Photo Essay: Escape to Mendocino

Mendocino, or Spendocino as often referred to by many San Franciscans, is a popular wedding and weekend destination for many Californians. Town is located just off Hwy. 1, approximately 3 hours North of San Francisco. It is situated on a picturesque headland and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.
Town was originally founded in 1850 as a logging community and went through a significant economic decline until it was discovered in the 1940s by California artists. Since then, many artists have flocked to the town and a small artist colony emerged there. In the 1960s town had a very hippy feel to it.
Mendocino is also a very popular location where movies like The Russians Are Coming, Overboard, Karate Kid III and East of Eden were filmed. In the 1980s and 1990s, Murder She Wrote was also filmed there and contributed greatly to economic development of the town. Since 1987, the annual Mendocino Music Festival has been attracting many classical music fans. Most recently, in 2006, the Mendocino Film Festival was added to the cultural events calendar.
If you walk through town, you will come across many picturesque cottages surrounded by gorgeous gardens. Several California Historical Landmark buildings are located in Mendocino. Check http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=21387 for a complete listing. Mendocino itself is the only town on the California Coast designated as a Historical Landmark.