Railroad Square in downtown Santa Rosa, California is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The area is bounded by Third, Davis, Wilson, Sixth Streets, and

Santa Rosa Creek Santa Rosa Creek is a 22-mile-long (35 km) stream in Sonoma County, California, which rises on Hood Mountain and discharges to the Laguna de Santa Rosa by way of the Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel. This article covers both the creek and t ...

History

The Northwestern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1871 and promoted early development of the neighborhood, increasing the population of Santa Rosa from 1,000 to 5,000 within five years. The neighborhood features primarily brick buildings constructed by

stonemasons Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

from Northern Italy, noted for withstanding the 1906 earthquake. Fifteen buildings deemed historically significant were constructed between 1888 and 1923. West of the railroad tracks, the growing Italian-American immigrant community developed the West End neighborhood of primarily single-family homes. Construction of United States Highway 101 and California State Route 12 separated Railroad Square from the broader downtown. Consequently, the district has retained its historic character to a unique degree of architectural homogeneity. This separation also exacerbated economic hardship in the area from the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

through the urban sprawl of the twentieth century. The construction of the

Santa Rosa Plaza Santa Rosa Plaza is one of two enclosed shopping malls in Santa Rosa, California. Opened in 1983, it is anchored by Macy's and Forever 21. The mall is managed by Simon Property Group. History The mall was built in downtown Santa Rosa in 1983 wi ...

mall in the late 1970s saw a further detached Railroad Square develop into a skid row. The Santa Rosa Downtown station has served Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) commuter rail trains since 2017.

Tourism

Railroad Square has recently positioned itself as a tourism center of Sonoma County's Redwood Empire and Wine Country, with 325 beds across three hotels in the district: the Hotel La Rose, built in 1907 and separately designated on the National Register of Historic Places; the

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa; and the

Courtyard Marriott Courtyard by Marriott is a brand of hotels owned by Marriott International. One of Marriott's mid-priced brands, the hotels are primarily targeted to business travelers, but also accommodate traveling families. Rooms have desks, couches, and fr ...

. The free Railroad Square Music Festival has been held every June since 2015.

References

External links

History
Historic Railroad Square Association
Downtown Map
City of Santa Rosa {{National Register of Historic Places in California Neighborhoods in Santa Rosa, California National Register of Historic Places in Sonoma County, California Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California 1979 establishments in California