i moved to santa rosa when i was 5 in 1977 and lived 2 blocks from the mcdonald mansion. never felt luckier to live in such a beautiful neighborhood as i am right now.
@@martymello8772 holy, thats right by my old house, i was on wright st and 14th till i was 7 and wright st and spencer ave till i was 17 but my mom lived there into my late 20s
It is unfortunate that santa rosa cut down and destroyed great big beautiful redwood trees for a really silly "courtyard square" that no-one wants to visit.
are you talking about the new one, where they cut off mendocino ave and put that weird looking concrete park in? because, yes, that thing is awful. the one made in the last 10-15 years right?
😂😂😂😂 it's completely worthless. Nobody wans to be standing in the hot ass sun. It has no shade at all. They wasted thousands of dollars on something that none wanted in the first place.
Would be somewhat decent if they organized any small festival like events there with musical acts. That would also help the restaurants surrounding it The only problem is, the fairgrounds already exist for that, and there's not enough parking for a huge gathering of people near the downtown "square" square area for impactful events unless people park at the mall.
Santa Rosa is the worst liberal city to live in. Homeless everywhere right next to Half a million dollar house. A Democrats play ground. Right next to Bohemian Grove.
The bohemian grove is 20 miles from Santa Rosa , its east and south of Guerneville on the Russian river. Most of the bangers are in east Santa Rosa and South Park. Always have been. The average cost of a house in Sonoma county is $500,000. Several friends have either sold or iwn houses w ok rth aproaching 2 million. One freind bought for 175,000 in the 70s and sold for $1,700,000 in the 90s. Another freind sold his for 1.9 million, it sold before it was listed. Not alot of bangers buying houses here.
As a Santa Rosa native I had to fight back tears on this stroll down memory lane, tugging on heartstrings that live on. I still have a full bottle of Grace Brothers beer, and original seats from the California Theatre! True treasures....
Yeah, there's so much potential up here. Some new revitalization seems important. I've got some ideas, starting with knocking down the mall and connecting railroad square with the rest of downtown...
Fr so much crime now kids with guns sonoma county became a shit hole sad 😞 still can’t believe it don’t get me wrong crime and issues every were but sonoma county was never this bad since 2020 we all went down hill so much violence crimes stabbings god bless everyone
@@frankvazquez5974 it’s sad. I’ve lived here all my life. I love the city but I’ve had to keep moving more and more towards Windsor as the years go by. Anything past wikiup is ghetto now.
My Uncle was Hugh Codding's paint contractor. Codding built alot of houses after the war. Also built 3 shopping centers. Montgomery village, Coddingtown, and Santa Rosa Plaza Mall. My uncle got rich working with Codding. My mother went to school up until highschool in Sonoma county. She went to highschool at Pollytechnic in San Francisco. Moved back to Santa Rosa in the late 40s. My grandfather worked for my Uncle.
Well that's exciting, to have an uncle who built the shopping malls and houses and everything he was big time I take it. Yes in the Montgomery village boy I think your uncle another part of the family it took over but then he sold it I forgot his name and he had a wife their last name was Codding... I did not know them personally but I did see him around the mall who took over for family he just sold a Montgomery village to somebody else cuz he wanted out of it I guess it's a lot of work involved in there paperwork and everything. But I didn't know he owned pottingtown cutting talents are really nice little shopping center plaza now I'm wondering if does your uncle still own that Hugh or did somebody else in the family take over that one as well and sell it or did they keep it to run cutting down. I always wondered about that because of the last name and there was coddingtown Mall and I was wondering if they were related. And I know they own some wineries as well. If that's exciting to know and that's pretty cool so thank you for sharing now I just learned something new
My ancestors traveled from Missouri in the late 1800s , settled a ranch south West of what is now lake Sonoma, I was born at the community hospital on Chanate in early 60s, Sonoma County used to be a great place ,before all the money grubbers showed up and destroyed the landscape
Great video, learned a lot, I moved to Santa Rosa when I was transferred from Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto to The Fountain Grove Hewlett Packard site, 1980’s, my future manager suggested finding a place to live in the Bennett Valley area, found a nice apartment, had great neighbors, that showed me around in the area, but didn’t know the history of the area until now. Thank you. I’ve loved living here, retired from HP / Agilent, now call Santa Rosa my home
I LOVE SANTA ROSA! Thank you for such an amazing video. I’ve been searching for this for a long time. Just became a member of the historical society of Santa Rosa too, so excited!
I am a native son of Sonoma County, born in Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and raised in Cotati. My family ancestors came to Sonoma County in the 1850's. They bought land from then Governor Vallejo. My dad and grand dad were ranch hands, working on dairies into the 1950's. I remember when Rohnert Park was a seed farm, not poorly constructed houses, Cotati didn't have any stop signs, much less traffic lights, and the area where Sonoma State College is was hay fields. One of my elementary school teachers also taught my dad. Agriculture was king and life was simpler back then, before greedy developers and power hungry politicians took over.
l lived in Santa Rosa and the guerneville area most my life. Use to be a great place in the 80's and 90's now it's a shit hole nothing but rich people insane home prices and gang bangers. Im glad i got out of California when I did. Have no desire to return.
