE COLONY NEWS | OCTOBER 2022 | 15 OUTREACH TO HISTORY By Lennie Martin Hale Curran's Fountain House Once, the fashionable Fountain House stood three stories tall at the northwest corner of B Street and Clay Avenue in Murrieta. A popular hotel during 1880-90s, trains stopped for meals and brought guests going to Murrieta Hot Springs. First built in 1884, a Victorian-style front section of 13 rooms was added in 1886 with verandas, three brick chimneys, balcony, and fancy wood trim adding charm. Initially, tall gum trees surrounded it; later they were removed for sunlight. Across Clay Avenue from Fountain House was the Train Depot, constructed in 1887. Looking west from the depot past Fountain House was a view of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The hotel had a reputation for fine family-style meals and service, charging 50ยข each for meals and rooms. E. Hale (Sykes) Curran's grandfather bought Fountain House in 1893. Hale was raised by her aunt, Katie Sleeper, and the hotel was their home, owned and operated by the family until 1921. Hale became a well-known Murrieta resident and accomplished photographer, documenting the region's early development. Fountain House was painted rose and trimmed in chocolate brown, with a fountain in the side garden giving the name. It had wood stoves, gas lamps, and outside privies until Katie installed hot water pipes and an inside toilet. For years, Hale helped around the hotel until her Aunt Katie died, leaving the young woman alone with a 26-room house. With no family or experience, Hale moved to Los Angeles to find work and rented the building, either as a hotel or private residence. She married Dick Curran and had two children; then in 1931 they moved back and made Fountain House their home. In 1935, one evening when Hale and family were out, smoldering embers in a damaged chimney set fire to the house and it was destroyed. When Fountain House burned, historical furnishings, mementos and documents were lost. Hale saved a few furniture items, trunks, photos and hotel keys. It was the end of an era. Colony residents strolling through Old Town Murrieta will not find the Fountain House or Train Depot. One burned to the ground and the other was dismantled for lumber. Many photos can be seen at the Murrieta Public Library in the E. Hale Curran Collection, preserving memories of these historic structures. Now, the northwest corner of B Street and Clay Avenue is a vacant lot, with a deserted grain elevator standing lonely sentinel. Murrieta Train Depot with Fountain House in background looking west c. 1887. B Street at left of photo, Clay Ave. runs along railroad tracks. E. Hale Curran Collection. Fountain House Hotel c. 1900. E. Hale Curran Collection. Corner of B Street and Clay Ave. where Fountain House once stood, now an empty lot. The grain elevator at far right was built in 1918. COLONY RESIDENTS! The exciting holiday season will be upon us soon and the Social Committee is busy planning several holiday events. Please mark your calendars for our fun annual Trim-A-Tree event on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 1 to 3 pm in the Lounge and Atrium. Other events include the Christmas Ball on Saturday, Dec. 10, and the New Year's Eve Ball on Saturday, Dec. 31, from 6:30 pm to 12 midnight. More details will follow in next month's The Colony News. SOCIAL By Holley Graham, 951-377-3240