You may have read some of the newspaper articles about the need to keep our town clock in tune with the correct time. Both Katie Watts and Janelle Wetzstain wrote articles in 2013 that provided readers with significant information about the history of our town clock on top of the [...]
Prohibition ended 80 years ago, December 5, 1933 at 5:32 p.m., as the 21st Amendment was ratified. Last Thursday, Volpi's was the site for a local historical celebration. The U.S. Constitution prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and importation of intoxicating liquors was ratified on January 16, 1919. Its provisions went into [...]
The first American Hotel was built on Main Street in 1852, six years before Petaluma became an incorporated city. It was a one and one-half story hotel, used as a boarding house, erected by George B. Williams, but destroyed by a fire in 1862. It was replaced by a brick [...]
This Then & Now blog should be called the "Now & Then" blog. Why? The current building of Fourth Street was built in the 1930s (way back Then for some Petalumans). It is still there Now, 80 years later. This Spanish Colonial Revival and Spanish Gothic style structure was designed [...]
According to Adair Heig (History of Petaluma), after a year and a half of wrangling, $10,000 was raised by the citizens of Petaluma to build a one-story brick or stone schoolhouse that would replace the old yellow frame private schoolhouse at Fifth & B Streets in 1858. "Fearing that the [...]
Since we wandering around the Great Mill area and highlighting the McNear family name, take a closer look at the Center Park photo, above, and the buildings on the west side of Main Street (now Petaluma Blvd. S.) This 1890's picture shows horses and buggies tied up what is now [...]
Petaluma's Historic Commerce District, which encompasses much of the downtown area was officially created in 1995, when it was placed on the Nation Register of Historic PLaces. This district included 95 buildings on 23 acres of land, and represents the development of commerce in the city from the mid-nineteenth century [...]
In her book, Images of Petaluma - A History in Architecture (2005), Katherine Rinehart states, "A city's character is often defined by its architecture, especially its public buildings which reflect the values and taste of the community." An early City Hall was built on Fourth Street (next to what was [...]
Since I assume the identity of "William Howard Pepper" during my historic walks of downtown Petaluma, I thought it would be appropriate to use the southwest corner of Liberty and Washington Streets for this new series of "Then & Now" blogs. It was this corner that Mr. Pepper owned in [...]