"We need to correct this with some urgency," Greg Olzack of the Atwater Historical Society told the Merced County Times in September. "The integrity of the whole building is at risk." He was talking about the Bloss Home at 1020 Cedar Avenue. After 112 years downtown, the house is sinking, and the settling is pulling a balcony away from its northwest side.
A few blocks away, the Atwater Women's Clubhouse turned 100 this year. It isn't renting itself out right now because renovation work is underway. The two buildings come from the same family gift, and this fall they are getting attention at the same time. Neither has one owner with one budget behind it. The care is split among a city line item, a historical society's annual dinner, a women's club's rental income, and a local builder who keeps turning up on Atwater job sites.
Why one family's name is on so much of downtown
Atwater began as a land subdivision. In 1887, George Bloss Sr. and Henry F. Geer divided 480 acres into 20-acre parcels called Atwater Colony. The town was laid out in 1888 and took the colony's name. George Stone Bloss Jr. came from Connecticut in 1884, at age 10, and the Historical Society credits him as Atwater's first mayor. After a special election, Atwater incorporated on August 16, 1922. Sarah Lim's Merced Sun-Star museum column says Bloss was elected a trustee and became board president at the first council meeting.
The house is the clearest sign of the family's role, but it's only one item on a longer list. The Bloss Home's National Register nomination says the family deeded the community a library, the Women's Club House, a hospital, a church, a school, a plunge, a city park and a fire house. The house itself went to the city in George Bloss Jr.'s will when he died in 1963. The transfer became official when Christine Bloss died in 1971. Residents formed the Atwater Historical Society in 1973 to look after it. The state listed the home in 1974, and it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Because so much of downtown came to the public as gifts, a lot of it never had a private owner who would pay for repairs.
What's happening to the Bloss Home
The house was built in 1914 for $11,954. It was designed by local architect William "Bill" Bedesen and covers 4,080 square feet when the enclosed service and sleeping porches are counted.
A consulting firm, JAS Pacific, has assessed the building. It found that the foundation had shown signs of wear in earlier reviews, but "the settlement seems to have accelerated in the last couple of years." A 2024 review had found no structural problems, "but that seems to have changed." The report calls the cause "speculative," though water is likely part of it. The listed damage includes the balcony's deck railings, the deck fascia and the supporting columns, plus deep cracks in the concrete porch under the balcony. The report also found settlement signs at windows on the northwest and west sides.
The city has set aside $75,000 for engineering studies and to start balcony repairs, which are meant to prevent a possible collapse of the second-floor structure. Public Works Director Justin Vinson laid out the order of work. First the balcony gets shored up. Then soil borings show what the ground under the house is made of. The fix could be pressure grouting or piers drilled under the home, and JAS Pacific says either method's success depends heavily on the soil. Vinson said the full cost of stabilizing the foundation will likely reach several hundred thousand dollars.
The $75,000 covers the balcony and the studies that will set the real repair cost. Vinson said the city will have a funding target for the foundation once the geotechnical evaluation is done. The September 14 and September 28 City Council agendas had no Bloss Home items on them. As of early October, there is no public report that shoring or soil testing has started.
Who covers which repairs
Under the city's agreement with the Historical Society, the society manages and pays for maintenance and repairs inside the home. The city handles the grounds and the exterior of the house, pump house and garage. The cracked balcony is outside, so it falls to the city. Society members have raised money anyway. Proceeds from their 12th annual Dinner and Silent Auction on September 19 went to the restoration fund. No total has been published yet.
