Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, USA. As of July 1, 2005, the population of Santa Rosa was approximately 156,200 residents. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont.
Santa Rosa's Metropolitan Statistical Area is approximately 466,477 residents, making it the 12th largest in California and the 102nd largest in the United States.
GeographySanta Rosa is located at 38°26'55' North, 122°42'17' West (38.448611, -122.704646)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, it has a total area of 104.6 km² (40.4 mi²). 103.9 km² (40.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.62% water.
The city is part of the North Bay region, which includes such cities as Sonoma, Healdsburg and Napa. It lies along the U.S. Route 101 corridor, approximately 55 miles (90 km) north of San Francisco, via the Golden Gate Bridge.
Santa Rosa lies on the Santa Rosa Plain; its eastern extremities stretch into the Valley of the Moon, and the Sonoma Creek watershed known as the Sonoma Valley, while its western edge abuts the largely-rural rolling hills of western Sonoma County.
The city is in the watershed of Santa Rosa Creek, which rises on Hood Mountain and discharges to the Laguna de Santa Rosa. Tributary basins to Santa Rosa Creek lying significantly in the city are Brush Creek, Matanzas Creek, Colgan Creek and Piner Creek.
The prominent visual feature is Hood Mountain seen to the east. To the southeast Taylor Peak and Sonoma Mountain are readily visible from much of the city.
Santa Rosa lies atop the Healdsburg-Rodgers Creek segment of the Hayward-Rodgers Creek Fault System. The US Geological Survey estimates a 20% chance of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake on this segment by 2030.[1]
On 14 April 2005, the United States Geological Survey released a map detailing the results of a new tool that measures ground shaking during an earthquake. The map determined that the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was most powerful in an area between Santa Rosa and what is now Sebastopol, causing more damage in Santa Rosa (for its size) than any other city affected.[1]
Two earthquakes of magnitudes 5.6 and 5.7 shook Santa Rosa October 1, 1969, damaging about 100 structures. They were the strongest quakes to affect the city since 1906. The epicenters were about two miles north of Santa Rosa.
NeighborhoodsSanta Rosa can be seen as divided into four quadrants: Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Norhtwest. Highway 101 runs roughly north and south through the city, and divides it into east and west sides. State Highway 12 runs roughly east and west, and divides the city into north and south sides. The intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 12 is Santa Rosa's actual geographic center.
There are several neighborhood associations, and a recent coalition called the Neighborhood Alliance. Some association leaders and members--notably the Junior College NA--are associated with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, and support the principles of The New Urbanism.
Neighborhood associations include:
As of July 1, 2005, Santa Rosa's population was approximately 156,200 residents.
Per the 2000 Census, the population density is 1,420.1/km² (3,678.3/mi²). There are 57,578 housing units at an average density of 554.0/km² (1,434.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 77.60% White, 2.15% African American, 1.42% Native American, 3.84% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 10.28% from other races, and 4.44% from two or more races. 19.19% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 56,036 households out of which 30.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% are married couples living together, 11.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% are non-families. 27.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.57 and the average family size is 3.14.
The median age of individuals residing in Santa Rosa is 36 years. 24.3% are under the age of 18, 9.5% are aged 18 to 24, 30.0% are aged 25 to 44, 22.3% are aged 45 to 64, and 13.9% are 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there are 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $50,931, and the median income for a family is $59,659. Males have a median income of $40,420 versus $30,597 for females. The per capita income for the city is $24,495. 8.5% of the population and 5.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.5% of those under the age of 18 and 4.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
City imageHorticulturalist Luther Burbank lived in Santa Rosa for over 50 years. He said of Sonoma County, 'I firmly believe, from what I have seen, that this is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned.' For many years the City's slogan was, 'The City Designed For Living'.
But today, the Chamber of Commerce, the City, and Santa Rosa Main Street (a Downtown booster group funded by the City), are searching for a new slogan, to 'help the City of Santa Rosa discover its identity'. The Chamber says it wants to develop 'a strategic community message for marketing the city to visitors, residents, and businesses in the year 2007 and beyond.'
Thus in 2007, Santa Rosa is a fast-growing city unsure of its modern identity; and looking for a new slogan to market itself to its own citizens and business community.
Growth and developmentSanta Rosa had about 30,000 residents in 1950, and about 50,000 twenty years later, in 1970. When the City Council adopted the City's first modern General Plan in 1991, the population was about 113,000.
In the 21 years since 1970, Santa Rosa had grown by about 3,000 residents a year. Some of these were new residents, and some had been incorporated into the City by annexation. Santa Rosa 2010, the 1991 General Plan, called for an 'ultimate' population of 175,000. Now the City projects a population of 195,000 in 2020.
Today, early in 2007, the population is more than 157,000. There are about 127,000 more Santa Rosans than there were in 1950. That's an average of about 2,225 a year over the 57-year period.
