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July 22, 2010

Urban Outing: Prince Memorial Greenway, Santa Rosa

The way the Seine bisects Paris, Santa Rosa Creek runs right through the heart of Santa Rosa. Beginning as a wild stream in the Mayacamas Mountains, this 22-mile creek was lined with concrete riprap for flood control in Santa Rosa during the 1960s. The creekside area became a site for homeless encampments and drug activities.

In the 1980s, the Prince Memorial Greenway -- a half-mile creekside bike and pedestrian trail from Santa Rosa City Hall to historic Railroad Square -- was born, transforming the creek with terraces, trails, plazas and artwork. Native vegetation was planted along the creek beds, and habitat created for steelhead trout. Today stone retaining walls, trails to the water's edge, sculptures and curved staircases add to the riparian experience.

The creek walk
Enter the Prince Memorial Greenway at the northwest corner of Sonoma and Santa Rosa avenues. You will be welcomed by a 13-foot sculpture of a rainbow trout, "Guardian of the Creek," designed by Mario Uribe, sculpted by Daniel Oberti and unofficially called "The Fish." As you walk along the greenway, you will pass a fountain, murals, tile steps, painted benches and even an exquisitely tiled drinking fountain. Picturesque bridges allow you to cross from one side of the creek to the other. In the creek below, egrets, fish and otters have been sighted. Steps lead up into the neighborhoods, but also down to the water.

Exit the greenway by turning right at Railroad Street for a tour of historic Railroad Square. In the sculpture garden of the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel you can see more public art -- "Three Spheres" by Oberti and "I Ching," a redwood and copper sculpture by Bruce Johnson.

Railroad Square
The first trains rumbled through Santa Rosa in the late 1870s. Once a hub of railroad activity with a depot, warehouses, saloons and hotels, Railroad Square was largely destroyed during the 1906 earthquake, with only the 1904 train depot, the Western Hotel and a few warehouses still standing.

Today, cars and trucks have replaced the trains, but Railroad Square has been beautifully restored with its warehouses and canneries reborn as restaurants, antique shops, specialty stores and a theater. Plans are in place to create a neighborhood next to the shopping district and the future Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station.

Begin by going into the Visitor Center in Depot Park to pick up a brochure that contains a map and a listing of Railroad Square shops, hotels and attractions. In Depot Park, look at the bronze statue of Peanuts and Snoopy by artist Stan Pawlowski. (Charles Schulz lived in Santa Rosa for more than 30 years.) Along Third, Fourth and Fifth streets, you will find wine bars, antique shops and a generous selection of restaurants and cafes.

Luther Burbank Home & Gardens
A perfect finale to this outing is a visit to the Luther Burbank Home & Gardens at the southeast corner of Sonoma and Santa Rosa avenues. A registered historical landmark, this is the place where Burbank lived and worked for more than 20 years. The garden where he developed hundreds of new varieties of plants is open from 8 a.m. to dusk. (Gardeners get up early.)

Getting there
By bus, from downtown San Francisco take the Golden Gate Transit Nos. 70 or 80 to the Santa Rosa Transit Mall at Second and B streets. Walk one block east to Santa Rosa Avenue and 1 1/2 blocks south to the Prince Memorial Greenway entrance. Check www.goldengatetransit.org for San Francisco stops and schedules.

By car from San Francisco, go over the Golden Gate Bridge and continue on Highway 101 north. Take the Santa Rosa downtown exit and turn right onto Third Street. Take the third right, onto Santa Rosa Avenue, and continue a few blocks to Sonoma Avenue.

Urban Outings are presented by Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area's advocate for protecting open spaces and creating vibrant places. To suggest an Urban Outing, contact Gail Todd, tour leader for S.F. City Guides and author of "Lunchtime Walks in Downtown San Francisco." To find out more about Greenbelt Alliance's work, visit www.greenbelt.org.

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