Sonoma Plaza (Boundary Increase)

Sonoma Plaza and its surrounding blocks form a historic district in Sonoma, California, with a large, flat, tree-filled plaza at the center and a grid of streets extending outward. Commercial buildings of one to four stories face the plaza, while the side streets are mostly one-story houses. Buildings date from the 1830s to the 1930s and include adobes, Italianate storefronts, Queen Anne and Eastlake houses, bungalows, and Mission Revival structures. The plaza was once a Mexican-era parade ground and later gained Bear Flag monuments, the 1906 City Hall, a 1910 Carnegie Library, a duck pond and extensive plantings. The district also includes the Mission San Francisco Solano site, the Casa Grande site and the Swiss and Toscano hotels. The period of significance runs from 1835 to 1944. Few high-rise or modern intrusions exist, and most changes are low-rise construction or replaced windows. The district keeps the character of a small country town center, and the boundary increase adds areas along Broadway and East Napa Street.