My focus has been on the river in my community writing in recent months and there's something very exciting happening within the fledgling Petaluma River Park this spring. It's not possible to cover this important Petaluma story without going into some detail and digressing into how it rubs shoulders with several other key aspects of the riverfront renaissance.
In late 2020, eight months into the pandemic, Petaluma River Park Foundation met its first and most urgent goal: the purchase of the 20.7 acre former McNear Peninsula in the heart of Petaluma to ensure the land's future as a public park.
Thanks to over 400 generous and forward-thinking donors, this extraordinary community effort for initial acquisition came to fruition as the first of its kind in the state.
Now it is time our fantastic friends and neighbors invite us with them on the next important step: to help with fundraising, first for the rebuilding of a one-mile loop trail to be stoller-able, wheelchair-able and walkable for people of nearly all mobilities. Next round funding is sought for the remainder of the River Park's $10 million dollar budget, to continue community engagement programs, habitat restoration and infrastructure build.
If you don't yet know much about the park, this article is for you. And if you're up to date on the tremendous teamwork taking place, do share this story with friends and neighbors and coworkers who may not have heard what's happening with the park site that inhabits the bulk of the McNear Peninsula along the Petaluma River, just off D Street through Haystack Landing.
This extensive acreage is adjacent to the parking lot and land where the City-owned, Friends of the Petaluma River has its headquarters. The River Park is a separate group but the two will be working closely together.
The goal is to create an inclusive and vibrant outdoor place that enriches the lives of everyone in our community and revitalizes our river habitat with ecological restoration. In turn, while we humans and our four-legged friends enjoy the park, its improvement will release the capacity of degraded river ecosystems to retain water, support biodiversity, create fire resiliency and adapt to climate change.
Petaluma River Park is about as central as it gets in our city and sits conveniently near the SMART train station, several bus stops and is within easy walking/cycling distance of downtown.
Most people are entering and exiting the park from the north west side, at least until all the east side neighborhoods are able to connect with the park via the proposed south east site. Expect informational kiosks and way-finding signage to greet visitors. Oak, Willow, and Bay trees will provide shade and section-off an area for sculpture, picnics and recreation.
An outdoor amphitheater and sculpture site is envisioned to utilize the highly visible rise in the landscape. A ridge trail will lead visitors to the highest part of the property for full views of the river and park. This will likely be a good spot for a small craft dock to be built during the restoration phase.
The tip of the park is to include the monumental Huru, a sculpture by internationally renowned sculptor Mark di Suvero and on generous long term loan from Petaluma's McKegney family.
Aren't we all so interconnected in Petaluma? It never ceases to amaze how it's the people in this awesome community of ours that get things done, they don't wait forever the City or County to some day think out of the box. Retired Special Ed teacher Carol McKegney and her late and much-missed husband Lowell were neighbors of mine three houses ago in West Petaluma when my sons were little and the McKegney's two daughters were in grade school.
It's full-circle for many of the folk in the River Park think-tank. Carol and Katy McKegney are active River Park Captains.
Huru, meaning “hello” and “goodbye” in an aboriginal Australian language, is constructed of I-beams, in a form reminiscent of a person with extend arms—a greeting for “hello” or “goodbye”. It weighs in at six tons and stands at 55 feet tall with a 33-foot triangular base.
photo illustration: Carol Mckegney
You may have seen Huru in Chrissy Field in 2014. Presented by SFMOMA in partnership with the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, eight monumentally scaled Mark di Suvero sculptures rose at historic Crissy Field for a free yearlong exhibition.
Set against the backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge, a structure that has inspired the artist throughout his career, di Suvero’s dynamic steel sculptures exhibition brought together works from across the country, dating from 1967 to 2012, celebrating five decades of work by the acclaimed artist who has an active yard that he visits most days in Petaluma.
Lowell McKegney was di Suvero's right hand man, his studio director for decades, traveling around the world to install the massive artworks. He passed away in 2011.
Carol and I talked about the site where she envisions Huru to be placed. Carol quoted Mickey Rooney to Judy Garland in a number of Depression Era shows: "Hey kids, let's put on a show." Anyone who understands the reference gets it, there's plenty of money in our community to build this park.
"People are too plugged in these days," she said. "Too many don't stop to say hello. If everyone in our community did something towards making this park a reality, we'd get to know one another, so why wait for an earthquake to happen to jump into action?"
Carol says it as it is. I like that. "People need to take part in their city," she says, "Unify it."
