The northeast corner of Second Avenue and C Street, where The Vintage Vault of Upland resides, has a very interesting past.  According to local sources, in 1887 the Bedford brothers, who hailed from the Midwest, purchased 200 acres in North Ontario (what is now Upland), after the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in the area, for the amount of $102,500.  Early in May of that year they held an auction where many lots of land were sold.  Also in May of 1887 work began on a beautiful, 80-room hotel named the Magnolia Villa, located on the northeast corner of Second Avenue and C Street in the township of Magnolia.  Unfortunately, later that year on December 10th and again on December 20th the Inland Valley experienced damaging wind storms, tearing apart hundreds of structures.  The hotel sustained damage, after which the area suffered through weeks of bitter cold.  These events brought the remaining sales of lots in Magnolia to a halt.  The financial situation for the Bedford brothers deteriorated rapidly, and by May of 1888 the Ontario Land and Improvement Company foreclosed.  The hotel was used by an institution briefly afterward, but then stood empty for many years.  It’s not known exactly when the Magnolia Villa was dismantled, but likely by the end of 1903 it was gone.  As you can see in the accompanying pictures, the hotel was lovely and we are left to regret that the beautiful Magnolia Villa does not continue to grace the city today. 

        Many years later in 1955 Bank of America built a branch on this same corner and conducted business there for several decades, which many Upland residents remember well.  It is this same building that The Vintage Vault of Upland has occupied since November 2014.  The vault can still be viewed in the back of the store today.