My grandmother owned the California hotel on 4th st. It was a block from the courthouse. It was the only building to survive the 1906 earthquake intact. She sold it in 1968. It was torn down to build the Mall. It was about where the east entrance is now. Its good that she sold it before it was condemned. It was all about real estate.
Not excusing the harshness of the European Expansion everywhere on the planet, the diseases spread a lot faster than the Conquistadores that brought it. I believe this is due to European nations, colliding into each other, and running out of space they began living in closer proximity to their cattle. Because of that, Europeans developed a pretty thick skin to these viruses built up over a long period of time. The Original People here did not live with their animal so they had no immune defense against these herd born viruses. It wiped out nearly 80% of the indigenous people as it only took one person to bring it into a tribe to cause an outbreak. Then...came along the people like Kelsey, (Kelseyville), who led raids to slaughter local tribes. It's been a long and winding road. Way too long.
Glad to know the history. Santa Rosa currently is nothing to write home about unless you live in the more affluent areas. I’ve lived here for 30 years, and the traffic has gotten ridiculous. It takes half an hour to make it from Santa Rosa Ave to Airport during commute traffic. When I move, I’ll miss the sounds of gunshots lulling me to sleep
I agree with the many who were left out of this article. The contributions of the Mexicans, blacks, Japanese and Chinese people. My family moved to Santa Rosa in 1958. So we only heard the stories of the Europeans as contributors. In fact it's as if the others races of people don't exist, nor their contributions.
Santa Rosa is my second hometown after moving here from China. Thank you for such a great video to help me understand and love this beautiful town more!
Did you know Chinese people were murdered if they tried to live in Santa Rosa? They were the most hated people over the blacks slave that was brought there by the Confederate sympathizers. Consider yourself privileged now to live there.
I grew up four blocks from McDonald mansion my grandfather ran a cleaners in Montgomery village it was a great place to grow up .unfortunately it has grown bigger then it's britches and it's tuff to just drive a few blocks without being cut off flipped off or some body being a ass to me . But Sr was a fun place on Halloween in the 80s the owner of the McDonald mansion would give us either a soda or a full size candy bar.
I was born in Santa Rosa. My family still lives there and I love to revisit as often as I can. This video made me home sick. I now call Michigan my home.
@@hollyshaw-elliemae I was so scared of her we would come down to Santa Rosa from Point Arena to do school shopping and I was petrified that we would run into her and we always did but then my best friend moved into the same building as pepper so I got to know the real pepper the kind sweet lady that just wanted attention and she also made the best fried potatoes But boy when you were a little kid she would scare you and tell you to get off the sidewalk
@@maryrose4409 the first few times i saw her she did exactly that, shoo me off the sidewalk. i finally got up the nerve to ask her why i couldnt walk on the sidewalk too and thats when she started being nice to me. i didnt ask mean, i was trying to understand what i was doing wrong. from that day on, whenever i saw her she was sweet as pie to me, i think because i didnt act like she was as crazy as we all thought she was. i remember shaking her hand once and to THIS day i can feel how thin her skin was as she was older at that point. i always feel my hands to see if it feels that way, im 50 now so they do lol. my mom told me she used to be mayor so something way back when.
It’s crazy to see what generations of terrible politics has done to this once wonderful city. This city could easily have been a gem in all of the west coast.
My mom traveled here a few times and I was young and I would see pictures of her trip. She would travel in the area for work and when not working explore the area and goto all these places listed. I actually now have the photos of her trips here. She passed with Cancer in 2018 and I was forced to go through all of her belongings and stumbled across the photos again and well I couldn’t throw them out. I knew her love for this place was enormous and I never heard her speak of her other travels as much as Santa Rosa. I had to watch this video to see what was on here. I never knew I’d see the same places as her photos and get the skinny on all of the town, Amazing… I’m so glad I watched this and even more glad I kept the photos. Santa Rosa had a piece of my moms heart…❤
IBecky Doyle I was a Doyle growing up Close to Santa Rosa in Forestville in the 60s. My grandfather, Walter Doyle, owned the Canyon Rock Co in Forestville. His uncle was Frank P Doyle. Frank’s son died in his youth so Frank donated land to the Boy Scouts for Doyle Park. They later donated it to the city of Santa Rosa. He also left 51 shares of the Exchange Bank to the scholar ship fund. That way no one can buy the Exchange Bank up. He was a smart man and the banks are still operating today! I have a copy of a picture of Frank when they crossed the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time!
Fantastic video. My family came to Santa Rosa in 1950. I was five at the time and have seen a tremendous amount of change. Not all good but change. I learned a lot from this video and no doubt it will stay with me for a long time.
I moved to Santa Rosa in 2001 to a nice house in Rincon Valley. I was very happy to move here from Las Vegas as it was just getting too big. I immediately discovered West Sonoma County and said to myself, some how, by some way, I want to live here some day. I was in Duncans Mills when I thought that. In 2006 that dream came true and I became a resident of Duncans Mills for 10 years. I now live in Cazadero and only go to congested Santa Rosa when I have to.
that was awsome makes me wanna go visit those places. did you know the spelling of Forestville was changed from AJ Forrester last name there used to be two " r"s in forrestville.