"This spot is perfect for a park," she added. "When I saw the land, the confluence, its visibility from the west side, Highway 101 and the east side of town as well as coming up the river, I knew it was an ideal home for Huru." Carol's dream is that the location where the sculpture will grace the park will be known as "Lowell's Landing."
This is our chance to be impactful on a bigger scale.
"It's a destination," said Carol. SMART train will draw people here to see the world class sculpture, it's a different kind of visitor. Let's not be the town that is known just for its thrift shops. The park will be a cultural facility that sets our city apart."
I also chatted with my friend Deb Smith, an enthusiastic Board Member for the Petaluma River Park. We met for coffee at Aqus Cafe which we took down to the park benches at the foot of H Street. There we were able to chat about the park as we looked across from the other side of the river. We talked about her involvement as a community member with the non-profit and how inspired she has become.
It was a peaceful, quiet May morning. We took in the familiar infrastructure of the former Pioneer Shell Plant (established in 1950) visible from across the park (which at its peak, churned out 10 to 12 tons of crushed oyster shell every hour). Oyster shells were utilized heavily in poultry and horse feed, in fertilizer and for landscaping.
Plans are also afoot in close proximity for an infill housing development to replace the historic oyster shell plant and its industrial buildings, core, central property that housed Lind Marine (formerly Jerico Products) for many years. Local historian and author John Sheehy's May 20 2022 Secret Sauce of Oyster Shells article in the Petaluma Argus Courier vividly and expertly outlines that neighboring site's early days and timeline of the oyster shell industry in Petaluma, another intertwining story within the evolution of the river.
Studying the images on the City of Petaluma's planning process page for the future Oyster Cove, we can see how the development will border the entrance to the River Park at its north end. Entering the park will look a lot different in the coming years as proposed infill changes the character and face of the D Street corridor across town.
The highly visible unsheltered encampment that grew and grew during the peak of the pandemic involved a legal battle with the City of Petaluma. It has recently lost its campaign to stay put on City-owned land on the east side of the entrance to open space. I hope a compromise will be made soon to relocate this makeshift village to a location with facilities. The River Park folk, while not unsympathetic to the plight of the unsheltered, were forced into a watch and wait holding pattern for many months. While the actual park land is for public use and though it is is privately owned, its purpose is for equal access open space that everyone in the community feels safe and comfortable accessing from dawn to dusk.
The fantastic Downtown Streets Team has been maintaining the park throughout the past months in contract with The Petaluma River Park. Let's hear it for these hardworking folk who have been at risk for homelessness themselves and take enormous pride in the tending of our community streets and shared spaces. Friends of the Petaluma River has also been undertaking an incredible amount of conversation work along the waterway.
image — concept sketch of Oyster Cove — Urban Mix Developments
I close my eyes and picture the waterway before the oyster shell industry and the land mass of the peninsula itself existed. I've recently read Becoming Story, a newly released journey among seasons, places, trees and ancestors by Greg Sarris (Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria).
In his book, the author asks what does it mean to be truly connected to the place you call home? It's a subject I've written about in my own books. Sitting by the river, I imagine a time, pre-European contact when Sonoma County was one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet, back when, as Greg Sarris described: "hundreds of species of waterfowl flew up so thick as to obliterate the sun for hours at a time."
Before the heart of Petaluma valley was populated with pioneer settlers, iron-front Victorians and later, asphalt and strip malls — herds of elk, pronghorn (the fastest mammal in North America) and black tailed deer grazed amongst thickets of blackberries along the waterway.
The ancient coast Miwok Village of Petaluma was perched atop a low hill, three miles north east of where I sat with Deb that morning. There's little discussion these days of the thousands of years the inhabitants of a 500 person village of the Lekatuit Nation lived in harmony with the land, tule huts and fire smoke their only imprint. They knew when and where to gather willow and sedge and bullrush for basket weaving, the best spots for tule and medicinal herbs, roots, seeds, acorns. Deer and rabbits provided meat and fur for winter warmth.
Many animals and birds have become extinct in Sonoma County since the early 1800s. It's hard to picture a grizzly bear dominating the animal kingdom of this waterway —though the mighty California Condor with its nine-foot wingspan is now being reintroduced to the wild, so look up!
Striped Bass, Leopard Shark and Bat Eagle Ray are reportedly the most common species of fish caught in the Petaluma River today. Both Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout use the Petaluma river and its tributaries, though not nearly in the quantities that thrived pre 1776 when Capt. Fernando Quiroz, a Spanish explorer, sailed up from San Francisco Bay to see if the Petaluma Creek led to Bodega Bay. Decades later he was followed by English and Russian fur hunters prior to the Gold Rush, when the tidal slough was described as a windy, narrow ditch amidst marshlands. Early travelers who learned to beware of low tides, arrived covered in mud.
