Sonora’s prosperity during the late 1800s and early 1900s is evidenced by many of the historic homes and buildings we treasure today.  Residences such as those of Nicol, Curtin, Steinmetz, Symons, Rosasco  and Street-Morgan, as well as public and commercial buildings such as the Sonora Dome, Sonora High School, Tuolumne County Courthouse, Opera Hall and the Bradford Building all give testimony to the faith our ancestors had in the future of Sonora.

In 1986, Sonora was chosen as one of the first “Main Street” cities in the State of California.  Working with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the California Main Street program the City Council committed over a quarter of a million dollars in an effort to revitalize the city’s historic downtown.  The restoration of the Sonora Opera Hall was a component of this revitalization effort.  Elements of the “Main Street” program are now carried on by the Sonora Redevelopment Agency. 

Sonora can look with great pride to its transformation from a country town to a small, vital city that provides a way of life enjoyed by few other communities, it is still the “Queen of the Southern Mines.”

Pat Perry, City Historian