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BY JENNIFER SELFThe Bakersfield Californian
To architecture aficionados, Chester and18th is one of the best intersections inBakersfield. On the northwest corner is the
Sill Building, a marvel of the Modern style; direct-ly across Chester is the Beaux Arts beauty res-cued from a cocoon of stucco last year; the mid-century tower at the intersection’s southeast cor-ner isn’t much to look at, it’s true, but the grandHaberfelde down the block does what it can toenhance the general curb appeal.
And then there’s the building on the southwestcorner. It’s an old two-story — no one can sayprecisely how old, but old. Most recently a Good-will store, the structure has been home to a suc-cession of banks for most of its long life.
But it will have yet another use Monday: ChainCohn Stiles officially puts out its shingle after asix-month, seven-figure renovation that hasbrought energy and commotion to a downtown
FELIX ADAMO / THE CALIFORNIAN
Three and a half years ago, two of Patty Reis’ children were murdered. “What I’m afraidof is forgetting the sound of their voices and being stirred by them, if I do,” she says.
Steps to ‘new normal’after losing children
She’s had dreams. In one, her late son,David, brings home his F/A-18 andparks it in the family’s driveway at
their house in Rosedale.“Given that we’re a Chevron family, he
backed in, so that the jet would be facingoutward when he wanted to leave," saidPatty Reis, referring to the oil company’sstringent rules and regulations.
Three and a half years ago, early NewYear’s Day, Reis’ two oldest children, David,a Navy fighter pilot, and Karen, a recentUCSD graduate, were gunned down in SanDiego by David’s roommate, who later com-mitted suicide.
The murder was national news and Pattyand her husband, Tom, fielded thousands ofemails and texts. Six hundred programswere printed for the funeral, and ushers ranout of them. The program featured a pictureof David, 25, and Karen, 24, as toddlers anda quote from Leonardo da Vinci: “Whenonce you have tasted flight, you will foreverwalk the earth with your eyes turned sky-ward, for there you have been and there youwill always long to return.”
David, the oldest of the four Reis siblings,was an exuberant, gifted pilot who said dur-ing one of his first flights, “Holy s..., I’m fly-ing a Hornet!” At the Rosary, little sisterMelanie leaned over her brother’s cof-fin, smiled and said, “Please take meflying in your dreams.”
Karen Reis was described as“intense, brilliant, loyal and mercu-rial.”
Through it all, the Reises exhibit-ed a kind of grace under pressurethat seemed almost inhuman.
How does one family getthrough something like this?Losing a child is the testof a lifetime, but twochildren is a sacri-fice for the ages.
Tom, 62, still works for Chevron. Patty, 57,is a lactation consultant at Memorial andvolunteers as the director of WarmLine, acounseling service for parents of young chil-dren. Melanie, 22, graduated from Cal PolySan Luis Obispo and is interning with Dis-ney. Mark, 21, attends BC and works atAction Sports.
Remember, surviveSeveral weeks ago, I emailed Patty and
asked how she was doing.In early 2012, a week after David and
Karen had died, I’d sat on the Reises’ sofaand listened to Patty and Tom talk for fourhours about their children. I can’t remem-ber ever being so impressed by anyone. Isensed that the Reises might have agreed totalk to me to deliver a subliminal message:
We will honor, remember and survive.Patty emailed back and we met at
Dagny’s, the downtown coffee shop. Wetalked for 21⁄2 hours.
“I know there is a new normal and that Ishould get there but I’m still in transition,”she said.
Going back to work right away was notthe new normal. Fortunately, she had awonderful boss who told her to take as
much time as she needed.“I couldn’t see patients because Iwas too shell-shocked,” she said.“I couldn’t remember my pass-words or how to fill out the med-ical forms.”
When Patty finally did return to
Please see BUILDINGS / D2
A new story for old building
Dining Out
Anytime is Sushi Time when fish is this fresh
BY PETE TITTLFor The Californian
It’s great when a sushi restaurantshows flair and imagination, par-ticularly in the rolls and the
names of the rolls. But what’s evenmore important, crucial really, is thefreshness of the fish.
