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Ludlow Mercantile Ruins

Main St., Ludlow, CA
Phone:

East < GO > West

The Ludlow Mercantile store was built in 1908 and opened by John Denair. He borrowed the money to build it from Mother Preston, a successful local businesswoman. Denair went broke a few years later so Preston foreclosed on the mortgage and ran the store until about 1918 when she sold out to the Murphy Brothers and retired to her childhood homeland of France.

The shell of this building is south of the Ludlow Route 66 Cafe. Take Main St. (the road just east of the cafe) to the "T", the ruins are on the right there. The building has been deteriorating for decades and several earthquakes including a 7.0 earthquake in October of 1999 and a 5.1 earthquake in December of 2008 only made it worse.

The back of the building is in better shape in this photo. This the view coming from National Old Trails Hwy. (Route 66).

Photo(s): 2015