Coastal Traveler - Fall 2007 - (Page 68)

Petaluma: booming riverfront town By Dan Miner becoming the “historic” zone of a larger, more banal city. From gold came growth The flow of gold miners to California in the mid-19th century made the Petaluma River a vital source of wild game to feed a growing population. Hunters set up camp in the area in 1851, and by the 1860s it was one of California’s largest cities – a vibrant shipping and manufacturing center. During the 20th century, Petaluma’s river-port identity changed as the result of an invention by Canadian immigrant Lyman Bruce in 1875, an invention that gave Petaluma a new nickname: the “World’s Egg Basket.” Bruce was the inventor of the modern, large-volume incubator. By 1930, four million chickens cooped around Petaluma were producing 41 million eggs a year for export throughout the state. High costs in the late 1940s forced thousands of chicken farmers to transfer Founded in 1852, Petaluma is a historic riverfront town. Its name, from Native Americans who lived in the area 5,000 years ago, is generally translated into “City of the Little Hills.” It has an oldfashioned downtown – blocks upon blocks of elegant 19th century buildings, from Victorian mansions to riverfront brick. Costumed docents from the Petaluma Historical Museum and Library at 20 Fourth Street lead walking tours of the old city’s architectural styles: Spanish colonial, Queen Anne, Victorian, neo-classical, Gothic Revival, and Italianate. No Wal-Mart has killed this little downtown. Instead you’ll find espresso and cowboys, theatre and bookstores, antiques and movies. But Petaluma is threatened by development on its eastern edge, where there are many tract homes and malls. Let’s hope the town realizes how special it is, and fights to keep it from ownership to a few large producers, but the era’s wealth is still visible in its buildings and homes. Petaluma Boulevard parallels Petaluma River and is the main commercial street of old Petaluma. Both the ornate McNear Building and brick Old Mill Building are honeycombed with places to eat, buy clothing, gifts, and music, or catch a show. In the past couple of decades, antique stores have moved into almost every vacated storefront. View the river while shopping Across the street from the Old Mill Building is Dempsey’s brewpub, where people stopping for a snack can watch boats enter and leave the downtown turning basin. Parallel to Petaluma Boulevard, one block west from the river, is Kentucky Street, where small shops contain everything from antiques and books to food and crafts. Decorating several historic buildings on Kentucky are storefronts made of flat-iron – the result of a belief, now known to be mistaken, that such construction made buildings less vulnerable to fire. Other notable downtown attractions include Gallery One on Western Avenue, which sells gifts, paintings, and pottery, and Aqus Cafe, the hippest new hang-out in town. Where to Stay Quality Inn 5100 Montero Way • 800.575.5755 The Metro 707.773.4900 • www.metrolodging.com Hotel Petaluma 707.762.4531 • www.hotelpetaluma.com Where to Eat McNear’s House 23 Petaluma Blvd. • 707.765.2121 Petaluma Coffee & Tea Co. 212 2nd St. • 800.929.5282 Hiro’s Restaurant 707.763.2300 www.hirosrestaurant.com Where to Shop Pierre Art & Antiques 110 Petaluma Blvd. • 707.789.9553 Where to Play Mystic Theater 31 Petaluma Blvd. • 707.765.2121 Where to Retire Springfield Village 101 S. Ely Blvd. • 707.769.3300 68 coastaltraveler fall http://www.metrolodging.com http://www.hotelpetaluma.com http://www.hirosrestaurant.com

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Coastal Traveler - Fall 2007 Coastal Contents Coastal Connoisseur Coastal Picks Coastal Hotel Coastal Reader Coastal Rider Coastal Spa Santa Barbara Pismo & Avila San Luis Obispo Big Sur Carmel Monterey Santa Cruz San Francisco Sausalito Mill Valley Stinson Beach Bolinas Olema Point Reyes Station San Geronimo Fairfax Inverness Marshall, Tomales Sebastopol Petuluma Sonoma Coast Redwood Coast Napa Map

Coastal Traveler - Fall 2007

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