GovernmentSanta Rosa is a Charter city, governed by an elected seven-member City Council. The current Councilmembers (as of November 2006) are Mayor Bob Blanchard, Jane Bender, Susan Gorin, Veronica Jacobi, Mike Martini, Lee Pierce, and John Sawyer. The Council appoints the members of a number of Boards and Commissions.
The Council meets weekly, usually on Tuesday, at 4:00 p.m., in the Council Chamber at City Hall. It often meets prior to this nominally regular meeting for one or more 'Study Session(s)', in a conference room in the City Manager's Office, upstairs from the Chamber; and may hold other meetings earlier in the day.
The Council recently renamed the Housing and Redevelopment Department the Department of Economic Development and Housing. With the new stress on 'Economic Development', the Department, the Housing Authority, and the Redevelopment Agency, appear to be almost a second city council for developers and other commercial interests.
Sister citiesThe Santa Rosa City Schools district, including an Elementary School and a High School division, operates 30 schools in Santa Rosa. The district is governed by an elected Board of Education, which meets at City Hall.
Santa Rosa students are increasingly the children of Spanish-speaking immigrants, mostly from Mexico. Older residents have reacted by transferring their children to private schools, many of them religious, and starting charter schools.
Public High SchoolsThe Santa Rosa Press Democrat is the largest newspaper in California's north coastal strip between San Francisco and the Oregon border. Ernest L. Finley, his wife Ruth, daughter Ruth, and son-in-law Evert Person owned and published the 'PD' between 1897 and 1985. Evert and Ruth Finley Person sold the paper to the New York Times Company in 1985. The NYT Company also owns the Petaluma Argus Courier, and recently acquired the North Bay Business Journal.[[2]]
E. L. Finley also founded radio station KSRO in 1936, controlling both Santa Rosa's print and broadcast media. Today, with a readership of about 250,000, the PD has a near-monopoly on print news and advertising in Sonoma County and the North Bay Area.
Finley already owned The Evening Press when he bought the Sonoma Democrat from Thomas Thompson in 1897. He merged the papers, calling it The Press Democrat, then bought the competing Santa Rosa Republican in 1927. Under the Finleys, the PD's editorial stance was conservative Republican. The NYT Company's position might be described as moderate Democrat.
As an advertising medium, the PD has a vested interest in the continuing growth and development of the City, County, and region. Located on Mendocino Avenue, in the historic Downtown Area, the paper also has an interest in the redevelopment of the Downtown/Railroad Square commercial district, and maintains a close relationship with the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce.
North Bay Business JournalThe New York Times Company, which owns the Press Democrat, bought the North Bay Business Journal in January 2005 from founders Ken Clark and Randy Sloan. PD publisher Bruce Kyse is the Publisher, and Brad Bollinger is Editor and an Assistant Publisher. Bollinger previously edited the PD's business section. The paper is a strong advocate for local business.
North Bay BohemianThe North Bay Bohemian is a free weekly newspaper, specializing in food, arts, and entertainment. It has a letters to the editor page, regular columns, and substantial feature stories. The 'Boho' is written for a younger, hipper, and trendier readership than the Press Democrat's. It publishes on Wednesday, and is distributed from vending machines and racks around the city.
KFTY TV50KFTY TV50 is Santa Rosa's only private television station. Its offices are downtown at 533 Mendocino Avenue. KFTY recently made news by laying off its entire professional news staff.
TourismSanta Rosa sits at the southwestern gateway to the Sonoma and Napa Valleys of California's famed Wine Country. Many wineries and vineyards are nearby, as well as the Russian River Resort Area, the Sonoma Coast along the Pacific Ocean, Jack London State Historic Park and the redwood trees of Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.
The City sprawls along Highway 101, about an hour north of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. New airline service by Horizon Air, from the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, just north of Santa Rosa, to Los Angeles and Seattle, is scheduled to begin March 20, 2007. The City Council is also encouraging major new commercial and residential development along a proposed Sonoma-Marin Rapid Transit (SMART) railway from Larkspur to Cloverdale--parallel to the congested 101 freeway--which will be developed if local voters approve a new sales tax surcharge.
Downtown Santa Rosa, including the central Old Courthouse Square and historic Railroad Square, is a shopping, restaurant, nightclub, and theatre area. Downtown also includes City Hall, State, and Federal office buildings, many banks, and professional offices. The Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital medical center area is just to the east.
The City Council funds a private booster group, Santa Rosa Main Street, which lobbies the City to revitalize the traditional business district. Three new mixed-use, high-rise buildings, and a new City parking garage, are under development. The Council and Downtown business boosters hope condos atop the new buildings will house a population to keep the area alive 24 hours a day.
The neighboring towns of Bodega Bay, Calistoga, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma and Windsor are popular with tourists, and readily accessible from Santa Rosa.