No mention of the Oakland Raiders ( Pro football team) having their training camp there, until Santa Rosa told Al Davis under no uncertain terms to get the hell out and stay out. Those 70's Raiders were some bad boys, having something to do with a gas station blowing up....this last bit is only something I had heard, having no first hand knowledge of it. However they had certainly worn out their welcome.
Oh, was THAT why they left? I had no idea.... In the summer of 1973, I was one of the teenagers in a production of "The Sound of Music," which we performed at Analy High School (I went to Montgomery otherwise). That's where the Raiders were practicing during the day, so no one would watch them (except my friends who were nuns in the cast, and went down to watch them between scenes). The players were wondering where these nuns were coming from! Then one of my friends got up the gumption to ask John Madden if he''d like to buy a ticket to see the show. He bought two, and one of the players came with his wife to see a performance, and Daryle Lamonica sent our leading lady a dozen red roses.
It sounds wonderful, and was once. This is one of the most expensive places to live in the US, and the homeless problem is out of control. Try an average 2000$ for a single bedroom apt. Gridlock during rush hour, although San Francisco is an hour away. Air pollution and annual wildfires. Too many people. A former city of 100,000 now pushing 400,000. Sad....
Not necessarily Catholic but honor thy mother and thy father we're taking religion out of the equation quit thinking about a book that a man wrote start thinking about your mother and your father
To many people always ruin a good thing. I blame planing commissioners , there ruining our small towns Nevada City and Grass Valley by letting in to many sub divisions in. In the outskirts of our towns The lots are 5 acre minimal and it works well. Were loosing our charm , SAD.
Thanks for creating this amazingly educational history of Santa Rosa’s development. People like me who were raised elsewhere and came here to raise our family really will appreciate it, as we do our city. That Frank Doyle pushed through GGB and SRJC is great to know. I love it here & plan to stay forever. Yes modern blights like crime/homelessness/addiction impact Santa Rosa, but there’s no city in the US without that. I love NoCal and Sonoma County has the best weather, most open space, & friendliest folks I’ve found after trying three others (SF, Alameda & Marin counties).
What they don't understand is we all ride together and we'll all stay together race color or Creed doesn't matter Santa Rosa's are home and will defend it and we will keep your children and your kids protected the best that we can and no one will ever leave your side and don't think that you ever go anywhere alone because we are all here and we are all watching
This was made about a year before the Tubbs fire destroyed probably most of what we're seeing here. When I saw it on the news afterward, I couldn't even recognize what part of town they were showing.
No, I didn't see anything in this video that was impacted by the fire. Most of what you see here is the McDonald historic neighborhood, Montgomery Village and Downtown. They are all pretty far from the areas of town that burned in 2017 (Coffey Park, Fountaingrove and Mark West/Wikiup neighborhoods).
When I think of my home area, I call it contractor county now. Hoards of gen-x F350 drivers overcharging for tightening a pipe and homes youll never afford. Beautiful area. Out of touch people.
What an excellent production! Having grown up in Montgomery Village, going to Montgomery High School, having Frank Grace as a coach, receiving a Doyle Scholarship and a great education from SRJC, and spending alot of time in Annadle, as a kid makes me miss the old Santa Rosa of < 40k population very much. This documentary is a treasure! Thank you Gaye LaBaron, Frank Grace, and team!!
One intresting thing not mentioned in this is that at one time Santa Rosa had a great deal of KKK members. Maybe back when the wealthy farmers controlled the town by day and perhaps dressed in sheets by night. I learned this from my history of California professor at SRJC.
Great video! My family came here thousands of years ago. Born in the Northern top of California, at 18 years old I brought a piece of the 1400 left of my family during the beginning of this City back and haven't looked back. I, like my ancestors will die here, but I hope my end is happier.
My grandmother's hotel was next to the Occidental hotel and around the corner from the California and Roxy theaters. Akso a block from the bus station. The library was a block behind her on 3rd st. Now its part of the Santa Rosa plaza mall.
The old Carnegie library was on the same site as the current downtown library on E Street. My parents used to take me there when I was young, while it was still standing. Now my Charlie Brown statue stands there (he's in the video too).
To be honest, Santa Rosa is a terrible place to live. Crime, sideshows and bad cops. The traffic and parking anywhere in the main city area is pretty bad.
I moved to Forestville and taught roller skating at the Santa Rosa roller rink in 1973 & 1974. As I remember, it was a very nice city with great people but I found that winter to be the most depressing winter I ever spent as it rained everyday from Thanksgiving to Easter and it wasn't just a drizzle either but like a monsoon type rain. Being from the Northeast, I had never seen heavy rain like that in my life. I went back in 1989 to visit friends I had made, but I went at the beginning of fall. The week after I returned back home in the Northeast, San Francisco and San Mateo was hit with a major earthquake that occurred during the World Series. I left there just in time otherwise I would have been stuck there.