Sushi Time, a new place in thenorthwest, has that part down pat,and there’s a sense of joy in both thestaff and the menu that will make it aworthy competitor to Love Sushi andSushi Moon on that side of town.Though it’s new, it’s off to an impres-
sive start in so many areas.Experience helps. The restaurant
is owned by Jennifer Jhon and hermother, Moon-Sook Kim, who hasworked at Korea, Love Sushi andAkira and is married to head chefEunsoo Jhon, formerly of Miyoshi.
The location is a bit tough to get toand it’s small, tucked away in themiddle of a strip shopping centerobscured by a McDonald’s at theintersection with Hageman Road.The spot used to be a great cupcake
specialty place; the interior has beenredone with a four-seat sushi barnear where the chef works andbooths and tables scattered throughthe small dining area.
On our first visit, we sampled sev-eral chef’s specialty rolls, includingthe salmon lover ($10.95) and a fancyroll called the crunch shrimp roll($7.95). We also ordered one of thecombination entrees, beef withshrimp and vegetable tempura($13.95).
The star of that night was thesalmon lover, the most perfect look-ing and tasting salmon sushi we’vehad in quite some time.
The fish is thinly sliced atop ricewrapped around a California roll,
A worthy rival emerges insmall northwest spot
Please see DINING / D2
HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN
The flamingo roll is a popular dish at Sushi Time.
Herb Benham CALIFORNIAN COLUMNIST
Please see BENHAM / D4
SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2015
D1Editor: Jennifer Self • Phone: 395-7434 • Email: [email protected] Strereet
InsideCraft Beer House nearly ready toopen at former Garden Spot loca-tion. See The Dish, D7
CALIFORNIAN ARCHIVES
Architect Charles H. Biggar’s 1938 renderingof the bank that would one day become theChain Cohn Stiles building.
JOHN FARRAND / THE CALIFORNIAN
The Chester Avenue side of the newly renovated Chain Cohn Stiles building.
These are Herb Benham’s opinions,and not necessarily The Californ-
ian’s. His column appearsTuesday, Friday and Sunday.
Call him at 395-7279 orwrite hbenham@bak-ersfield .com.
D2 The Bakersfield Californian Sunday, July 26, 2015
corner quiet and forlornsince 2012, when Goodwillclosed up shop.
The building is the firstowned by the firm, whichleft its longtime office spaceat the Bank of America towerthis weekend, said manag-ing partner David Cohn,who bought the propertywith partners Matt Clark andJames Yoro after forming alimited liability company.
Cohn had already inspect-ed at least three other down-town buildings during hissearch before walkingthrough the doors at 1731Chester Ave.
“I immediately remem-bered being there with mydad when I was 10 or 11years old and thinking, wow.Look at what’s occurred inthat period of time,” saidCohn, 65, in an interviewThursday.
“Who would have thoughtwhen I walked into thisbuilding with my father allthose years ago that this wasgoing to be the home of ourfirm. It was weird. Reallyweird.”
Another lost treasure?The partners closed
escrow on the 30,000-square-foot building late lastyear. Cohn declined todivulge the purchase pricebut the net assessed value ofthe property, according tothe most recent figures fromthe Kern County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s office, is justover $2 million.
Keys in hand, Cohnturned to architect PaulSkarphol and contractorDave Whitezell with his chal-lenge:
Convert the big, openbarn that was Goodwill intoa modern workplace for the30-member firm. Oh, andwhile you’re at it, cut somewindows into the 17-inch-thick reinforced concretewalls to let in a little light.
“The windows were prettyinteresting,” said Whitezell, amaster of understatement.“We did some pilot holes tofigure out how thick it actu-ally was. We had a guy comeout to X-ray the wall to findout where the rebar is. Wewent back to the engineer afew times.”
The massive blocks werecut by a concrete saw with a36-inch blade and wedgedout onto old tires placedstrategically on the sidewalkbelow.
“What was dramatic tome,” Cohn said, “was onevery short video where acrane is dropping a part ofthe window into one ofthose huge dumpsters andthe dumpster is rockingaround when it falls in.”
It was while crews wereknocking around in the ceil-ing and manhandling blocksof concrete that Cohn andhis team were able to see thebones of the building. Couldthere be, underneath all theupdates and remodels,another lost architecturaltreasure like the one catty-corner to their building?
