Hotel Petaluma is undergoing a restoration that turns back the clock to its 1920s heyday as social center of its community and welcome respite for those traveling through the region.
A vintage bronze placard welcomes guests to the foyer of the Hotel Petaluma. Built in 1923, the hotel was built by the people for the people. Engraving on the placard says: “Made possible through the cooperative effort of eight hundred and fifty five men and women of Petaluma. Its friendly doors welcome the stranger and under its hospitable roof the friends of Petaluma find always only goodwill. It stands as evidence and proof of the faith which the people of Petaluma have in each other and in their city.”
Resident shareholders pooled together $250,000 of the total $350,000 costs for building the five story hotel with its Art Deco interior and spacious mezzanine. It was a showcase for visitors to the area and the hub of the community for social activities, events, club gatherings and civic meetings.
The Hotel Petaluma Company was established with Thomas Maclay as president and George P. McNear as vice president. Architect Brainerd Jones who designed most of Petaluma pitched a design, but it was San Francisco-based architect Frederich Whitton who scored the contract and designed this hotel.
The hotel has changed hands several times over the past 92 years. It has weathered two Depression eras, World War II and misguided remodels in parts and no upgrades at all in other areas. New owners Dipak Patel and Satish Patel of San Francisco, 40 years veterans of multiple Bay Area hotel ownership made a smart move in hiring historic hotel manager Juli Lederhaus as General Manager.
Juli has a passion for beautiful old hotels whose history and grandeur she has lots of experience in bringing back to life. She worked at the Fairmont in San Francisco in the past, although more recently, in a cooperative shareholder-built historic hotel in Salem, Massachusetts, constructed by the same company as Hotel Petaluma.
Her focus on restoring the hotel's elegant courtyard to its former glory is the most visible of restoration work from the outside. Here's what it used to look like:
And here's "restorian" extraordinaire, Petaluma's most passionate man about town when it comes to saving and restoring our community's architectural treasures, Christopher Stevick , showing me some of the work being done to ready for a late Spring completion of the courtyard.
Chris is currently reconstructing stone and plasterwork for the shield and cherubs that formerly graced the double doorway entrance to the lobby from the courtyard.
There's still a lot of work to do in the interior of the hotel. I imagine Chris will be kept busy for at least another two or three years. It's incredibly great to see this expert level of care being lavished on the old place.
There are more back staircases than you'd believe in the hotel, as well as the original pull-door elevator that is still in use. All of the limited guest rooms that are currently in use have been spruced up with quality linens and furnishings, though major remodeling of guest rooms, including plantation shutters and traffic noise reduction effort is next on the hotel's to-do-list.
The Goldman Ballroom and Brooklyn Boardroom pictured below are being booked up by wedding and event planners as "the quintessential Petaluma experience" — classic and elegant and right in the center of Petaluma's historic shopping and dining district.
After I'd had a good look around with Chris giving me an impromptu tour, I joined Petaluma's Salon du Vin group for a spot of wine tasting in the ballroom with Petaluma Gap member Fogline Vineyard's Evan Pontoriero.
After building a successful career in animation with Industrial Light and Magic, then Pixar Animation Studios, Evan told a rapt audience of his passion for winemaking and being grounded in the region he calls home.
He and business partner Brent Bessire have applied their combined skills in business and the arts for digging deep into premium winemaking.
Outstanding 2013 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (evoking lemon zest, apple, and spice with a refreshing clean minerality and a touch of oak), Pinot Noir (Bing cherries and violets) and a (food friendly with blackberry and chocolate notes) 2013 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel were featured in the tasting line-up. Click here for a full list of Fogline's wonderful wines.
Find Fogline Wines on the shelves at The Petaluma Market and Vine & Barrel in Petaluma, or sample for yourself at the winery's tasting room at 85 River Road in Fulton.
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