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There is some new movement in Sonora High School’s efforts to find a suitor for the historic dome property on Barretta Road. The former elementary school site was built in 1909 and no longer meets the state’s legal standards to house students. In 2019, the Sonora High School District formed a committee to review the … Read more
The Historic Dome Preservation Group has been eager to attain the historic building from the Sonora Union High School District since December of 2018, however the District has been preoccupied with several other more immediate issues. However, recently the District has placed the disposition of the building at a higher priority and has made several … Read more
The 1907 committee to plan and construct the new elementary school building searched for an architect the tax payers could afford. They found an experienced young man who had just opened his own practice and was eager for commissions. Benjamin McDougall was forty two years old, born in San Francisco, and had spent several years … Read more
In 1882 the people of Sonora realized that their town was more than just a dusty mining town, and like any respectable metropolis they needed a public elementary school. So they acquired some land and buildings above the town on Barretta St. and opened the Sonora Public Elementary School. The number of children needing education … Read more
A detailed plan for the use of the more then twenty thousand square feet of space in the renovated Dome building, will be developed by our architect and structural engineer. A guiding principal for the development of this plan is that the building must be financially self sustaining as much as is possible. The museum, … Read more
by Teresa A. Mallard The site where now stands the Sonora Elementary School dates back long before my time. In the year 1882 I “started” school with Mrs. Adelaide A. Miller as my first teacher in the “little room” of the old red brick school. We learned our ABC’s in little straight back seats, and … Read more
In a time of major cultural change, recognition of achievement and preservation of historical landmarks is arguably more critical than ever. Our societal norms are in flux and the rate of change unprecedented. The ability of future generations to understand the past has been somewhat compromised by the undervaluation of history. But we still have … Read more
One characteristic of a thriving community is the presence of a thriving arts and culture community and veneration of the past. Enthusiasm for the arts, culture, and history is a metric of social vitality and economic growth, and a display of energy and abundance. The Historic Dome Preservation Group intends to acquire the building known … Read more
High atop the hill looking over downtown Sonora, the historic Sonora Dome building has been a feature of the city’s skyline since it was erected in 1909. Once home to Sonora Elementary School, the building was vacated in 1967 when it was deemed unsafe to house students under new California state mandates for earthquake preparedness, … Read more
The Historic Dome Preservation Group, a 501c3 non-profit, is hoping to develop a regional art and cultural center at the Sonora Dome property. The dome, which was previously an elementary school, is currently owned by the Sonora Union High School District. The non-profit group was formed in hopes of acquiring the facility, renovating it, and … Read more