National Register of Historic Places

Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Powerhouse

Sepbastopol, Sonoma County, California
Listed
July 22, 1991
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
91000918

About this property

The Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Power House is a historic building in Sebastopol, California, U.S., built to serve the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad, an electric interurban railway of Sonoma County. It is also known as the Hogan Building and the P&SR Substation. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It was deemed significant "as the first building constructed and the only building or structure remaining from Sonoma County's participation it what urban historian Raymond A Mohl has termed '[T]he most important transit innovation of the late 19th century ... [-] the electrification of street railways.' (The New City: Urban America in the Industrial Age f 1860-1920 [Arlington Heights, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1985], 34.) From its incorporation on June 20, 1903, until the last trolley lines were pulled down on May 31, 1947, the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway was Sonoma County's only electric interurban street railway system. The trackage, wires, and rolling stock are now gone. Only two visual reminders remain - P & SR Car 65, a passenger car constructed by San Francisco's Holman Car Company, which is in the Western Railway Museum at Rio Vista Junction; and the P & SR Power Station in Sebastopol. The Power Station is the only architectural reminder of this important facet of Sonoma County's transportation history; the only remaining symbol of the community's struggle to provide cheap, efficient, and modern service for both passengers and freight and simultaneously destroy the monopolistic hold of the Northwestern Pacific on both farmers and interurban commuters. It also represents the transition between the age of steam and the age of the internal combustion engine." The Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Power House is located on Petaluma Avenue in Sebastopol, adjacent to the P&SR Depot on South Main Street. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991.

Location

238--258 Petaluma Ave.
Sepbastopol, Sonoma County, California
38.40121, -122.82302

Categories

TRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Sebastopol Depot of the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway
Industrial
0 mi
Strout, George A., House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Gold Ridge Farm
Listed
0.7 mi
Hicks House
Industrial
3.4 mi
Llano Road Roadhouse
Industrial
4.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Powerhouse listed on the National Register?

Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Powerhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 22, 1991.

What type of historic resource is Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Powerhouse?

Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Powerhouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Powerhouse?

The period of significance for Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway Powerhouse is recorded as the industrial era.

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