Workers at Stone House face abuse after outcry over whitewashing of landmark Santa Rosa building

Amid wide outcry over the whitewashing of Santa Rosa’s 114-year Stone House, the painting contractor hired for the job says his workers have been abused by passing motorists shouting insults and one even had a rock thrown at him.

Daniel Morales, owner of Dan the Painter, said news coverage of the work unfairly put a target on his company, triggering an onslaught of criticism and harassment of his employees.

“People are trying to point a finger and it fell on the most vulnerable,” he said.

Santa Rosa police said they received at least one call about the reported abuse Friday and were planning to send an officer to the site off Highway 12, but officials could not immediately provide an update Friday evening.

The owner of the property, Novato-based developer Paul Thompson, said he wasn’t aware of the incident but condemned what appeared to be escalating harassment of the workers.

“They’re just doing their job that they’re getting paid to do,” he said. “I can understand if people want to voice their concerns to me but they’re just doing their jobs.”

Still, he didn’t plan to reverse course.

Work began this week to whitewash the structure, which was built in 1909 by Italian stonemason Massimo Galeazzi.

The drastic update stirred sharp criticism among Galeazzi’s descendants, history buffs in town and on social media.

The structure is not an official city landmark nor is it listed on state or federal historic registers and the paint job didn’t require city approvals.

Morales said his crew had been on the receiving end of insults from about 20 to 30 motorists who yelled insults and blared their horns over the course of several hours Friday morning.

It escalated when a passerby threw a rock that hit a crew member working on the property. The worker was not injured, Morales said.

Morales reported the incident to police but was unable to provide a license plate number or other information.

Morales worried the harassment would escalate and potentially put his workers in further danger. He was also concerned the blowback could lead to long-term harm for his business, which he said he has worked hard to grow in the community.

“My company is a small company, a local company, and I work really hard every day,” he said. “It’s just unfair.”

His company was hired to carry out the work but had no say in the decision to whitewash the stone or make other alterations to the building, he said.

He checked with the city prior to starting work to ensure no prior approvals were needed and that the building wasn’t protected.

“It made it seem like it was our fault but it’s private property. The owner can do what they want and we were just doing our job,” he said.

Thompson, whose firm Thompson Builders Corp. purchased the Stone House and adjacent vacant lot in February, has begun to float plans to turn it into a boutique hotel.

He said he’s not surprised by the harassment — he’s received several angry calls himself.

But attacking the workers isn’t acceptable, he said.

He said redevelopment of the property would help breathe new life into the Stone House and he urged residents to wait to see final plans before casting further judgment.

“I hope the finished product will look great but until we get there we kind of have to work through the process,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.