Well done! I moved to Santa Rosa in 1996 - best move we've ever make. I thought Jack London was a part or our history. He wasn't mentioned in the documentary.
moved in trash and now its gang cartel country wake up violent horrific people have moved in remeber the class of tgese areas santa barbara was quiet and classy now omg i wouldnt go there or even malibu bad area s
Fascinating history. I've watched the Bennett Valley area grow over the last 40 years, but hopefully not too much. I love the open spaces, the beautiful trees and grasses and wild mustard plants. That's what makes Santa Rosa so desirable along with the best weather in the country.
I may be wrong, but I didn't see any black people in this video or mention of their contributions; and come to think of it, there were'nt any Asians, either; not even in the Fountain Grove segment.
Luther Burbank also unfortunately brought the "Himalayan" blackberry which is known as one of California's most noxious and pervasive invasive species.
and that's how the place I live came to be it's definitely one of the best places in the area. It is sad though the fair has had a slight decline in attendance over the years when I used to go growing up there used to be so many people but then it died down a little over the 2010s. And I would of loved to seen the Sebastopol road area back in its hay day before it became the ghetto
Pay certain ethnic people slave wages and a ghetto arises. Go figure. Unfortunately, this documentary mostly skipped over the many contributions of Hispanics.
@@simrdownmon6431 I'm pretty sure minimum wage is the same for anyone. Perhaps having multiple kids before people can support themselves prolly doesn't help
@@mrtree1368 Of course earning minimum wage to put food on the table vs earning minimum wage to save for your first car are two different realities. But I'm guessing you know that and are just pretending to be stupid...I hope.
i moved to santa rosa when i was 5 in 1977 and lived 2 blocks from the mcdonald mansion. never felt luckier to live in such a beautiful neighborhood as i am right now.
I grew up off pacific ave in the late 80s and 90s it used to be a great town for sure
@@martymello8772 holy, thats right by my old house, i was on wright st and 14th till i was 7 and wright st and spencer ave till i was 17 but my mom lived there into my late 20s
It is unfortunate that santa rosa cut down and destroyed great big beautiful redwood trees for a really silly "courtyard square" that no-one wants to visit.
are you talking about the new one, where they cut off mendocino ave and put that weird looking concrete park in? because, yes, that thing is awful. the one made in the last 10-15 years right?
😂😂😂😂 it's completely worthless. Nobody wans to be standing in the hot ass sun. It has no shade at all. They wasted thousands of dollars on something that none wanted in the first place.
Would be somewhat decent if they organized any small festival like events there with musical acts. That would also help the restaurants surrounding it
The only problem is, the fairgrounds already exist for that, and there's not enough parking for a huge gathering of people near the downtown "square" square area for impactful events unless people park at the mall.
@@Floatzilla very true not enough parking but they really wanted that useless square for some reason. Great thought. That would be nice.
Santa Rosa is the worst liberal city to live in. Homeless everywhere right next to Half a million dollar house. A Democrats play ground. Right next to Bohemian Grove.
The bohemian grove is 20 miles from Santa Rosa , its east and south of Guerneville on the Russian river. Most of the bangers are in east Santa Rosa and South Park. Always have been. The average cost of a house in Sonoma county is $500,000. Several friends have either sold or iwn houses w ok rth aproaching 2 million. One freind bought for 175,000 in the 70s and sold for $1,700,000 in the 90s. Another freind sold his for 1.9 million, it sold before it was listed. Not alot of bangers buying houses here.
the homeless werent as bad prior to the tubbs fire. alot of todays homeless in sonoma county were a result of that
As a Santa Rosa native I had to fight back tears on this stroll down memory lane, tugging on heartstrings that live on. I still have a full bottle of Grace Brothers beer, and original seats from the California Theatre! True treasures....
Wow, how'd get them seats? That's so cool. I saw Bambi there when I like 6-thoroughly destroyed my inner child when Bambi's got murdered.
It's really saddening to see all these great achievements and how mediocre the town has become.
Yeah, there's so much potential up here. Some new revitalization seems important. I've got some ideas, starting with knocking down the mall and connecting railroad square with the rest of downtown...
Fr so much crime now kids with guns sonoma county became a shit hole sad 😞 still can’t believe it don’t get me wrong crime and issues every were but sonoma county was never this bad since 2020 we all went down hill so much violence crimes stabbings god bless everyone
@@frankvazquez5974 it’s sad. I’ve lived here all my life. I love the city but I’ve had to keep moving more and more towards Windsor as the years go by. Anything past wikiup is ghetto now.
@@mrhapp3that’s not really true. I live in an awesome neighborhood right in town.
It was once upon a time a great city and place to live, not so much anymore.
I was born in Santa Rosa at Memorial Hospital in April 1958 and have lived here all my life and I love this city. I plan to never move away.
Me too, Nov,1958
My Uncle was Hugh Codding's paint contractor. Codding built alot of houses after the war. Also built 3 shopping centers. Montgomery village, Coddingtown, and Santa Rosa Plaza Mall. My uncle got rich working with Codding. My mother went to school up until highschool in Sonoma county. She went to highschool at Pollytechnic in San Francisco. Moved back to Santa Rosa in the late 40s. My grandfather worked for my Uncle.
