The test of time

Petaluma is blessed with more than its rich history — it has a strong and giving community spirit. One of the many ways this is evidenced is in the number of enduring businesses which have called the city home. Here is a sampling of some of our local firms that have grown with the city and, in turn, have helped the city grow.

Petaluma Argus-Courier

A newspaper three years longer than Petaluma has been a city, the Argus-Courier was born on Aug. 18, 1855 as the Petaluma Weekly Journal and Sonoma County Advertiser. In 1864, with its name shortened to the Sonoma County Journal, it merged with the Argus (begun in 1859) to be known at first as the Petaluma Journal and Argus.

In 1876, The Courier was started and in 1894 merged with the Daily Imprint, to become the Daily Courier and Imprint.

In 1900, the Olmsted dynasty began its long history as owners of the Argus, and in 1928 the Courier, having long since lost its Imprint, was sold to the Argus.

The Olmsted family sold the paper to Scripps League Newspapers in 1965, who sold it to Pulitzer in 1996. In 2001, the Argus-Courier was purchased by the New York Times.

Parent-Sorensen Mortuary

Parent-Sorensen Mortuary and Crematory began on Main Street in 1856 as the Blackburn Funeral Home. When the Blackburn brothers split, brother Charles began his own funeral home in the Healey mansion at Washington and Keokuk streets. This was the precursor to the Sorensen Funeral Home, named after William Sorensen, who became Blackburn’s partner. The business moved in 1969 to what is now the police station.

Former mayor Art Parent purchased the other offshoot of the original Blackburn business in 1944 from its second owner, John C. Mount, who had owned it for 30 years. According to Parent, first Blackburn funeral home was located across from what is now Tall Toad Music. Mount moved the business to Washington Street — what is now Westamerica Bank — in 1917 or 1918. The present facility, at Magnolia Avenue and Keokuk Street, was built in 1965.

In 1981, the owners of Parent Funeral Chapel, Martin “Buzz” Rodgers and Smith, bought the Sorensen Funeral Home and merged the two mortuaries. The partners eventually purchased Cypress Hill Cemetery.

Della Fattoria

The building in which Della Fattoria is located, 141 Petaluma Blvd. North, has been a bakery since at least 1865. According to former co-owner Phyllis Heagney, the building itself is even older and believed to have originally been a butcher shop.

Owner Ray Cheney sold the business to Robert and Cathy Jorin in 1990 and it was renamed the Upscale Downtown Bakery.

In 1996, Heagney, Fred Dodge and Steve Bernstein took over the building with their business 21st Century Pastry.

In 2006, Della Fattoria moved in, continuing the building’s bakery tradition.

Rex Hardware

Tomasini’s Rex Ace Hardware and Country Store opened its doors in 1907 under the ownership of Ed Hobbie. His son, George, took over in the 1930s and eventually store ownership was sold to Henry Tomasini. The store burned down in 1940 and then moved across the street to its current location at 313 B St. Jeff Tomasini, Henry’s son, now owns the business.

The store was again destroyed by fire in June 2006, but was rebuilt and reoponed in August 2007.

Van Bebber Bros. Inc.

In 1901, George W. Van Bebber began a blacksmith shop on East Washington Street. He was later joined in the business by his sons, George E. and Alvin Van Bebber. Grandson Royce entered the firm about 1949, and great-grandson Richard has been involved for the last 20 years. Now a fifth generation of Van Bebbers, Royce R., has joined the firm.

The businesses went from blacksmith to machine shop to welding shop. In 1969, it became strictly a steel distributor. The business moved to the Mahoney Building at 246 Main St., for a number of years, and in November of 1956, to its present location at 729 Petaluma Blvd. South.

Phoenix Theater

William Hill erected the Hill Opera House on the corner of Washington and Keller streets in 1904. In the mid-’20s, the building became the California Theater, and later, the Showcase, under owner-manager Doc Naify.

It was destroyed by fire in 1957, but in 1979 the theater, now aptly renamed the Phoenix, was rebuilt by several partners, including Ben Myron. Myron hired Tom Gaffey as manager, who made it a hangout for local teens and a place for upcoming musical acts.

In 1999, the Phoenix was purchased by four locals for continued use as a theater and a teen hangout.

Lace House Linen

Dan Libarle’s grandparents returned to their native France after they lost their French hand laundry in the 1906 earthquake. They came to Petaluma in 1915 to work with friends who owned a laundry. They eventually took over the business and moved it to Liberty Street. Their son Lucien came on in the 1930s.

The business was destroyed again by fire in 1948. Libarle’s grandparents did not wish to rebuild, so their son, Lucien, took over and rebuilt.

Dan Libarle joined the business in 1963, which gradually moved toward the commerical linen supply business. By 1971, they had gone completely commercial and in 1983 Dan Libarle bought the business from his father. As business increased, it became clear a new plant was needed. The new location, at 949 Lindberg Lane, doubles the size of the original.

Hotel Petaluma

“Whistles blew, sirens shrieked and Old Glory floated to the breezes. It was 1 p.m. April 10, 1924, the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Petaluma — the formal opening of Hotel Petaluma,” reported the Argus.

Currently a residential hotel, Hotel Petaluma had been built the year before, and was the result of a cooperative effort and investment of 855 residents.

Volpi’s

Volpi’s Italian Market, Deli and Speakeasy has been operating at the corner of Washington and Keller streets for more than 80 years.

In 1992, owners John and Mary Lee Volpi added Volpi’s Ristorante to the mix, by opening up the building next door as a restaurant, but carrying over the original atmosphere.

The best part of Volpi’s may be the bar in the back room, where the walls are covered with antlers, old photos and a “Press Club” sign — a remnant of the days when the Argus-Courier office was just down the street and reporters gathered there after work.

Andresen’s

“My grandfather opened Andresen’s in 1934,” said third-generation owner Kathie Andresen. “That was up the street at the Continental Hotel” (at the corner of Western and Kentucky). In 1941 he moved the bar down the street to 19 Western Ave.

The tavern is one place where time has stood still, at least for the wildlife that adorn the walls of this jukebox-playing, David Lynch-esque bar.

Along with a display of antique pistols and rifles, Andresen’s is a unofficial museum of hunting trophies. The majority of the animals, according to Andresen, came from three generations of family hunting trips. The sable, kudo, and graceful-looking impala were brought back by a brother from an African safari. Other heads, such as the buffalo, were bought or traded, and the last addition to the collection, a wild boar, came from a devoted customer. Andresen says the mythical jackalope draws the most comments.