The Perfect Day, Downtown Placerville

The double doors swing wide and freely. Inside Placerville Hardware the heavy smell of musty wood greets customers. Wooden floors creak as you walk through California’s oldest continuously operating hardware store. If you close your eyes, you could imagine that the year was 1850 and hoards of gold miners are waiting in line to pick up mining supplies and maybe a few sundries. Down the street the Placerville News Company gives you that same feeling of stepping back in time. Newspapers that once brought the miners stories of what was happening back home can still be found. Placerville is home to California’s oldest newspaper, the Mountain Democrat.

Although not as old, many of the other shops in downtown Placerville offer the locals, as well as visitors, a glimpse into the past. A variety of unique products, including nostalgic things for the home or garden, fine clothing, art, jewelry, herbs and fragrances to create hand milled soaps can be found in the many, many shops located on Main Street. Placerville News Company features those same wooden floors, giving that feeling of stepping back in time – back to a kinder and gentler place where loading up the family and taking a trip into town was an adventure.

Remember the penny candy stores you may have visited when you were a kid? Placerville is the home to the mother of all salt-water taffy stores – The Candy Strike. The smell of buttery caramel drifts from Sweet Cravings, another of the town’s confection shops. Tiny stores filled with gifts and collectibles are tucked into the old brick structure of the Mid-Town Mall as well as Fountain Plaza. Art galleries staffed by the artists themselves line the street.

What was once the downtown theater is now filled to the brim with antiques, many of which reflect the lifestyle of the early settlers of El Dorado County. Once a year, the downtown antique stores join with other antique vendors, close Main Street down and hold one of California’s biggest Antique Street Fairs. The town stays open late for the Third Saturday Nightlife Art Walk where the public is invited. Live music often fills downtown during those long, warm summer nights.

Downtown Placerville is the ultimate place to spend a day window-shopping. And it’s only natural to follow a day of window-shopping by ducking into one of Main Street’s restaurants. Cravings for a fresh salad, pizza, handmade potpie, pasta with a seafood sauce, something cheesy or spicy, or a simple hot bowl of soup can be satisfied. What’s better than giving yourself a jump-start with a fresh brewed cup of coffee or even a single glass of wine or micro-beer? And when the sun begins to set, grab a few friends for an elegant evening of dining at any one of the fine restaurants on Main Street. Too tired to go home? Consider a night at the Historic Cary House Hotel where each room has a vintage theme.

To find out more about what’s going on in Downtown Placerville, call the Downtown Placerville Association at (530) 672-3436, or visit the El Dorado County Visitors’ Authority Website, www.visit-eldorado.com.