Sonoma Plaza

Sonoma Plaza is the central plaza in the former town of Sonoma (pueblo de Sonoma, in Spanish), now known as Sonoma, California. The town is centered on this plaza, the largest plaza in California.

Sonoma Plaza
LocationSonoma, California
Coordinates38°17′34″N 122°27′28″W
Built1846
Architectural styleItalianate, Mission/Spanish Revival
NRHP reference No.75000489[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 3, 1975
Designated NHLDDecember 19, 1960[2]

Description
General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo reviewing his troops in Sonoma Plaza, 1846.

This plaza is surrounded by many historical buildings, including the Mission San Francisco Solano, Captain Salvador Vallejo's Casa Grande, the Presidio of Sonoma, the Blue Wing Inn, and the Toscano Hotel. In the middle of the plaza, Sonoma's early 20th-century city hall, at the plaza's center and still in use, was designed and built with four identical sides in order not to offend the merchants on any one side of the plaza. The plaza is a National Historic Landmark[2] and still serves as the town's focal point, hosting many community festivals and drawing tourists all year round. It provides a central tourist attraction. "The Plaza", as it is known, is the site of a huge Fourth of July celebration, with thousands of the town's inhabitants attending the festivities. It is also the location of the Farmer's Market, held every Tuesday in the summer.

History

This location was where the Bear Flag Revolt took place in 1846, which led to the founding of the short lived Republic of California.[3][4]

Sonoma City Hall was dedicated in 1908.

"For many years, the site in Sonoma Plaza where the bear flag originally had been raised went unmarked. Largely through the efforts of the Native Sons of the Golden West, the legislature appropriated $5,000 for a monument to be placed there. The Native Sons of the Golden West raised $500 to prepare the site, put on dedication ceremonies, and to move the huge rock that serves as the pedestal from a mile away."[5]

  • Blue Wing Inn
  • Toscano Hotel
  • Sonoma Barracks
  • Bear Flag monument

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. NHL Summary Archived 2009-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Cox, Robert A. (August 1, 1973). "Sonoma Plaza" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. National Park Service. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  4. "Sonoma Plaza" (pdf). Photographs. National Park Service. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  5. Native Sons of the Golden West, Richard Kimball & Barney Noel
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