The Cardiff Mercantile Building

The Mercantile Building (Cardiff Mercantile Company) is one of the few historical buildings currently standing in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, known as simply Cardiff by most of its residents, about 25 miles north of San Diego.

Located at the corner of Chesterfield and San Elijo, just off the Coast Highway/Route 101, the building is the current home of Patagonia, an upscale beach, surf and active-wear store, on the first floor (in photo at left, on the left). Quant Economics is one of the upstairs tenants.

The building was originally built as a hotel by J. Frank Cullen, a Boston painter turned developer who is credited with founding the town in the early 1900s (est. 1910 - 1911).

"Old timers" refer to the building as the Cullen building, after the builder.

The building also served as the town's general store and has housed different businesses, including the library, a real estate office, and a beach bag factory. Other structures built around the same time (a pier, Santa Fe train depot, the old Beacon's Inn) have all disappeared for a variety of reasons, including severe weather.

Here is an old photo of the Mercantile Building and the Santa Fe Depot (photo is from the Cardiff-by-the-Sea website.)