Here is how the arrangement looks across the downtown buildings tied to the family:
| Building | Built | Who covers upkeep | Status this fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloss Home, 1020 Cedar Ave. | 1914 | City covers exterior and grounds; Historical Society covers interior | Balcony shoring and soil study funded at $75,000 |
| Bloss Park | Part of the original Bloss grounds | City-maintained park | Grounds rented through City of Atwater Recreation |
| Bloss Memorial Library, Third and Cedar | 1925 | Now houses the Atwater Chamber of Commerce | Chamber offices |
| Atwater Women's Clubhouse, 1201 Grove Ave. | 1926 | Atwater Women's Club, a nonprofit | Renovation underway, rentals paused |
Across Ralston Park, a clubhouse at 100
The Women's Clubhouse sits at the edge of Ralston Park. It is a 1920s Spanish and Mediterranean revival building, and its front porch holds up a top balcony on three slender columns. The Historical Society says it was built in 1926 on land donated by Edna Thompson Bloss. The club is older than the building. The Times dates its local history to 1899 and says the Atwater Women's Improvement Club organized in 1907 under Christine Thompson Bloss. In those early years the club helped name the city's streets and planted trees in the park and across town.
The club still does service work. It gives scholarships to graduating seniors and supports Toys for Tots, food drives, the Kings View Work Experience Center and Rose Julia Tranquility Village. Member and city councilwoman Kalisa Rochester told the Times that upkeep of the clubhouse is "an ongoing concern." The interior has been freshly painted, and the roof is next. Rentals usually bring the nonprofit steady income, and they're on hold while renovation continues. The club's own website also says rentals are paused. That means the club is paying for repairs during the same months its usual income has stopped.
The builder on two Atwater projects
Local builder Brad Kessler is replacing the clubhouse roof as an in-kind contribution. On Atwater Boulevard, his company BK Industries, Inc. is also the contractor rebuilding the Atwater Feed Store. Fire gutted the old wood-and-tin building almost exactly three years before the Fragulia family broke ground this summer.
The new building will combine the feed store with a True Value Hardware store. Kessler estimated 8 to 9 months to finish. The Times did not give a completion date. Counting 8 to 9 months from a late-June start would put it around early spring 2027, but that is an estimate, not a published schedule. No progress update has been published since July. The Fragulias bought the store in 1988. When it reopens, Roger Fragulia's son Bobby will manage it, and grandson Blake is learning the business.
The feed store isn't a Bloss gift. It does show the same pattern, though. In a town this size, a historic clubhouse roof and a family business rebuild can end up with the same contractor in the same year.
A short loop to see them while the work is underway
All four Bloss sites are a few blocks apart, so one Sunday afternoon on foot covers them.
- Bloss Home, 1020 Cedar Avenue. The Historical Society offers free guided tours of the museum and grounds on the first Sunday of each month, 1 to 3 p.m., except holidays and Super Bowl Sunday. October's tour falls today, October 4, and the next first Sunday is November 1. While the structural work is pending, email the society at [email protected] before you go to confirm the tour is on. The society says its docents can also cover the history of Atwater, and school or group tours can be arranged on other dates.
- Bloss Park. The National Register nomination describes the landscaped park next to the house as part of the original Bloss grounds. To book the grounds for an event, contact City of Atwater Recreation at [email protected] or 209-357-6320.
- Bloss Memorial Library, Third and Cedar. It was built in 1925 in memory of George Thompson Bloss and now houses the Atwater Chamber of Commerce at 1181 Third Street. Walk-in hours aren't posted, so plan to see it from the street.
- Atwater Women's Clubhouse, 1201 Grove Avenue. Look for the balcony on three columns at the edge of Ralston Park. The club's website at atwaterwomensclub.org says rentals are paused and asks visitors to check back for updates.
The Historical Society's general meetings take place at the Bloss Home at 1 p.m. on the third Sunday of the month, except in July, August and December. The next one is October 18. Anyone who wants to help with the restoration can donate through the QR code on the society's website.
Martin grew up around these streets and keeps track of what's happening at places like the Bloss Home and the clubhouse on Grove Avenue. If you own an older home near downtown Atwater and want to talk through foundation questions, repairs or what your house is worth, Martin Villanueva can help in English or Spanish. Schedule a Free Consultation.
