(rshsdepot) Petaluma, CA

[Jim Dent <jdent1_@_optonline.net>]

Depot roars back to life

90-year-old building transformed from forgotten blight to destination 
point as new visitors center

November 2, 2005

By COREY YOUNG
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

Like the trains that once ran along the nearby tracks, the rebirth of 
the Petaluma Railroad Depot started slowly before building up speed to 
get where it needed to go.

That destination is life as the city's new visitors center, the first of 
several new projects for the area of central Petaluma between Lakeville 
Street and the Petaluma River.

The visitors center will open next week and in coming years, it is 
expected to be joined by a new transit mall, mixed-use shopping and 
housing and the redevelopment of the Golden Eagle shopping center nearby.

But the depot is the first, reflecting the desires of several groups 
that wanted to do something with the long-forgotten property. Owned by 
the railroad, leased by the city and rented to the Petaluma Visitors 
Program, the depot was recognized as a historic resource that needed to 
be preserved before it fell into further disrepair.

Now, more than two years after the adoption of the Central Petaluma 
Specific Plan that called for its preservation, the depot is ready to be 
opened again. Major work was completed by contractor Vila Construction 
last week as the city strived to get the visitors program moved in 
before the rainy season gets into full swing.

The $4.3 million work started in 2003, renovating the exterior of the 
buildings and fixing the dry rot, roofing tiles and making the 
structures safe for earthquakes. The building was tented and treated for 
termites. Outside, the stucco walls of the buildings were repaired and 
painted.

"It was a total overhaul," said Evelyn Onderdonk, the city's project 
manager for the depot. Inside the smaller baggage building, which will 
become public restrooms, "We removed everything from the ceiling to the 
floors to the walls."

But as crews went about their work, they were careful not to remove 
historical remnants from the 1914 building.

"Anything that was historical, we haven't touched," Onderdonk said. That 
includes hardwood trusses, window glass, doors and architectural details 
like intricate wainscot paneling along the interior walls.

A coal-burning fireplace that once heated the depot's public lobby is no 
longer there, but has been replaced by a fireplace insert that will 
provide the same warmth to the new visitors center.

Inside, the building has been transformed into office space for the 
visitors program, along with a storage space and a restroom. Outside, 
new concrete, streetlights and landscaping is in place, along with 
parking for the visitors center.

The landscaping includes more than 150 rosebushes, to be cared for by 
the Petaluma Rose and Garden Club.

Visitors program executive director Jessica Vann Gardner said the new 
location will spark an increase in the number of people stopping by to 
find where to go and what to do in Petaluma. The visitors center is 
moving from its Baywood Drive address, which it shared with the Petaluma 
Area Chamber of Commerce before the chamber moved to the Great Petaluma 
Mill on B Street earlier this year.

Vann Gardner said residents of the Mary Isaak Center for Homeless Adults 
are helping move equipment, furniture and supplies through the Committee 
On The Shelterless (COTS) "Work Right" program. A formerly homeless man 
who once owned a moving company is taking charge and arranged for a 
discount on a truck and equipment for this week's move.

The visitors center will be closed the rest of this week as it prepares 
to open in the depot, Vann Gardner said. When it re-opens Monday, the 
phone number will still be 769-0429, but the new address is 210 
Lakeville St. and the fax number is 283-0528.

The visitors program Web site, www.visitpetaluma.com, will be available 
throughout the move.

(Contact Corey Young at cyoung_@_arguscourier.com)




Copyright © 2005 Petaluma Argus-Courier

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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