I knew your uncle
Well that's exciting, to have an uncle who built the shopping malls and houses and everything he was big time I take it. Yes in the Montgomery village boy I think your uncle another part of the family it took over but then he sold it I forgot his name and he had a wife their last name was Codding... I did not know them personally but I did see him around the mall who took over for family he just sold a Montgomery village to somebody else cuz he wanted out of it I guess it's a lot of work involved in there paperwork and everything. But I didn't know he owned pottingtown cutting talents are really nice little shopping center plaza now I'm wondering if does your uncle still own that Hugh or did somebody else in the family take over that one as well and sell it or did they keep it to run cutting down. I always wondered about that because of the last name and there was coddingtown Mall and I was wondering if they were related. And I know they own some wineries as well. If that's exciting to know and that's pretty cool so thank you for sharing now I just learned something new
Hugh is a family member of mine
Unfortunately, this documentary mostly skipped over the many contributions of Hispanics.
@@simrdownmon6431 no
My ancestors traveled from Missouri in the late 1800s , settled a ranch south West of what is now lake Sonoma, I was born at the community hospital on Chanate in early 60s, Sonoma County used to be a great place ,before all the money grubbers showed up and destroyed the landscape
My dad or mom could have delivered you?
Great video, learned a lot, I moved to Santa Rosa when I was transferred from Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto to The Fountain Grove Hewlett Packard site, 1980’s, my future manager suggested finding a place to live in the Bennett Valley area, found a nice apartment, had great neighbors, that showed me around in the area, but didn’t know the history of the area until now. Thank you. I’ve loved living here, retired from HP / Agilent, now call Santa Rosa my home
W12
Unfortunately, this documentary mostly skipped over the many contributions of Hispanics.
Yo might know my dad berry carone
maybe you knew my grampa Ronald Peugh.
I LOVE SANTA ROSA! Thank you for such an amazing video. I’ve been searching for this for a long time. Just became a member of the historical society of Santa Rosa too, so excited!
I am a native son of Sonoma County, born in Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and raised in Cotati. My family ancestors came to Sonoma County in the 1850's. They bought land from then Governor Vallejo. My dad and grand dad were ranch hands, working on dairies into the 1950's. I remember when Rohnert Park was a seed farm, not poorly constructed houses, Cotati didn't have any stop signs, much less traffic lights, and the area where Sonoma State College is was hay fields. One of my elementary school teachers also taught my dad. Agriculture was king and life was simpler back then, before greedy developers and power hungry politicians took over.
Hi Rick. I’ve heard you tell some of those stories!
@@toddsgarage7754 So, do I know you?
You sure do. Shut Moen. That Todd
Any relation to Charles?
@@billywest56 All LIchau are related. Chuck was my dad's brother and his son is my cousin.
l lived in Santa Rosa and the guerneville area most my life. Use to be a great place in the 80's
and 90's now it's a shit hole nothing but rich people insane home prices and gang bangers. Im glad i got out of California when I did. Have no desire to return.
My grandmother owned the California hotel on 4th st. It was a block from the courthouse. It was the only building to survive the 1906 earthquake intact. She sold it in 1968. It was torn down to build the Mall. It was about where the east entrance is now. Its good that she sold it before it was condemned. It was all about real estate.
C’mon. I’m Native to this area, too. The diseases isn’t what wiped us out.
Tell em cuz!
What was it?..I don't know the story.
I would love to know also
@@gapsdietforweightloss6470 , it’s called Genocide. That’s how America was created.
Not excusing the harshness of the European Expansion everywhere on the planet, the diseases spread a lot faster than the Conquistadores that brought it. I believe this is due to European nations, colliding into each other, and running out of space they began living in closer proximity to their cattle. Because of that, Europeans developed a pretty thick skin to these viruses built up over a long period of time.
The Original People here did not live with their animal so they had no immune defense against these herd born viruses. It wiped out nearly 80% of the indigenous people as it only took one person to bring it into a tribe to cause an outbreak.
Then...came along the people like Kelsey, (Kelseyville), who led raids to slaughter local tribes.
It's been a long and winding road. Way too long.
Glad to know the history. Santa Rosa currently is nothing to write home about unless you live in the more affluent areas. I’ve lived here for 30 years, and the traffic has gotten ridiculous. It takes half an hour to make it from Santa Rosa Ave to Airport during commute traffic. When I move, I’ll miss the sounds of gunshots lulling me to sleep
Santa Rosa is my second hometown after I moved from Mexico 30 plus years ago. When I was a teenager. Now I'm in my 40s
I love Santa Rosa ..
Unfortunately, this documentary mostly skipped over the many contributions of Hispanics.
@@simrdownmon6431
Exactly
I agree with the many who were left out of this article. The contributions of the Mexicans, blacks, Japanese and Chinese people. My family moved to Santa Rosa in 1958. So we only heard the stories of the Europeans as contributors. In fact it's as if the others races of people don't exist, nor their contributions.
@@rosiebrown7731 👍
If you get a chance check out one the many homeless encampments. Some of the finest in the world!
Where are all my Mexican people at?
Santa Rosa is my second hometown after moving here from China. Thank you for such a great video to help me understand and love this beautiful town more!
Did you know Chinese people were murdered if they tried to live in Santa Rosa? They were the most hated people over the blacks slave that was brought there by the Confederate sympathizers. Consider yourself privileged now to live there.
