The Sonoma County Museum, in Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. 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 and 26th...

, is dedicated to the Sonoma County

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....

 region's history, art, and culture. Featuring between 15 and 18 exhibitions in art and history annually, the SCM is the only collecting art museum in the North Bay

North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)

The North Bay is a subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The largest city is Santa Rosa. It is by far the least populous and least urbanized part of the Bay Area...

 region. The museum presents tours, lectures, panel discussions, interactive displays and youth programs on a regular basis. Annual attendance is approximately 15,000 visitors a year and growing; the museum has a membership program and special events and activities for museum members. The Museum Shop features unique jewelry, books, toys and objects related to the Sonoma County region.

The museum is located in the area's historic Post Office building. Built in 1909 by local firms, it is one of the first 12 buildings built by the federal government in California. The architecture of the building is Roman Renaissance Revival

Neo-Renaissance

Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...

 with influence of the Spanish style. It opened as a post office in 1910 and still features the historic marble and oak ornamentation. In 1979 the Post Office moved several blocks to its present location on 7th Street. The building was renovated as a museum space and placed on the National Historic Register.

The Sonoma County Museum opened in 1985.

Collection

The museum has nearly 25,000 items in its collection, which document Sonoma County's history and culture throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It includes extensive collections of historic paintings, sculpture, photographs, prints, costumes, textiles, ceramics, glass, industrial tools, machinery, wood sculpture, furniture, objects, documents, and graphics relative to the local communities, commerce, technologies, and lifestyles.

External links

• Arts Council of Sonoma County
• Sonoma County Museum