Redwood Hatchery Gate

This gate tells a story before it even opens. It’s built from four rustic pieces of redwood, each one inch thick and a foot wide, two on each side, strong yet graceful. Steel round-stock grates punctuate the windows that were carefully cut out by hand, a quiet signature of the artist. Each door weighs 20 pounds, the frame 72, with the top held in place simply by gravity—a subtle nod to timeless craftsmanship.

The wood itself carries the spirit of Petaluma, salvaged from the old A.P. Ward & Son Chicken Hatchery & Poultry Farm which was built in 1905. (It is now called the Petaluma Egg Farm). Every surface bears the marks of wind-blown sand, years of weathering, and the gentle rub of passing animals. You can almost feel the stories etched into its grain. There’s a rugged spiritual beauty here, a sense of age and endurance that can’t be manufactured.

“Somehow, against all odds, these might be the finest barn doors I’ve ever made.” PAH