Mural and more at McHenry Mansion gift shop

Tucked behind a black iron fence and shaded by large trees rests a charming adjunct to a downtown Modesto treasure that contains plenty of treasures of its own.

While most Modestans are well aware of downtown’s historic McHenry Mansion, the mansion foundation’s Visitor Center and Gift Store just a few steps away stands back from the spotlight.

And while that makes sense – the regal Victorian mansion is the star of the show, after all – the gift store offers a charming little gem for shoppers. Now, thanks to a newly painted mural outside, it’s a stop for local art fans, too.

Shop manager Anne Hatheway recently commissioned the mural from Modesto’s Peer Recovery Art Project, which put her in touch with artist Miguel Dominguez.

“I know they do art in downtown,” Hatheway said of Peer Recovery, which helped finance the mural with grant funds. She knew she wanted a garden scene on the left wall of a small patio leading into the gift shop.

The mural is just that, with a faux brick facade lined by large trees and flowering plants, centered with a small archway leading to a view of deep green foothills.

It’s become a focal piece, she said. “Everybody comes by and takes time to look at the mural.”

Dominguez finished the work in late June, but Hatheway decided it was missing something – something furry and feline.

“I wanted a cat,” she said – no surprise since Hatheway’s cell ringtone can send those in the gift shop looking to pet the source of the quiet mewing. Dominguez quickly obliged, adding a tan cat walking through the archway.

The mural adorns the visitor center’s outdoor patio, which includes tables and chairs and a recently completed refreshed look.

“We’re hoping now that it’s fixed up, maybe we can do small events and parties here,” Hatheway said of the patio area. “Showers, maybe.”

The center is the first stop for those who want to see inside the McHenry Mansion. Visitors begin there for a short video on the history of the home and the McHenry family before docents lead them just down the block to the mansion. Tours are offered 12:30 to 4 p.m. daily except Saturdays.

But the center also houses a gift shop that offers curios and other items for sale – dolls, cards, jewelry, handbags, garden pieces, tea pots and accessories, a small area of children’s items, and sometimes-hard-to-find Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls – as well as several books, including some on local history.

Once a month, the shop offers tea samplings. Staff brews four or five varieties of tea the second Wednesday of each month, served in China teapots and cups. The events garner a good turnout.

“We have some regulars who never miss it because it’s like a party,” Hatheway said.

While there’s a small book nook in the store, Hatheway said she can order any book – all customers need to do is ask.

And come the holidays, she pulls open the doors on a wall-long cabinet at the back of the store to reveal an array of vintage-inspired Christmas ornaments for sale.

Shopping at the store allows Modestans to give back to the city’s historic landscape: All proceeds from the gift shop support the McHenry Mansion, Hatheway said.

The visitor center building originally was a residence, built in 1886 just after the mansion went up in 1883. It was converted into an apartment building in the 1940s and then into a restaurant in the late 1970s.

It remained home to a variety of eateries until the McHenry Mansion Foundation purchased it in 2010. Previously, a tiny gift shop was housed on the second floor of the mansion itself.

The McHenry Mansion Visitor Center and Gift Shop, 924 15th St., is open from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays through Fridays.

This story was originally published July 20, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Mural and more at McHenry Mansion gift shop."