“I was a little disappoint-ed,” Cohn said. “Once wetore down the T-bar (ceil-ing), I think both Skarpholand I were hoping to seesome cool architectural ele-ments to a ceiling. Theyweren’t there.”
What Cohn did see, on theroof, was a demarcation hebelieves is the only remnantof a particularly interestingfeature on the 1938 versionof the structure, designed bynoted Bakersfield architect
Charles H. Biggar. The frontentrance of the Art Decodesign for Anglo CaliforniaNational Bank was at a 45-degree angle, facing diago-nally out from the corner ofChester and 18th.
A remodel 16 years laterscrapped that facade, oblit-erating the Art Deco touchesin favor of a mid-centurydesign and adding a drive-through and two entrances,on Chester and 18th. Thebank eventually would berenamed Crocker National,which many longtime Bak-ersfield residents stillremember.
“When the developer tookover the property and leasedit to Goodwill in 2002, Ithink the Crocker Bank ver-sion was the look,” Cohnsaid. “I remember there wassome kind of tile on thenorth side of the building, asmooth surface. The devel-oper came in and put thestucco exterior on it and thesconces, which I know werenot there before.”
A fresh, new lookThe firm has left the exte-
rior alone, except for thepaint: several coats of olivegreen hide Goodwill’s peachhue, and black accents adddrama. Cohn was inspired
by the color scheme on ahouse in his friend’s neigh-borhood. He knocked on thedoor and the homeownerwas obliging enough tohand over some extra paint.
“I was comparing the col-ors side by side,” Cohn said.“It’s not a huge differencebut enough that I think itchanges the look and char-acter of the building.”
Aside from the addition ofthe windows — five alongthe north side of the build-ing — Cohn is most proud ofthe energy-efficient lightingand cutting-edge climate-control system he installeddespite the fact that theexisting unit was fairly new.
He has his wife, DebbyCohn, to thank for the interi-or’s aesthetics. The foyer,inside the main entrance onChester, is awash in softgrays and browns, the neu-tral palette imparting a con-temporary feel.
The stunning focal point,just in front of the receptionarea, is a lighting fixture sus-pended from the ceiling thatfeatures three rings illumi-nated from within. The cen-ter ring is flanked by twosmaller rings, one tiltedwhimsically. Cohn got theidea when he saw a similarfixture while touring a build-
ing in Seattle his son-in-lawhelped develop.
“Everybody is calling it theOlympic rings,” Cohn joked.
The managing partner’soffice, in the northeast cor-ner, has views of the BeauxArts structure through onewindow; the other looks outon the renowned Sill Build-ing, whose ground floorhouses Sweet Cheeks Wax-ing and Vigorous Massage(ah, downtown).
The 18th Street entrancefeatures an elevator linedwith white marble and astaircase of beautiful greenterrazzo flooring, probably aholdover from the 1954remodel, a major overhaulthat added the building’ssecond story.
“The ’50s was the perfectopportunity to get rid of theold and bring in the new,”architect Skarphol noted.
The second floor, whichhas not been remodeled, isintended to be leased to ten-ants while the firm’s entirestaff will occupy the firstfloor, about 10,000 squarefeet divided among 18offices, four conferencerooms and several openwork stations, Skarphol said.
The opportunity to con-solidate his staff to one floorwas a major benefit of thebuilding’s design, Cohn said.At the BofA building, onTruxtun and Chester, hisemployees are scattered overthree floors.
“I think it’s nicer andallows for more collegiality. Ithink that’s good.”
The basement will beused for storage and there’seven a room down below forrecreation, complete with aping-pong table, kitchenand games, including a par-ticularly self-deprecating
puzzle called “To Kill aLawyer Jigsaw Thriller.”
Throughout the buildingare reminders of its historyas a bank. There are threevaults, with solid concretewalls.
“If there’s ever a bomb,you know where to go,” saidJorge Barrientos, the firm’smarketing public rela-tions director.
In the basement is anespecially eerie reminder ofthe building’s past. Justbeyond the janitor’s closet,in a small room illuminatedby a naked light bulb, is anincinerator from the KernerIncinerator Co. of San Fran-cisco, dated 1914. Amid thecharred remnants of oldbank transactions was a yel-lowed member card datedOct. 23, 1963. Some luckysoul had socked away $239.
