Blue Wing Inn, Adobe hotel building in Sonoma Plaza, US

The Blue Wing Inn is a two-story adobe building located on Sonoma Plaza with original adobe walls on the ground floor and wooden balconies on the second level. The structure reflects early California architecture with thick earthen walls and a layout that opens onto the public plaza.

Antonio Ortega, Vallejo's majordomo, received the east half of lot 35 and ran a pulqueria there until August 1848. James C. Cooper and Thomas Spriggs bought the property on August 15, 1849, and expanded it into a hotel with a gambling hall and saloon. In 1852 they added a 35-by-35-foot two-story adobe wing. The name changed to Blue Wing Inn after Spriggs died in May 1851.

The establishment became a gathering place during the Gold Rush for miners, soldiers, and travelers crossing Northern California. It served as a social hub where people from different backgrounds mixed and exchanged stories.

The property is currently managed by California State Parks as part of the Sonoma State Historic Park system. The building is typically open during daylight hours, and visitors can check the park website for current opening times and ongoing restoration updates.

Agostino Pinelli made wine in the building until Prohibition in 1919, and Italian workers employed by his family slept on the second floor. Local histories link the Blue Wing to the Sonoma fire of 23 September 1911, when Pinelli used the contents of his wine tank to help stop the blaze; the tank stood in a cellar next door and the inn suffered only a scorched roof.