I grew up four blocks from McDonald mansion my grandfather ran a cleaners in Montgomery village it was a great place to grow up .unfortunately it has grown bigger then it's britches and it's tuff to just drive a few blocks without being cut off flipped off or some body being a ass to me
. But Sr was a fun place on Halloween in the 80s the owner of the McDonald mansion would give us either a soda or a full size candy bar.
I was born in Santa Rosa. My family still lives there and I love to revisit as often as I can. This video made me home sick. I now call Michigan my home.
It sure used to be. Born and raised in Rosa and grew up off Russel Ave. It has gone down hill.
How come Pepper wasn't mentioned?
omg Pepper!! i remember her!! i used to run into her all up and down 4th street. and on the bus. she was a trip!! she was always really nice to me.
@@hollyshaw-elliemae I was so scared of her we would come down to Santa Rosa from Point Arena to do school shopping and I was petrified that we would run into her and we always did
but then my best friend moved into the same building as pepper so I got to know the real pepper the kind sweet lady that just wanted attention and she also made the best fried potatoes
But boy when you were a little kid she would scare you and tell you to get off the sidewalk
@@maryrose4409 the first few times i saw her she did exactly that, shoo me off the sidewalk. i finally got up the nerve to ask her why i couldnt walk on the sidewalk too and thats when she started being nice to me. i didnt ask mean, i was trying to understand what i was doing wrong. from that day on, whenever i saw her she was sweet as pie to me, i think because i didnt act like she was as crazy as we all thought she was. i remember shaking her hand once and to THIS day i can feel how thin her skin was as she was older at that point. i always feel my hands to see if it feels that way, im 50 now so they do lol. my mom told me she used to be mayor so something way back when.
Who's Pepper?
What about the older black lady they called her witch somthing I cant remember
Beautiful city, I lived there for many years!
It’s crazy to see what generations of terrible politics has done to this once wonderful city. This city could easily have been a gem in all of the west coast.
Don't worry they will not win
Aka former windsor mayor. This county is now full of rapists
@@lectosss4757 who is they
@@michaelhoffman5486 the Democratic Party They ruined all of California honestly
Q
My mom traveled here a few times and I was young and I would see pictures of her trip. She would travel in the area for work and when not working explore the area and goto all these places listed. I actually now have the photos of her trips here. She passed with Cancer in 2018 and I was forced to go through all of her belongings and stumbled across the photos again and well I couldn’t throw them out. I knew her love for this place was enormous and I never heard her speak of her other travels as much as Santa Rosa. I had to watch this video to see what was on here. I never knew I’d see the same places as her photos and get the skinny on all of the town, Amazing… I’m so glad I watched this and even more glad I kept the photos. Santa Rosa had a piece of my moms heart…❤
IBecky Doyle
I was a Doyle growing up Close to Santa Rosa in Forestville in the 60s. My grandfather, Walter Doyle, owned the Canyon Rock Co in Forestville. His uncle was Frank P Doyle. Frank’s son died in his youth so Frank donated land to the Boy Scouts for Doyle Park. They later donated it to the city of Santa Rosa. He also left 51 shares of the Exchange Bank to the scholar ship fund. That way no one can buy the Exchange Bank up. He was a smart man and the banks are still operating today! I have a copy of a picture of Frank when they crossed the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time!
I have Good memories at Doyle park. The trees we could climb on were huge. I’m sure such activities it would not be allowed today.
No better place to go broke…
Santa Rosa has come a long way. She has stood STRONG in the epic fires and that’s the truth. Thanks for the video.
yknow peeps say folks stand strong but do you expect to just see everyone sobbing and leaving course not all places stand strong
@@michaelhoffman5486i mean half our town is gone it’s pretty awesome how we are still together
My home town…. Bless SANTA ROSA
If only the building would stop…
The pendulum swings...
Interesting- we call it Santa Grossa now unfortunately.
Damn who loves McDonald’s house now?
I do
Remember The Rose that grew from concrete Tupac called this his home for all you gangsters out there
Fantastic video.
My family came to Santa Rosa in 1950. I was five at the time and have seen a tremendous amount of change. Not all good but change. I learned a lot from this video and no doubt it will stay with me for a long time.
I am new and just want to be a famous local youtuber
Unfortunately, this documentary mostly skipped over the many contributions of Hispanics.
Mine too
Fourth-generation, Santa Rosa native people of the bathroom, California and you know everything that they don’t like but I love my city
I moved to Santa Rosa in 2001 to a nice house in Rincon Valley. I was very happy to move here from Las Vegas as it was just getting too big. I immediately discovered West Sonoma County and said to myself, some how, by some way, I want to live here some day. I was in Duncans Mills when I thought that. In 2006 that dream came true and I became a resident of Duncans Mills for 10 years. I now live in Cazadero and only go to congested Santa Rosa when I have to.
Just left Sebastopol after living there for 12 years.
Where did you end up?
@@stevelabranche6119 New Mexico 🌻
@@syringaflower1498 Hysterical, I'm from Albuquerque, not born, Jr High - High school. Albuquerque is another overgrown shit hole.