A few steps back from theincinerator is what looks likea fire-proof door, behindwhich is a dark, creepy roomfull of ducts and strangenoises.
“I felt a gust of wind inthere once,” Barrientos said.“The hair stood up on theback of my neck. I’m notexaggerating.”
But employees will mostlystick to the polished, chicground floor, which boastsviews of several of the build-ings where the firm’sfounder, Morris Chain,worked earlier in his career.
“I really hope this isanother boost for down-town,” Cohn said. “BecauseI’m a little older than you, Iremember downtown in the’50s when it was so vibrant.It was a treat to come down-with your parents or grand-parents, shop at the localstores. I have great nostalgiafor that.”
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ANT-MAN (PG-13) 3D: (10:15AM, 1:00)2D: (11:25AM, 12:20, 2:00, 2:55, 3:35, 4:45,5:30), 6:05, 7:20, 8:10, 9:55, 10:45TRAINWRECK (R)(10:00AM, 12:40, 3:20), 6:00, 8:40, 11:20AMY (R) (10:30AM), 10:20
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Showtimes for July 25-26
JOHN FARRAND / THE CALIFORNIAN
The front entrance to the newly renovated Chain Cohn Stiles building. The lighting fix-ture is similar to one that managing partner David Cohn saw in Seattle. He ordered thepiece and his wife, Debby Cohn, tweaked it to fit the lobby’s aesthetic.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL SKARPHOL
The vantage point of this circa-1940s postcard is east of the intersection of Chester and18th, looking west up 18th. The gorgeous Sill Building, a marvel of Modern architecture,is to the right, with the enormous Coca-Cola sign on top. The Anglo California NationalBank is to the left, with the American flag flying over it. Though the building no longerlooks like this, the bones are still there. Chain Cohn Stiles opens its doors at the reno-vated structure on Monday.
JOHN FARRAND / THE CALIFORNIAN
Little is left from the building’s past as a bank. The best example is found here in thebasement. The incinerator was used to destroy bank records and just beyond it is whatlooks like a fire-proof door. Inside are pipes and strange noises.
JOHN FARRAND / THE CALIFORNIAN
This vault ventilator is still operational in one of the safesfrom the original Anglo-California National Bank buildingat 18th and Chester.
Chain CohnStiles Building
Just how old is the buildingat 1731 Chester Ave.? That’sa hard one to answer, andJorge Barrientos, director ofmarketing and public rela-tions at the law firm, shouldknow. He’s done months ofresearch.
Some sources indicate thebuilding was erected in1938; others seem to hintthat portions of the struc-ture might date to 1889.
1873: Kern Valley Bank isestablished, surviving for 37years. Solomon Jewett co-founded the bank with hisbrother, Philo. It was a firstfor the area.
1874: A single-story buildingis erected at the southwestcorner of Chester and 18th.
1888: A two-story brickbuilding is erected at thesame corner.
1889: Kern Valley Bankholds a grand opening. Thevery next day, on July 7,1889, the building is guttedin the great Bakersfield firethat destroyed most of thetown. The bank rebuilds the
same year, and over the nextseveral decades, additionaltenants move in.
May 12, 1911: Kern ValleyBank closes by order ofstate examiners after thebank defaults.
Sept. 12, 1912: Kern ValleyBank premises are up forsale.
June 23, 1913: Kern ValleyBank building is sold toNational Bank of Bakersfieldfor $31,000.
March 25, 1938: Construc-tion is approved for the newhome of Anglo-CaliforniaBank.
Aug. 11, 1938: Anglo-Cali-fornia Bank opens.
Aug. 4, 1954: Plans areannounced to remodel AngloCalifornia National Bank.Other banks housed in thebuilding later were CrockerNational Bank, Wells Fargoand Washington Mutual.
2000-2003: Vacant
2002: Goodwill Industriesopens a storefront.
2012: Goodwill closes andbuilding is vacant.Sources: Barrientos credits theKern County Museum, The Bakers-field Californian, Beale Library, cityand county records and others.
