Cultural Corridor: Sonoma County
By Shonquis Moreno
Explore everything from botanical gardens and birdwatching to local art and history along the SMART rail line.
From architecturally significant landmarks to local history and contemporary art, the corridor along Highway 101 containing the future Eames Institute museum cultivates a rich cultural landscape—easily explored along the SMART train line, by rail, car, or bicycle. We began our journey in Marin. Below we pick up the trail at the southern end of Sonoma County, heading north.
Sonoma County
Petaluma Historical Library & Museum
Open Thursday–Sunday, 10:00 am–4:00 pm
Nearest SMART stop: Petaluma Downtown (14-minute walk)
Visit the Petaluma Historical Library & Museum for concerts, walking tours, historical maps, or to read the first local newspaper (published in 1855). Shows have included a history of toy design, paintings of Petaluma’s wetlands, and the art of quilting. Fans of architecture, look for information about the many heritage homes in the area and enjoy the neoclassical building itself. Funded by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the library was designed by local architect Brainerd Jones and boasts the largest free-standing leaded stained glass dome in Northern California, along with original windows, wood paneling, and columns.
Petaluma Arts Center
Open Thursday–Sunday, 12:00–4:00 pm
Nearest SMART stop: Petaluma Downtown (steps from station)
Tucked into a historic railroad depot, the Petaluma Arts Center is a creative community center with a gift shop through which you won’t mind exiting. Promoting local artists and the visual arts, it also punches above its weight as a force for regional community-building. Beyond performances and professional development, there are weekly live figure drawing classes, auctions, and panel discussions. PAC has hosted a show celebrating lowrider cars, a color lab, and a workshop on botanical ink making taught by Eames Ranch Studios artist-in-residence Lena Wolff.
Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park
Dogs are allowed in developed areas outdoors. The park offers docent and self-guided tours and junior ranger programs.
Nearest SMART stop: Petaluma Downtown (25-minute bike ride or 11-minute drive)
Regresa a una época en la que California aún formaba parte de México. Return to a time when California was still a part of Mexico. This historic adobe building offers a peek into life on what was, from 1836–46, the largest private rancho in the region. Until the end of the Mexican era, the ranch operated in support of the army serving under its owner General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. See the places where Indigenous workers and cowboys tended Vallejo’s cattle, ran his hide and tallow business, raised sheep, bred horses, and grew a variety of crops.
The Church of One Tree
Don’t miss Juilliard Park and the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens just blocks away.
Nearest SMART stop: Santa Rosa Downtown (13-minute walk)
Northern California has its roots in the logging industry. As if to visualize its origins, this roomy church was constructed from a single redwood tree—275 feet high and 18 feet in diameter—milled in Guerneville, where it generated an astonishing 78,000 board feet of lumber. Originally a First Baptist Church, believe it or not, it went on to exhibit curiosities for decades as the Ripley Memorial Museum. The city re-leaded its stained glass windows and refurbished the interior in 2009.
Luther Burbank Home & Gardens
Call 707-524-5445 or email burbankhome@lutherburbank.org to confirm the availability of tours.
Nearest SMART stop: Santa Rosa Downtown (less than 1 mile, 17-minute walk)
Beloved horticulturalist Luther Burbank conducted his celebrated plant-breeding experiments in Santa Rosa for more than 50 years, introducing more than 800 new varieties. These include the quadruple-hybrid Shasta daisy and a spineless cactus used as forage for desert livestock. Today, visitors can explore the house, as well as gardens and a greenhouse blossoming with everything from lady’s mantle to lamb’s ears, medicinal herbs and edible chrysanthemum to ornamental grasses.
Museum of Sonoma County
Open Wednesday–Sunday, 11:00 am–5:00 pm
Nearest SMART stop: Santa Rosa Downtown (10-minute walk)
Experience regional history and contemporary art in the Museum of Sonoma County’s multiple galleries and sculpture garden. Located in the landmark 1910 post office designed by James Knox Taylor in grand neoclassical style, it hosts exhibitions about everything from Sonoma’s punk underground and the devastating 2017 Tubbs Fire to the work of local and international artists like Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Check the website for a roster of educational programs under the rubrics Art4Kids and History4Kids.
Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center
Closed on Tuesdays throughout the year
Nearest SMART stop: Santa Rosa North (14-minute walk)
A bright museum dedicated to the work of artist Charles M. Schulz, who gave the world the smart and soulful comic strip Peanuts: Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty, Linus and Lucy, Snoopy, and Woodstock. Draw your own comic strip, browse the collection, and experience the funny pages through original art. You can also watch animated specials in the theater or step into a replica of Schulz’s own art studio.
Pick up the trail again in Marin County.
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