Arcata Plaza

The History: The Plaza, with its lawns and flowerbeds is the social and commercial center of Arcata. 
Delightful shops offering locally handcrafted merchandise, sports equipment, boutiques and restaurants line the Plaza and streets beyond it.

This college town of almost 18,000, on the state’s far north coast, may be nicknamed “Hippie Haven,” but its official name was a more somber “Union” when it was settled in 1850. Those pioneers built up this plaza, mostly using wood for construction; but August Jacoby thought to build his store out of brick and stone. As a result, in the wake of an 1875 fire that destroyed dozens of the town’s buildings and businesses, his is the only original building left today. More recent structures, though, are still about 100 years old. The Hotel Arcata dates to 1915; it was once called “Sportsman’s Headquarters” and played host to those to who traveled by rail or steamer. Just off the plaza is the Minor Theatre; opened in 1914, it’s one of the oldest structures in the U.S.  built for the sole purpose of showing movies. 

Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary

The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary is home to the City of Arcata’s innovative wastewater treatment facility. The sanctuary is 307 acres, including freshwater marshes, salt marsh, tidal sloughs, grassy uplands, mudflats, brackish marsh, approximately 5 miles of walking and biking paths and an Interpretive Center. By integrating conventional wastewater treatment with the natural processes of constructed wetlands, Arcata has succeeded in turning wastewater into a resource.

Located at the north end of Humboldt Bay, the sanctuary is situated along the Pacific Flyway, a major migratory route for thousands of birds that breed in the far north and winter in California, Mexico and Central and South America. The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary has probably the highest bird populated coastal site between Bodega Harbor and Washington, with literally thousands of birding visitors annually and organized bird walks held at least weekly year-round. The Marsh has hosted over 300 bird species.