Grey Whale Inn in Fort Bragg prepares for its next chapter as community gathering space

FORT BRAGG, CA., 10/1/25 — A Fort Bragg building brimming with history is set to make new memories on the coast. A local family who recently purchased the closed Grey Whale Inn, once the area’s hospital, is planning to restore the building and reopen it not only as an inn, but as a place for the community to gather.

When Natalie Dingman first saw the Grey Whale Inn for sale, she felt a pull to view the place, but she didn’t think her family would buy it. Dingman, who grew up a few blocks from the inn, left Fort Bragg to join the military, which is where she met her husband. She studied veterinary science and worked in animal hospitals, as well as in finance, eventually returning to Fort Bragg. She said her grandmother worked at the inn when it was still a hospital, and she grew up hearing stories from her mother about the building and its history. Even though she had never been inside it, she felt a connection to the building. 

“It was always just this big, magnificent building, kind of like the museum up on the hill. And it was just always something I marveled at,” she said. 

But she and her family weren’t serious about buying it – that is, until she started seeing signs. 

Dingman said the signs began on a family trip to San Diego, where she and her daughter stayed at a 1930s hotel that had been renovated. Talking with the person who had restored it reminded her of the inn and got her thinking about the Grey Whale. As she and her daughter walked around, her daughter encouraged her to watch for signs. In the very next shop they visited, the doormat was a whale. They laughed and wrote it off as a coincidence. 

Then they went into another shop, and the first thing they saw was a shelf that was empty save for one candle – a candle made from a bottle of Grey Whale Gin.

“It was like, oh my gosh. You can’t ignore that. So I called the realtor and made an appointment to go look at it,” Dingman said. 

Once she saw the building, she was convinced. 

“I love it, I absolutely love it. I wouldn’t change anything,” she said. 

A rich history

Before it became the Grey Whale Inn, the building served as Fort Bragg’s first hospital. Dr. Paul J. Bowman purchased the property in the early 1920s and renamed it Redwood Coast Hospital. His family played a central role in its operation. Local resident Jay McMartin-Rosenquist was Bowman’s granddaughter, and she recalled her mother, Gayle Bowman, running the hospital office from the basement while she spent her childhood playing nearby.

“I used to hang out down there when I was a little girl,” she said. “My grandmother was a nurse, and my grandfather was a doctor. They were very hands-on in everything that happened there.”

McMartin-Rosenquist added that the hospital was designed with both function and family in mind. Patients were sometimes taken to the top floor to soak up sunlight for vitamin D, and nurses pushed gurneys up steep ramps to transport patients.

“It took four nurses to push the gurneys up the ramps, it was not an easy job,” said McMartin-Rosenquist. 

The building also had a nursery, where newborns were washed in a white sink that remains in place today. 

Bowman had a passion for gardening, another legacy that he left for Fort Bragg. 

“At one point, he had the largest collection of rhododendrons in the country,” McMartin-Rosenquist said. Currently, Bowman is credited on the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens website as a rhododendron breeder who contributed to varietals found at the gardens.

After the hospital closed, the building transitioned into the Grey Whale Inn. Owners hosted birthday parties, Christmas galas, and other events for locals. Many residents have long histories there.

Janet Eklund-Cook, another local born and raised on the Mendocino Coast, said that she and her sister were born at the Redwood Coast Hospital, and while she doesn’t remember her birth, she said her mother told her the story.

“My mother said she didn’t quite make it to the delivery room, and that she actually gave birth to me in the hallway,” Eklund-Cook said. 

She said she returned to the hospital a few more times during her childhood, and later, once it had become an inn, she celebrated her 50th and 60th birthdays in the Sunset Room, a penthouse suite with sweeping views of downtown Fort Bragg and the Pacific Ocean.

A bright future

Dingman said her family plans to restore the inn with care, preserving as much of the original structure and charm as possible. Floors, doors, and windows will be repaired or salvaged, and updates will focus on comfort and safety while maintaining the building’s historic character.

“We want this place to feel like it always belonged here,” she said. “Every detail matters, from the original wood floors to the way light pours through the windows.”

Dingman acknowledged that the project is ambitious, but is excited about her ideas. She and her family plan renovations that will include a spa, an infrared sauna in the basement workout area, and possibly even a butterfly sanctuary room. She said she plans to preserve the newborn sink and the nursery as a whole as much as she can. 

Outside, the Dingmans plan to establish a lawn where community members can gather for events, as well as host celebrations for locals who were born in the building.

As Fort Bragg increases its attraction to tourists and locals alike, with park renovations, an “entertainment zone” downtown, and new business owners breathing life into community staples, such as the movie theater, the purchase and restoration of the Grey Whale Inn joins a new chapter for the city.

“It’s not just about reopening an inn,” Dingman said. “We want it to be a place where families and friends can celebrate milestones, where the community can gather, and where history and memories are honored.”