It's pretty rough there nowadays. Gangs have been blowing up.
that was awsome makes me wanna go visit those places. did you know the spelling of Forestville was changed from AJ Forrester last name there used to be two " r"s in forrestville.
No mention of the Oakland Raiders ( Pro football team) having their training camp there, until Santa Rosa told Al Davis under no uncertain terms to get the hell out and stay out. Those 70's Raiders were some bad boys, having something to do with a gas station blowing up....this last bit is only something I had heard, having no first hand knowledge of it. However they had certainly worn out their welcome.
Oh, was THAT why they left? I had no idea.... In the summer of 1973, I was one of the teenagers in a production of "The Sound of Music," which we performed at Analy High School (I went to Montgomery otherwise). That's where the Raiders were practicing during the day, so no one would watch them (except my friends who were nuns in the cast, and went down to watch them between scenes). The players were wondering where these nuns were coming from! Then one of my friends got up the gumption to ask John Madden if he''d like to buy a ticket to see the show. He bought two, and one of the players came with his wife to see a performance, and Daryle Lamonica sent our leading lady a dozen red roses.
I could tell some crazy stories
It sounds wonderful, and was once. This is one of the most expensive places to live in the US, and the homeless problem is out of control. Try an average 2000$ for a single bedroom apt. Gridlock during rush hour, although San Francisco is an hour away. Air pollution and annual wildfires. Too many people. A former city of 100,000 now pushing 400,000. Sad....
Santa Rosas population is still around 200k
Santa Rosa is pretty much Mexico lol I ain’t never seen this many white folks over here in Rosa just Mexicans an some )some blk folks 😂
Guys, Santa Rosa was a catholic woman devoted to God. Where do you think the city's name "Santa Rosa" came from?
Not necessarily Catholic but honor thy mother and thy father we're taking religion out of the equation quit thinking about a book that a man wrote start thinking about your mother and your father
Santa Rosa has become a traffic city. Nothing but cars and congestion.
Unfortunately the truth is Santa Rosa is in poor shape and homeless everywhere.
too bad it has changed so much for the worst, at least the climate is nice.
Why do you think that the weather is beautiful and we're not burning to death you got to think about this
@@lectosss4757 what do you expect me to say? Geoengineering...
No because we're the last line of defense for California
@@lectosss4757 who is we? Ever look up? Dont tell me their not Geoengeneering alot in Cali and the Pacific North West.
@@lectosss4757 Good job defending Rosa Buddy, they burned Rosa down a couple a years ago with the Tubbs Fire, remember coffee park?
I lived there in the 1980s, I went to S.R J.C. and S.S.U.
I love Santa Rosa...born and raised here. Some say you never moved..I said why would I...
My father worked at Grace Brothers and had lots of property. Still own it.
I am 4th generation Santa Rosa native and so much of this and the people in it are so familiar.
To many people always ruin a good thing. I blame planing commissioners , there ruining our small towns Nevada City and Grass Valley by letting in to many sub divisions in. In the outskirts of our towns The lots are 5 acre minimal and it works well. Were loosing our charm , SAD.
This was awsome.
Thanks for creating this amazingly educational history of Santa Rosa’s development. People like me who were raised elsewhere and came here to raise our family really will appreciate it, as we do our city. That Frank Doyle pushed through GGB and SRJC is great to know. I love it here & plan to stay forever. Yes modern blights like crime/homelessness/addiction impact Santa Rosa, but there’s no city in the US without that. I love NoCal and Sonoma County has the best weather, most open space, & friendliest folks I’ve found after trying three others (SF, Alameda & Marin counties).
What they don't understand is we all ride together and we'll all stay together race color or Creed doesn't matter Santa Rosa's are home and will defend it and we will keep your children and your kids protected the best that we can and no one will ever leave your side and don't think that you ever go anywhere alone because we are all here and we are all watching
This was made about a year before the Tubbs fire destroyed probably most of what we're seeing here. When I saw it on the news afterward, I couldn't even recognize what part of town they were showing.
No, I didn't see anything in this video that was impacted by the fire. Most of what you see here is the McDonald historic neighborhood, Montgomery Village and Downtown. They are all pretty far from the areas of town that burned in 2017 (Coffey Park, Fountaingrove and Mark West/Wikiup neighborhoods).
@@MrKyledane That's good to know!
Wonderful video, thank you.
do not move here i died twice
When I think of my home area, I call it contractor county now. Hoards of gen-x F350 drivers overcharging for tightening a pipe and homes youll never afford. Beautiful area. Out of touch people.
Excellent production and information! TY Santa Rosa!
What an excellent production! Having grown up in Montgomery Village, going to Montgomery High School, having Frank Grace as a coach, receiving a Doyle Scholarship and a great education from SRJC, and spending alot of time in Annadle, as a kid makes me miss the old Santa Rosa of < 40k population very much. This documentary is a treasure! Thank you Gaye LaBaron, Frank Grace, and team!!
One intresting thing not mentioned in this is that at one time Santa Rosa had a great deal of KKK members. Maybe back when the wealthy farmers controlled the town by day and perhaps dressed in sheets by night. I learned this from my history of California professor at SRJC.
