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 Here is what the Petaluma
Woman's Club website (www.petalumawomansclub.com)
says: "The Clubhouse on B
Street was started in 1913 and
designed by famous local architect
Brainerd Jones. Over the years,
the Club has grown and changed.
Today, the day group of the Petaluma
Woman's Club (or PWC) holds two
meetings a month." This arts
and crafts style building has a
wonderful dance floor and good
acoustics. Having the dance on
Sundays will allow us to have optional
pre-dance activities.
Monroe
Hall, 1400 West College Ave., Santa
Rosa
 The centerpiece of the hall is
the dance floor. Known and loved
by dancers throughout Sonoma County
and beyond, our beautiful unfinished
maple floor was laid in 1947 and replaced in 2011. The
floor offers resiliency due to
its premium maple constructions
and a twice yearly treatment with
lemon oil. We have been told that
Monroe Hall has the finest dance
floor in all of Northern California.
The ambience
of the hall harkens back to a time
of comfort and grace. While resting
between sets, dancers can gaze
at the original warm redwood walls
lined with horseshoes from mules,
oxen, and horses; a collection
of square nails, painted saw blades,
old farm equipment, antique fire
extinguishers and much more.”
"The
Story of Monroe Hall" by
Emily Flouton
Wischemann Hall, 499 Morris St.,
Sebastopol, next to the Youth Annex
of the Sebastopol Community Center
Home of both our Sebastopol
Contra Dance on
fourth Saturdays and English
Country Danceson first and
third Sundays. Built in 1978/1979,
Wischemann Hall is the only building
in Sebastopol constructed almost
entirely of recycled materials.
Only the exterior siding, roof
trusses, and hardwood floor were
purchased. That isn’t
because members of Saucy Squares
were arch conservationists; recycled
donated material was all they could
afford!
 All the demolition and construction
work was performed by the men of
Saucy Squares, “the faithful,” says
Dave Wischemann, whose initial
vision sparked construction of
the hall. Luckily, the dancers
included a plumber, a surveyor,
someone who had access to a crane,
and many dedicated workers. The
men worked building the hall “Saturday
after Saturday, every Sunday and
some holidays.”
To raise funds for materials that
needed to be bought, Saucy Squares
issued non-interest-bearing bonds,
which club members bought. The
women held benefits, rummage sales
and raffles; they recycled aluminum
cans. They made the curtains in
the hall, put up wall paper, painted
and provided lunches for the workers.
“We had $450 when we started,” says
Dave. “When we finished
pouring the concrete, we were broke.”
The hall is constructed almost
entirely from materials recycled
from two abandoned buildings that
were donated by the owners: a vacant
Camp Fire Girls hut donated by
the City of Sebastopol; and a dining
hall from the old U.S. Navy Airport
in western Santa Rosa. “Assorted” tiles
for the bathrooms were donated
by a Santa Rosa store. The ceiling
tiles were salvaged from renovation
of the bowling alley at the Coast
Guard Training Center.
The land on which Wischemann Hall
sits belongs to the City of Sebastopol.
It is the site of the former garbage
dump. “The City of Sebastopol
has been very good to us,” notes
Dave. The City engineer at the
time insisted the hall be built
76 feet above sea level. Twice “the
water has come up to just touch
the under side of the sub-floor,
and I have ridden to the front
door of the hall in a row boat,” says
Dave.
The first Saucy Squares dances
were held under the stars, with
no roof on the hall yet, in fall
of 1978. Look for plaques around
the hall commemorating those who
donated their time and energy to
realize this invaluable community
resource.
Exerpted from “Dancing
flourishes at Sebastopol’s
Wischemann Hall, by Elizabeth
Douglas, Sonoma West Times & News,
Feb 16, 2006.
Marin Masonic Hall
The Marin Masonic Lodge is an
attractive building built in 1924.
The hall is huge, so it can easily
accommodate 150 to 200 dancers. The
floor is gleaming wood. It
has a full stage, with piano, and
all sorts of lighting effects available. If
has a full kitchen and immaculate
changing/restrooms. There
is easy access to downtown San
Rafael by bus. Also, downtown
San Rafael is very lively, with
lots of restaurants, clubs, coffee
shops and stores.
(from
Hands Four, winter 2000)
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