We started at the Chamber of Commerce (City landmark #2) building at 113 South "I" which began as the Louis Spanne building in 1891. This building suffered a fire several years ago and it was only through the heroic efforts of Lompoc Fire Captain Roy Belluz and his crew that this landmark was saved. When the engine arrived just after sun-up the building was completely full of heavy black smoke.

Fighting the natural urge to just wait for more help (no one was in the building) he and his crew put on breathing apparatus, dragged in a hose and crawled up to the second story through the heat and smoke. Once inside Belluz ordered the next arriving crew to "open" the windows - this action sucked most of the smoke outside and allowed him to find the one office that was in flames. His crew quickly disposed of the fire and the building was saved.

This wonderful old building has been beautifully restored. It is built of "chalk rock" quarried from an area near the World Minerals Celite Mine further south. It is worth a visit just to see the aged saw cuts on the walls. Call the Chamber for tour information and let your imagination run wild as you tour the building.

The colorfully decorated Sissy's Restaurant is across the street at #112 was once home to the Lompoc Post Office from 1942 to 1962. You can imagine the hustle and bustle as people posted their mail, talked over the town's news and greeted their neighbors who were on the same errands. The post office was once the informational hub of the community. News from distant cities, mail order deliveries and newspapers from San Francisco or Los Angeles all arrived by mail.

Several smaller post offices were spread throughout the region and the soldiers at nearby Camp Cooke and sailors at Arguello Naval Air Station had their mail routed through this post office. Most of the smaller post offices at Sudden, Honda and Surf were closed when mail started being picked up daily by "rural route" carriers and the "new" facility was built on West Ocean.

Sissy's serves a fine lunch meal and Art Alley is located between Sissy's and the buildings to the east and north. Local artisans have decorated the walls with tasteful murals depicting the early history of Lompoc.

Several other businesses including the Sherman House once stood where empty parking lots now cover the landscape. The Sherman House served many fine meals until it was torn down in the name of "urban redevelopment" and replaced by a parking lot. Local lore has it that the old building strongly resisted the efforts of the demolition crew even though it had been declared "structurally unsafe" by City inspectors. Perhaps someday these strips of asphalt will be replaced by new structures that compliment the older facades in this "Old Town" district.

City Landmark #8, which was once Myra Manfrina's great-grandfather's home, is the big yellow two-story house at the corner of "I" and Cypress. Andrew L. Huyck originally built this house at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Renwick west of town in 1890 near the present NASA entrance (south Vandenberg Gate), on the Santa Ynez River side of the road.

In 1911 it took a 30-horse team and several sweating men nearly two-weeks to move it to its present location. The present owners have beautifully restored it during a ten-year work of love and patience. It is a wonderful example of how to restore a fine piece of early craftsmanship to its original splendor.

The Catholic Church at "I" and Olive was founded as "La Purisima Mission" in 1787. In 1802 an adobe parish hall was built, however it was destroyed in a large earthquake 10 years later. In 1874 the frame church below was built to serve the newly established temperate community of Lompoc. Scores of parishioners gathered in 1920 to say good-bye to a structure that had served them for many decades and to pray that the new parish hall would meet their needs.

The Spanish style parish hall on the northwest corner of "I" and Cypress was dedicated in 1920 and served as the primary meeting place of the Catholic community for four decades. In 1961 the brick Church across the street was dedicated and the old church was renovated.

Miguelito Canyon Road now begins to twist its way to the Sudden Gate and a beautiful view of Oat Mountain, Tranquillion Peak and the Sudden Ranch. Many small homes and ranches are located along this route and some are just a few feet from the edge of the road. During periods of heavy winter rains, some of the houses at the mouth of the canyon have been threatened with flooding as the water cascades down the canyon and finds its way to the flood control channel.