Pacific Coast Railway Company Grain Warehouse
Also known as: Loomis Feed Store
Why it's listed
Along Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo stands a 360-by-50-foot grain warehouse of light wood frame covered in corrugated iron, set on a raised foundation of soft red local brick. Built in 1892/3 after a fire destroyed the railroad's headquarters buildings, it served the Pacific Coast Railway Company, whose narrow gauge line carried grain and beans from farm wagons to steamers at Port Harford. Inside, the floor is paved with bitumen from tar seeps near Pismo Beach, and a taller section at the south end once housed cleaning and sacking machinery. Six cylindrical vents mark the roofline, and the track side keeps its original doors and loading platform. The warehouse is the sole survivor of the railroad's local headquarters complex and the only building of its kind built for grain handling remaining in the city. After the railroad ceased operating in 1942, the Loomis family's feed store used it until the early 1980s, and it has since stood vacant.
Significance in brief: It is the only remaining building of the Pacific Coast Railway Company's San Luis Obispo headquarters complex and a visual reminder of the area's grain and bean shipping era. It was the trans-shipment point from farm wagons to narrow gauge trains headed for steamer wharves at Port Harford. It is also the only grain-handling warehouse of its type left in the city and one of the last in the county.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 88000921, listed June 23, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 65 Higuera St., San Luis Obispo |
|---|---|
| County | San Luis Obispo County |
| Listed | June 23, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88000921 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1892/3-1930 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as vacant and neglected for about two years; the exterior is little changed apart from closed-off doors on the street side. It was used by a feed and supply store until the early 1980s. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 35.27279, -120.66587 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 88000921.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14683589
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.