In the Hood: Retrofitted historic mansion to open to the public

A reclusive Sonoma Valley doyenne has been resuscitated and will celebrate her 150th birthday with a coming-out party in August.
The venerable Hood House, an 8,100-square-foot brick mansion near Oakmont, has been shuttered more than 30 years while county officials pondered its future.
With an infusion of $1.1 million from state, county and federal sources, the grande dame has been seismically retrofitted and is on her way to becoming an interpretive historical and visitors center at the gateway to Hood Mountain Regional Park.

A detail from one of the many fireplaces in the home. Photo by Ryan Lely.

Sonoma County officials are planning a rare public open house on Aug. 23 as a way of kick-starting the campaign to raise private money for her interior restoration.
The Cinderella story began five years ago, when the Sonoma County Architect’s Office started investigating ways to fund a seismic retrofit. Armed with about $566,000 in grants from state and national sources and county matching funds of $585,000, they began work on the 10-month project in July 2007.
Under the care of Garavaglia Architects, Duquette Engineering and RKT Builders, subfloors and ceiling beams were exposed and mortar strength was tested. The team was able to accomplish the seismic update with 500 anchor bolts set in epoxy, securing wooden floors and ceiling beams to the brick walls.
“You can’t see much of it from the outside, which is really the point,” said Don Dakan, senior project manager for the Sonoma County Architect’s Office.

Middle Left: The main gallery adjacent to the entryway was transformed into a library. Photo by Ryan Lely.

The grant money was just enough to complete the retrofit. All the cosmetic work needed to restore the Hood House to its original grandeur will have to come from private donors.
“We have so little money to preserve and protect all the historical assets of the state, but Hood House has an incredible history. It is a public resource,” said Steade Craigo, senior restoration architect for the California Office of Historic Preservation, which contributed $256,000 for the retrofit.
The home was built in 1858 by Valley of the Moon pioneer William Hood for his bride Eliza Shaw. Wappo and Miwok Indian workers made the bricks on site, building what is now described as the county’s only remaining pre-Civil War masonry building. The structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historic Resources.

A cherub’s head sits idly at the top of the main stairway. It is believed that it once functioned as the center piece of the fountain. Photo by Ryan Lely.

Over the years, the Hood House served as the summer home for Utah Senator Thomas Kearns, a communal retirement home for the Knights of Pythias and a State of California correctional school for girls. Deemed surplus in 1974, it was given to Sonoma County as part of what is now known as the Los Guilicos Juvenile Justice Center.
The Hood House, at 7501 Hwy. 12, will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 23, with presentations from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. More information is available from Sonoma County Regional Parks, 707.565.2041 or www.sonoma-county.org/parks.

For more photos please visit: http://gallery.sonomasun.com