Before it housed a string of trendy cafes and beauty salons, the Western Hotel building at the foot of Fourth Street in Railroad Square in Santa Rosa was once a hotel for the area’s working class and tourists.
The building, originally known as Byrne’s Hotel, was built sometime in the late 1870s and, according to an obituary in the Sonoma Democrat on June 30, 1894, was operated by Irish owner Malichy Byrne until his death in 1894.
A businessman from Ireland named Michael McNamara came to town in 1896 and bought the hotel, which has since been renamed the Western, according to an article in The Press Democrat on March 17, 1968. His son, Ed McNamara, recalled that the original wooden building was a “literal fire trap.”
According to an August 29, 1901, report in the Press Democrat, John Doda, a wealthy Fort Ross milkman, purchased the Western in 1901, while McNamara continued his business in the building, which was already considered one of the oldest hotel buildings in the city.
The building burned down in 1903, and Doda promptly had the hotel rebuilt from local basalt stone by Italian stonemason Peter Maroni, according to a report in the Press Democrat on July 11, 1903. The new stone Western Hotel officially opened to a large crowd of guests on January 16, 1904, the Press Democrat reported the next day.
During the devastating earthquake of 1906, the Western was the only hotel building in the city still standing. An exterior wall collapsed, killing Joseph Domeniconi, who had helped Doda run the business, according to the 1968 Press Democrat article. Maroni again completed the stonework on the damaged building.
Doda died in 1915 and left all his property, including the Western, to his widow, according to an August 7, 1915, Press Democrat article. Jacob Fumasoli and Antone Lepori ran the business at that time until Lepori’s death in 1916. Fumasoli bought Lepori’s share of the property and became sole owner of the hotel the following year, according to a May 23, 1917, Press Democrat report.
The hotel passed through several more owners until it was taken over by Norman and Thomas Alexander in 1946. Thomas’ mother-in-law, Mary Caranzi, ran it for 32 years, according to a June 1, 1978, Press Democrat article.
“This place has endured just about everything Mother Nature has thrown at it,” said Thomas Alexander. “I’ll always be worried about the place, but so far nothing has gone wrong here.”
The hotel stood empty for several years until it was gutted and renovated in 1982. All that remained was the stone facade and a few antiques, including a sign that read: “Clean rooms 50 cents; regular meals 25 cents,” according to an August 15, 1982, Press Democrat article.
Click through the gallery above to see the Western Hotel through the years.