The Petaluma Creek wasn't upgraded to the Petaluma River until an "act of Congress" in 1959 in order for the river to qualify for dredging. Petaluma has changed dramatically over the past couple hundred years. And so it is thrilling to think of a land mass, an open space in the middle of the river, in the center of the city, that is destined to provide a pathway for us to reconnect with the land.
Maybe it took the pandemic for us to truly recognize the vital, life-affirming power of open space? Deb and I talked about the City's green light decision for the relocation of the contentious public art clawfoot bathtub installation of artist Brian Goggin's Fine Balance from Water Street to the spot where we sat on H Street by the river. There are plans to turn this spot into a parklet.
It seems to me as good a compromise as any, with a reduction of size for the installation from six tubs on stilts to two. Though I have to agree with critics that night lighting, though nice, doesn't sound particularly environmentally friendly for wildlife along the river bank and within the park opposite.
Back to the park. The Petaluma River Park team has rallied fiercely, led by its terrific co-founder and executive director Seair Lorentz. I met with Seair to talk about what's next for the non-profit as it launches its Spring fundraiser. Seair was excited to have the keys finally to a new office for The River Park at Foundry Wharf.
"People need access to parks and fresh air. All across the country we are seeing cities claim more open space," said Seair, whose background is as a museum educator and marketing, communications and brand development. "Layer in Covid and all its isolating effects and we all flocked to open space. It has been a dark time, politically, socially and this has doubled our resolve as a non-profit."
She described how as a mostly all-volunteer team: "Ours is the task not to mend the entire world at once, but to make our corner of the world just that much better for our community."
I was impressed to hear how hard the board has worked to intentionally expand its diversity of voices, in part thanks to a community engagement grant that brought together a coalition of groups. What was originally an all-white board living within a specific radius is now 50% people of color. "This is a real testament to the excitement around the park in our greater community," explained Seair.
The big question, she discussed, is whether the largely volunteer-run non-profit will continue to run the park permanently after fundraising to complete its infrastructure vision or if, at the appropriate juncture, it would be wise to hand over to the City or County as a signature civic amenity. Either way, there's little chance that such a promising public park would have ever come to be if it had been left as it was with little other prospects.
"We have a lot of core players," said Seair. "Our ambassador program First Saturday walks resume in June. We're fully focused on getting community input and a six-foot trail will help with that. There's a form on our website for people to write in and get involved. Everyone's so excited for when the time comes to shovel."
State and federal funding are being eyed for substantial opportunities in the coming months, though public and private sector support is also key.
Seair's husband, sculptor, and park co-founder Sean Paul Lorentz is River Park board member in charge (along with other key board members) of creative direction, operations, fundraising, events and park design. It is no coincidence that Sean Paul is studio manager for Mark di Suvero, following in the highly respected footsteps of the late Lowell McKegney in his role with di Suvero. It's nothing short of serendipitous how Huru is coming full circle to roost within the River Park in the hometown that fosters such stellar work and synergy within its creative community.
Deb Smith had noticed a big photo board of the McNear Peninsula in the Golden Eagle Center the week we chatted and shared the picture she took of that old image which shows how West Petaluma has developed over the past decades. It's history is interesting in that it is a manmade peninsula, once grazed with livestock, aside a newly expanded canal, formed from 20.7 acres of river-dredged soil by the industrious McNear Family, back in 1898. The canal allowed access to the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad so that goods and produce were more easily transportable.
My husband, REMAX Gold real estate broker Timo Rivetti, was instrumental in working with the far-flung McNear Family descendant heirs who, after much deliberation, agreed to sell the property they had first listed at $3 mill for parkland. The Petaluma River Park finally purchased the property in Nov 2020 for $1,055,000.
The city’s general plan designation had interrupted the family’s original vision to install a brick factory on the property. Though numerous developers would have loved to land their hands on this pivotal piece of private but very public property in the center of the city, there was no way that planning restrictions would allow anything to happen development-wise at any point in the future. Everything pointed to a park and the people of our community rose to the challenge.
Here's a link to the Argus Courier article when the property was listed for sale back in 2016.
Click here to meet the team behind Petaluma River Park.
HELP BUILD THE TRAIL — CLICK HERE TO MAKE A GIFT BY JUNE 30 2022 AND YOUR DONATION WILL BE MATCHED DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR
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