For more than a century after the 1906 earthquake destroyed the original sandstone courthouse, Mendocino Avenue ran straight through the middle of what should have been the city's central plaza. In 2017, after years of debate, the city closed the road and finally rejoined the two halves into a single public square. The result is a clean, fountain-centred block that is now Santa Rosa's main civic space.
The Wednesday Night Market runs here from late May through August — produce, music, and food stalls fill the square — and there is a smaller Saturday farmers market across the year. The bronze figure to the south is Comfort Stations, a piece by local sculptor Lewis deSoto. The 1909 Empire Building, with its clock tower, is the most prominent of the historic facades fronting the square; the others mostly date from the post-earthquake rebuild.