National Register #78000802
Hotel La Rose
308 Wilson Street
Santa Rosa
Built 1907

The Hotel Era in Santa Rosa began with the coming of the railroad in 1870 and declined after 1936 when passenger traffic was terminated and automobiles took precedence.

Hotel La Rose is the largest of four stone buildings on Railroad Square. Built by Italian stone masons, it has continued its original use with few alterations.

The hotel contributes to Railroad Square Historic District which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Wine Country Stonemasons

Italian stonemasons immigrated to Sonoma and Napa counties at the beginning of the 20th century to escape political unrest. Peter Maroni, Natale Forni, Massimo Galeazzi, Angelo Sodini, and others had acquired the skill of cutting hard stone in the quarries of Northern Italy. Stone was quarried in Santa Rosa and Kenwood, dropped from bunkers into horse-driven wagons, and conveyed to building sites where stone was finish cut and set in place. (Source: NRHP nomination form for Railroad Square Historic District in Santa Rosa.)

Many of their structures survived earthquakes, floods and urban renewal and are here today: