Est. 1864 · One of Pleasanton's oldest surviving commercial buildings · Wells Fargo stagecoach banking stop · Connected to downtown tunnel network built by Chinese railroad laborers · Continuous commercial operation since 1864
The two-story brick structure at 288 Main Street in Pleasanton dates to 1864, when Abraham Lincoln was president and Pleasanton was a small agricultural town in Alameda County. The building served the daily commercial needs of the community: ground-floor space operated as a general store and served as an unofficial Wells Fargo stagecoach stop where travelers could conduct banking business. The upper floor initially provided lodging for Wells Fargo travelers before transitioning to a brothel during the building's later commercial years.
Beneath the building runs one of Pleasanton's more unusual historical features: an underground tunnel network constructed by Chinese laborers who had previously worked on the transcontinental railroad. These tunnels connected multiple downtown properties, with exits serving local businesses. The Gay Nineties wine cellar area sits at the point where the tunnel system passes beneath the building, and the tunnels themselves have been the subject of local historical investigation.
The building changed commercial use repeatedly through the late 19th and early 20th centuries — general store, bar, bank, saloon — before a small pizza oven was purchased in 1959 to meet demand in the town. The Blue Goose Bar became Gay 90's Pizza, and the restaurant has operated continuously since. The building's longevity makes it one of the most documented structures in Pleasanton's downtown historical record, and the city's historical commission has placed a marker at the site.
Sources
- https://www.gayninetiespizza.com/our-history
- https://www.amadorvalleytoday.org/55838/features/the-haunted-pizza-house-gay-nineties/
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=211819
Apparition in second-story windowMirror inscription that cannot be erasedFlying objectsUnexplained freezer entrapment
The Lady in Blue acquired her legend through the building's brothel period. According to local accounts, she was a woman working on the second floor who fell in love with a customer who promised her a different life, then killed her rather than making good on the promise. The story appears in Pleasanton Weekly coverage from 2018 and has circulated through local oral tradition long enough that it appears in the USC Digital Folklore Archives as a submitted regional ghost story.
The most consistent physical report involves the restaurant's mirror booth: the word 'Boo' has allegedly been scratched into or appeared on the mirror, and despite repeated attempts to remove it, it has returned. Staff and local accounts describe this as the Lady in Blue's primary form of communication. Whether this is a genuine recurring phenomenon or a tourist-friendly bit of restaurant folklore, it has been cited consistently enough across multiple independent sources to be noted.
Passersby and restaurant patrons have reported seeing a woman's figure — described as full-figured and dressed in period clothing — visible in the second-story window from Main Street, particularly after the restaurant is closed. The building's position on Pleasanton's main commercial drag means these sightings come from a range of observers, not only those seeking paranormal experience. Pizza boxes reportedly flying off shelves and guests being briefly trapped in the walk-in freezer have also been attributed to the Lady in Blue.
Notable Entities
The Lady in Blue
