The main thoroughfare of Mammoth Lakes, this neighborhood simply referred to as “Town” is a mix of commercial and residential properties.
The “Town” area of Mammoth Lakes basically comprises of the “Main St.” and Old Mammoth Road corridors and commercial districts, the Sierra Valley multi-family zoned neighborhood (and commonly and fondly referred to as “the Ghetto”), the Sierra Vista Estates (often referred to as “behind the Post Office), the hospital and school district, The Trails subdivision, and a variety of condominium projects adjacent to Meridian Blvd. and Chateau Road.
Mammoth’s Primary Commercial Service District
The commercial corridors of Main St. and Old Mammoth Road were primarily developed in the 1970’s and early 80’s. Very little has been developed since then but most of the existing properties have been remodeled, redeveloped and repurposed over the decades as demand, tastes, and owners and tenants have changed. With the advent of the Industrial Park in the late 1980’s in the far eastern notch of town, many of the older, less aesthetic commercial uses moved into that neighborhood.
Remodeling, redeveloping and repurposing properties has allowed Main St. and Old Mammoth Road to become more “resort” in character. The major complaint is that it remains a series of strip malls and lacks cohesion. But since the majority of Mammoth’s visitors arrive by car, and are married to their vehicles, it continues to suffice. And today, the area is serviced by efficient and effective public transportation.
Main St. is also part of State Hwy. 203 and is most notable as the thoroughfare to the Main Lodge of the Ski Area and to the Devil’s Postpile. It features gas stations and branded hotels and motels, a luxury outlet mall, Schat’s Bakery, and many other famous and infamous freestanding restaurants and retail stores. Main St. also features the public facilities of the Post Office (a critical point in a town where there is no mail delivery to physical addresses), the main Fire Station, the joint Town and Forest Service Visitor’s Center, and as of 2012, the new County courthouse (which looks like it belongs in Laguna Beach and not Mammoth).
The Old Mammoth Road corridor is most notable for the VONS supermarket, the only supermarket not only in Mammoth but all of Mono County. The “VONS mall” dovetails with the school and library district and also houses the Town offices making it a vibrant commercial area of town. The newly renovated Sierra Nevada Resort consumes a whole block on Old Mammoth Road, while the Mono County offices consume a good portion of the Sierra Center Mall.
Mammoth Creek Park is at the south end of the Old Mammoth Road commercial corridor before it enters the Meadow. At the north end is the entrance to the Shady Rest park complex. The balance is a broad mix of freestanding building and malls. Much of the Old Mammoth Road corridor is the “commercial service district” including all of the banks, government offices, hardware stores, laundromats, etc.
Single Family Homes and Condominium Projects
The Town neighborhood includes housing for many local residents. The Sierra Valley neighborhood is historic multi-family zoned real estate and today includes a potpourri of single-family homes, historic duplexes, apartment buildings of all sorts, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area employee housing projects, Town sponsored affordable housing units, and more. The Sierra Vista neighborhood to the north of Main St. was a late 1950’s and early 60’s subdivision of smaller lots envisioned for A-frame and cabin style weekend homes. Today it is primarily a “locals” neighborhood. The Trails neighborhood at the east end of town is a more modern subdivision and has larger lots and homes.
The condominium projects in the Town area date back to the 1960’s and many were built as weekend getaway spots, but many have ultimately become affordable homes for local residents. Large projects like Sierra Manors, Sierra Park Villas, Wildflower, Mountain Shadows and Tamarack Condos, etc. are right in the heart of the Old Mammoth Road corridor. Up Meridian Blvd. are the more resort oriented projects of Sherwin Villas, Horizons Four, Sunshine Village, and St. Moritz.
The Chateau Road condo projects; Chateau Blanc, Chateau Sierra, Chateau De Montagne, Chateau Sans Nom and Villa De Los Pinos, feature larger townhomes that are especially appealing to local living. In the middle of it all is the historic Sierra Holiday Mobile Home Park where almost any of Mammoth’s finest long-time citizens have once called home.
Higher Education and Health Care
The school district includes the old Mammoth High School dating back to the 1970’s, the sleek and modern middle and elementary schools facilities, the college facilities funded by Dave and Roma McCoy, Edison Hall funded and built by Tom Dempsey, and the new public library. Mammoth Hospital has been greatly expended in the past 15 years to include a new emergency center and a specialized orthopedic facility.
At the very east portion of Mammoth Lakes just above the Meridian Blvd. cut-off from Hwy. 203 and above the Mammoth Community Water District facility is Mammoth Industrial Park. Created in the late 1980’s, this established a new industrial zone. This also aided in relocating certain business uses out of the more resort oriented areas of town. Today, the trash transfer station, firewood processing plants, the Town’s “yard” operation, auto repair, contractor based operations, storage units, etc. are now located there.