| Originally named after
the Windsor castle in England because of
its pastoral beauty, Windsor has just emerged
from a multi-million dollar revitalization
of the Town Green; a downtown commons area.
Covering four plus acres, Windsor’s
Town Green is the new heart of the downtown
featuring a fountain, bandstand, children’s
play area and a number of heritage native
blue and valley oak trees. The Town Green
is host to farmers markets, community events
and outdoor classic movie screenings. New
construction in Windsor’s downtown
district has focused on mixed use, pedestrian-friendly
designs; buildings that simultaneously accommodate
residential, retail, restaurant and small
business applications. With the city planners’
vision of creating a distinctive, architecturally
rich downtown, these new developments feature
the neo-classical and Victorian themes found
in older Sonoma towns.
Recreationally, Windsor’s two regional
parks (Foothills and Shiloh Regional Park)
offer over 1000 acres open to the public
with miles of trails suitable for hiking,
horseback riding and bicycling. Now that
new subdivisions provide parks in conjunction
with housing development there are numerous
community parks within Windsor. Windsor
also has a golf club (The Windsor Golf Club)
for sports enthusiasts while the Windsor
Arts Council provides local artists and
members of the community the opportunity
to participate in a number of events including
festivals, workshops, children’s events
and an annual Fine Arts Show plus quarterly
artists’ gatherings.
Weather
Windsor’s weather, with moderate winds
and warm temperatures, is conducive to ballooning;
Windsor hosts the annual Sonoma County Hot
Air Balloon Classic. Close to both the Russian
River and several major wineries, Windsor
enjoys warm summers with average temperatures
between 80-90 degrees and moderate winters
averaging 40-50 degrees; the average rainfall
is about 30 inches per year.
Click
here for current weather conditions
Housing
From downtown condominiums, senior housing
to new or established subdivisions, Windsor
offers a wide variety of housing options
for its 25,000 residents. On the higher
end, there are older restored Victorians
and a few farms and ranches, although the
latter come on the market less frequently.
History
Although Windsor emerged as an agricultural
community during the 1850s, the buildings
surrounding Town Green have been renovated
to preserve their architectural heritage
from a later period when Windsor became
a train town in the late 1800s. Windsor
didn’t officially incorporate until
1992 after housing demand over the previous
decade had added hundreds of homes and civic
leaders saw the need for visionary planning
to prevent the area from becoming an undifferentiated
mass of subdivisions. Instead, Windsor’s
civic leaders have directed development
so that, despite being the fourth largest
town in Sonoma, Windsor has managed to retain
its small town appeal.
Back to top
|
