Pythian Castle (Arcata, California)

The Pythian Castle is a building in Arcata, northwestern California, that was built during 1884-85 for the North Star chapter of the Knights of Pythias fraternal order. It is notable for its commercial Queen Anne style architecture which features five projecting towers: two square towers projecting from the center of the two street-fronting sides of the building, and three round towers projecting from the street-side corners. Patterned shingles covered the tower roofs in the past. The corner ones have "witch hat"-shaped tops and used to sport tall finials. The side ones once had cresting.[2]

Pythian Castle
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Pythian Castle was built by the Knights of Pythias
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Location	1100 H St., Arcata, California
Coordinates	40°52′14.89″N 124°05′11.13″W
Area	0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
Built	1884-85
Architect	Glidden, A.P.
Architectural style	Queen Anne
NRHP reference No.	86000263[1]
Added to NRHP	February 20, 1986

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1] Although many of its details have changed, the building was deemed significant as the "only remaining Victorian commercial building [in Arcata] that has not lost its architectural and historic character."[2]