Local AttractionsSanta Rosa has a strong arts scene and is home to many influential performing and visual artists.
The performing arts in Santa Rosa are represented by the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Wells Fargo Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Luther Burbank Center), and the Santa Rosa Players and the Actors Theatre, both located at the 6th Street Playhouse. Santa Rosa is the home of the North Bay Theatre Group, an alliance of some 40 theatre companies, theatre departments and individual performance companies from five North Bay counties. Santa Rosa High School is the home of ArtQuest, an arts program that attracts many students from outside the district and city.
The visual arts are represented by the Sonoma County Museum and numerous independent art galleries. The Arts Council of Sonoma County is also based there. The annual ARTrails event showcases the work of local visual artists from around Sonoma County, who open their private studios for two weekends in the fall to the public.
Notable Natives and Residents Luther BurbankSanta Rosa was the home of horticulturalist Luther Burbank, who said of Sonoma County, 'I firmly believe, from what I have seen, that this is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned.' Burbank lived in Santa Rosa for more than 50 years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, working to develop new strains of plants and toward improving the world's food supply. During that time, he introduced more than 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, grains, and ornamental flowers, including the Shasta daisy and the Santa Rosa plum. (Note: Burbank introduced the Russet Burbank Potato prior to his move to Santa Rosa.) His home and the surrounding gardens, now called the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, are located in downtown Santa Rosa and have been designated a California Historical Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Burbank is buried under an oak tree on the property.
Robert RipleySanta Rosa is the birthplace of cartoonist Robert Ripley, creator of Ripley's Believe It or Not!. The Church of the One Tree, a church built entirely of the wood from a single redwood tree, and popularized by Ripley, stands on the west side of Juilliard Park in downtown Santa Rosa, across the street from the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens. Ripley is buried in the Oddfellows Lawn Cemetery, next to the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery.
Charles M. SchulzFor over 30 years, Santa Rosa was home to Charles M. Schulz, the world-famous cartoonist and creator of the beloved comic strip Peanuts. The Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa celebrates his life's work and the art of cartooning. A bronze statue of Charlie Brown and Snoopy stands in Depot Park at the northwest corner of 4th and Wilson Streets in downtown Santa Rosa's Railroad Square District.
In 2000, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors rechristened the 'Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport' in his honor. The airport's amusing logo features Snoopy with goggles and scarf, taking to the skies on top of his red doghouse.
Charles Schulz's drawings were first published by Santa Rosa's Robert Ripley in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
William Mark FeltSince 1993, Santa Rosa has been the home of William Mark Felt, who revealed in 2005 that he had been the Washington Post's Watergate source known to the public only as 'Deep Throat'.
Dan HicksSinger-song writer Dan Hicks grew up in Santa Rosa. He started playing drums in grade school, played snare drum in marching band, and was playing gigs with area dance bands when he was 14. Thinking about a carrer in broadcasting, he had a spot on the local radio program 'Time Out for Teens', while going to Montgomery High in the '50s.
Dan began playing guitar and singing while going to San Francisco State College (where he earned a degree in Broadcasting), and became part of the SF coffeehouse folk music scene. By 1965 he was playing drums with the San Francisco folk-rock group The Charlatans. They were the house band at the new Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada; and were among the groups that inspired the SF '60s psychedelic dancehall scene. He began recording in 1969 as Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, an acoustic group with two female backup singers.
Dan lives in Mill Valley, tours with the current version of the Hot Licks, and also sings with the group Bayside Jazz.
Tom WaitsSanta Rosa (and nearby Sebastopol) is the home of noted musician and actor Tom Waits. Known for his thick, raspy voice, and songs that vary from love ballad to freakish storyline, he has been considered a cult music icon for decades. It is not uncommon for locals to see him browsing the racks of The Last Record Store or at Copperfield's Books.
Levi LeipheimerProfessional cyclist Levi Leipheimer ('lÄ«p-'hÄ«-mÉ™r) calls Santa Rosa his home when not racing in Europe. He was a member of the United States Postal Service cycling team that saw Lance Armstrong win the Tour de France. He has since been named leader of the Gerolsteiner team. Leipheimer has won the Tour of Germany and finished in the top five in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, and notched a podium finish in the Dauphiné Libéré. He still competes in the UCI Pro Tour, which includes the Tour, Giro, and Vuelta. On 26 February 2006, Leipheimer finished sixth overall in the inaugural Amgen Tour of California (designed to rival the Tour de France in the United States) but, true to his strength (climbing), he captured the King of the Mountain title.[2]
Natalie WoodA native of San Francisco, actress Natalie Wood lived in Santa Rosa with her parents when she appeared at age four in her first film, The Happy Land (1943).
Film locationsSanta Rosa has served as a location for many major films, including (courtesy of oldmovies.com):
