Adventure 051, Site 186 – Toscano Hotel

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 051, Site 186 – Toscano Hotel

National Registry ID: 75000489 (Part of the Sonoma Plaza Historical District)

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 20, 2012

Location:

Latitude: 38° 17.622′ N

Longitude: 122° 27.415′ W

Address: 20 East Spain Street, Sonoma CA

Description:

Date Built: 1852

As part of our wandering around Sonoma Plaza, we saw this hotel, next to the Presidio. After we investigated we found out that the hotel is part of Sonoma Historical State Park. In 1957, the State bought the hotel—until that time it had been operating in various forms since its inception. In 1972, the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation undertook to refurbish and outfit the hotel with period pieces. Tours are now available.



Inscription from HMDB:
Original construction of store, library and dwelling which forms nucleus of this building in 1852 by Nathansons on land previously owned by Vallejo, this property was leased by Leiding to McKeague in 1877 and remodeled to become Eureka Hotel. 1886 Septimo Ciucci and Leonido Quartarolli acquired lease, changing name to the Tuscano Hotel. Local usage has altered spelling.

Dedicated June 13, 1982

NATIVE SONS OF THE GOLDEN WEST

Joseph Ursino, Grand President

From the Best of Sonoma Site:
On the north side of the Plaza, next to the Sonoma Barracks, is the Toscano Hotel. Built in the 1850s it was first home to a retail store and rental library. Later the building was used as an inexpensive hotel, dubbed the "Eureka Hotel". Around 1890, many patrons were Italian immigrants, and the name of the hotel changed from "Eureka" to "Toscano." Today, the Toscano is furnished with period furniture and looks much the way it did around the turn of the century. The kitchen and dining room are located in a separate building behind the main hotel.( In the picture above it is the yellow building in the background.) Both are open to the public Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from
1pm to 4pm and guided tours are hosted by docents in period costume.



From the HMDB Site:
. The Toscano Hotel. Built in 1851, the building now known as the Toscano Hotel is the oldest commercial wood-frame structure in Sonoma and has a colorful history. In its early years, the building served many different purposes including warehouse, general store, and lending library. In 1886 an Italian immigrant from Tuscany, Settimo Cuicci and his partner, L. Quartaroli, rented the building and turned it into a working man's hotel (the Toscano, which means-man from Tuscany) to accommodate Italian immigrants who were hired to quarry basalt out of the hills behind the hotel. The basalt blocks were used to pave the streets of San Francisco. (Submitted on January 13, 2009, by Syd Whittle of El Dorado Hills, California.) 



References:

• Historical Marker Database (HMDB.org)
  
• Best of Sonoma Site
  
• Napa Net Information
  
• California Redwood Coast Web Site
  

Overall Landmark References:

• Historical Marker Database (HMDB)
  
• WayMarking (WAY)