Yes there are a lot of democrats there
Always felt that about this place.
oh god do i miss home ❤️ this video made me happy
Imma JC bear cub...swam and played water polo in the 90's
Remember the polar bear
Great video! My family came here thousands of years ago. Born in the Northern top of California, at 18 years old I brought a piece of the 1400 left of my family during the beginning of this City back and haven't looked back. I, like my ancestors will die here, but I hope my end is happier.
I think you meant hundreds of years
@@drniemann6173 is that what you think? K.
my ex gf grew up there. very beautiful she is.
My grandmother's hotel was next to the Occidental hotel and around the corner from the California and Roxy theaters. Akso a block from the bus station. The library was a block behind her on 3rd st. Now its part of the Santa Rosa plaza mall.
That's where the love of my life lives near the area I love you Kate ☝️♊♊♊☝️🫂🤏
The old Carnegie library was on the same site as the current downtown library on E Street. My parents used to take me there when I was young, while it was still standing. Now my Charlie Brown statue stands there (he's in the video too).
I love my city
2:37
This was ground central for the California Eugenics movement.
To be honest, Santa Rosa is a terrible place to live. Crime, sideshows and bad cops. The traffic and parking anywhere in the main city area is pretty bad.
Thanks for posting that. Really interesting.
The first building??? I doubt it. Like there were no natives there? At all???
So next time you want to divide yourself from your neighbor give them a hug and love them cuz we're all we got
I moved to Forestville and taught roller skating at the Santa Rosa roller rink in 1973 & 1974. As I remember, it was a very nice city with great people but I found that winter to be the most depressing winter I ever spent as it rained everyday from Thanksgiving to Easter and it wasn't just a drizzle either but like a monsoon type rain. Being from the Northeast, I had never seen heavy rain like that in my life. I went back in 1989 to visit friends I had made, but I went at the beginning of fall. The week after I returned back home in the Northeast, San Francisco and San Mateo was hit with a major earthquake that occurred during the World Series. I left there just in time otherwise I would have been stuck there.
Well done! I moved to Santa Rosa in 1996 - best move we've ever make.
I thought Jack London was a part or our history.
He wasn't mentioned in the documentary.
Jack London lived in Glen Ellen, not Santa Rosa
He was in one of the photos with Luther Burbank, though.
You mispronounced every Spanish word and name therefore changing the meaning.
Born here. Happy to know this history. Thank you.
moved in trash and now its gang cartel country wake up violent horrific people have moved in remeber the class of tgese areas santa barbara was quiet and classy now omg i wouldnt go there or even malibu bad area s
I love living here.
Have always loved visiting Santa Rosa. It does seem pretty ideal.
No one has been wiped out this is the most sacred ground in the world even more than Israel
Awesome documentary! Thanks!
Wonderful! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
this is cool but looking for the other side of santa rosas history no one wants to talk about...
still unfathomable how her house sits in an abandoned lot near montgomery village
Yes it is a real shame it’s not made into a historical site
My family moved there about 100 years ago.
I don't care where you are at in California. Nothing in California is the chosen spot. I know your talking about history, but look at it now.
Grew up in Santa Rosa. Population was about 30,000 then.
It’s 320000 now
@@casinoboy8871 I know. Unreal!
Let's call it the hidden gem with all the power
The belvedere very important place to find love and respect and loyalty
my friends parents ran the belvedere for many years. i spent many overnights as a young teen there. its haunted for SURE. i was 14 at the time
Sorry it is located in California-all bets are off!
Fascinating history. I've watched the Bennett Valley area grow over the last 40 years, but hopefully not too much. I love the open spaces, the beautiful trees and grasses and wild mustard plants. That's what makes Santa Rosa so desirable along with the best weather in the country.
I may be wrong, but I didn't see any black people in this video or mention of their contributions; and come to think of it, there were'nt any Asians, either; not even in the Fountain Grove segment.
ofc not tacos racis cacs
Luther Burbank also unfortunately brought the "Himalayan" blackberry which is known as one of California's most noxious and pervasive invasive species.
and that's how the place I live came to be it's definitely one of the best places in the area. It is sad though the fair has had a slight decline in attendance over the years when I used to go growing up there used to be so many people but then it died down a little over the 2010s. And I would of loved to seen the Sebastopol road area back in its hay day before it became the ghetto
Pay certain ethnic people slave wages and a ghetto arises. Go figure.
Unfortunately, this documentary mostly skipped over the many contributions of Hispanics.
@@simrdownmon6431 I'm pretty sure minimum wage is the same for anyone. Perhaps having multiple kids before people can support themselves prolly doesn't help
@@mrtree1368 Of course earning minimum wage to put food on the table vs earning minimum wage to save for your first car are two different realities. But I'm guessing you know that and are just pretending to be stupid...I hope.
You mean they were killed off
Left out Mishewal Wappo ppl
Roxy theater is still there
Charles Schultz made some big mistakes in life and no one will ever know the truth on that but I'm going to tell you he messed up big time
Schulz, not Schultz.
@@831BeachBum I can't spell berry good
Well thanks for sharing all that information with us.
@@jeanniedelgado1816 I don't know just saying just a thought