Historic structures report finds Ara’s Pool Hall at 38 Soledad eligible but in poor condition; further testing recommended

A draft historic structures report prepared for the city of Salinas concludes that the building at 38 Soledad Street — known locally as Ara’s Pool Hall in Salinas’ Chinatown — remains eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources, but is in poor physical condition and will require additional investigation and significant stabilization work before reuse.

Grant Leonard, the city’s planning manager, introduced the presentation and said the report was prepared by TEF Design as part of the design work for an affordable housing project at 3438 Soledad Street. “As part of the design process, our architect and design firm, TEF Design, has completed a historic structures report for '38 as it had been identified as a potentially historic resource,” Leonard said.

Consultants from TEF Design and partnering specialists told the Historic Resources Board that their archival and field work supports eligibility under the National/California register criteria for events (association with community business and gathering space) and design (Chinese-inspired architectural references). “We reevaluated the building, for both the national and California registers and determined that it is still significant despite its condition,” said Gretchen Boyce, architectural historian and founder of Groundwork…