Museum of Sonoma County facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Old Post Office
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Sonoma County Museum
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 Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | 425 7th St., Santa Rosa, California |
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| Area | 0.5 acres (0.2 ha) |
| Built by | Mr. William K. Collier, Superintendent of Construction of Public Buildings Hoyt Brothers (contractor) |
| Architect | Office of the Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor, |
| Architectural style | Roman Renaissance Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000559 |
| Added to NRHP | November 16, 1979 |
The Museum of Sonoma County is a cool place in downtown Santa Rosa, California. It's like a treasure chest where you can explore the history of the area and see amazing art by local artists. The museum has a historic building that used to be a post office, a modern art gallery, and a beautiful outdoor sculpture garden. Every year, they show 10-12 different exhibits. They also have a huge collection of over 18,000 items that tell the story of Sonoma County. The old post office building is so special that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
Museum History
The Historic 1910 Post Office
The Santa Rosa Post Office moved a few times before getting its permanent home. It started in an old adobe house on Maria Carrillo's Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa. Later, it moved to the Atheneum Theatre building.
In 1906, a plan was made to build a new, strong post office. It would be a "fireproof" building for the post office and other government offices. The plan set aside $100,000 for this project. Just one month after this plan, the big 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit. It destroyed most of downtown Santa Rosa. The post office had to work out of a grocery store, surrounded by the mess from the earthquake.
A local businessman, C.C. Donovan, asked James Knox Taylor to make the new Santa Rosa Post Office a top priority. Taylor was a famous architect who designed many federal buildings. He wanted buildings to fit the history and culture of their area. The new Santa Rosa Post Office was a great example of this "Classic Federal Architecture" style.
Building the Post Office
Construction for the new post office began in 1908. It was a true community effort! A local company, Hoyt Bros., hired other local businesses to do most of the work. Henry Kroncke did the interior woodwork. J. C. Mailer Hardware installed the plumbing. George Reilly was in charge of the stone columns and marble floors.
The building was also very modern for its time. It had a new automatic oil heating system. This system was so advanced that it wasn't shown to the public in the Bay Area until 1915! It even provided hot showers for the mail carriers. On March 9, 1910, the Post Master and his team moved into their brand new Santa Rosa Post Office.
Saving the Historic Building
Years later, the main Santa Rosa Post Office moved to a different location. After the 1969 Santa Rosa earthquakes, much of downtown Santa Rosa was damaged. The historic post office building was planned to be torn down to make way for a new mall.
But architect Dan Peterson had a different idea. He led a campaign to save the building by moving it! In April 1979, workers carefully lifted the huge building. They placed it on rails and used pulleys and cables to move it. The building moved slowly, about 36 feet each day. It traveled over 750 feet to its new home on 7th Street. Dan Petersen then restored the building to become a museum. In 1985, it officially reopened as the Sonoma County Museum.
The Sculpture Garden
The museum's Sculpture Garden was designed by Frederic Warnecke, a landscape architect. It opened in the summer of 2011. This beautiful outdoor space is a great place to see art.
Art, Growth, and Name Changes
In 2001, a man named Tom Golden donated a special collection to the museum. It included about 125 drawings, sculptures, and photos by famous artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. These artists were known for their "Running Fence" project in the 1970s. This project involved a white fabric fence stretching over 20 miles to Bodega Bay.
In 2005, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) joined with the Sonoma County Museum. This happened after MOCA decided not to build a new facility at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts.
In 2015, the museum grew even more! It expanded into a remodeled warehouse next door. With this expansion, the museum changed its name. It became "Museums of Sonoma County," with two parts: the Art Museum of Sonoma County and the History Museum of Sonoma County.
Then, in 2018, the museum changed its name one last time to Museum of Sonoma County. This change shows that it's one big organization with two buildings, many galleries, and a sculpture garden. The goal is to bring art and history together. Jeff Nathanson, the executive director, said they want the museum to be a major cultural spot for everyone.
Museum Collections
The Museum of Sonoma County has a permanent collection of over 18,000 items. These objects tell the rich history of the region. They also celebrate artists who have lived or worked in the North Bay. The collection includes:
- Historic paintings and sculptures
- Photographs and prints
- Costumes and textiles
- Ceramics and glass
- Old tools and machinery
- Wood sculptures and furniture
- Documents and graphics about local communities and businesses
Some special collections include:
- Tom Golden's Christo and Jeanne-Claude collection: This collection has 125 drawings, sculptures, and photos by the famous artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Their "Running Fence" project was a huge art installation in the 1970s.
- Marguerite Wildenhain ceramics: Beautiful pottery by a well-known artist.
- Carroll Barnes sculptures: Unique sculptures by this artist.
- 19th-century California landscapes: Paintings of California's natural beauty by artists like Thomas Hill.
- Fountaingrove artifacts: Objects related to the interesting community of Fountain Grove, California, and its leaders like Thomas Lake Harris and Nagasawa Kanaye.
- Song Wong Bourbeau collection: Over 200 photos and items from Song Wong Bourbeau (1909-1996). She was a businesswoman and community helper in Santa Rosa. This collection shows the important history of Santa Rosa's Chinatown and Chinese community.
See also
- List of United States post offices
