This Week in Marin History
Archives
April 2009

First rate comfort

In April 1898, John Nelson died, leaving his family to run his “first rate” Olema hotel that accommodated a growing number of tourists. According to the Marin Journal,  “… there is a vast amount of travel through the town, it being the center of a rich farming country…” The new railroad to Point Reyes was also responsible for the influx, and Nelson’s establishment offered travelers comfort in the way of  “…pretty waitresses and the apple pies Lydia Nelson made out of Olema Valley apples...” During WWII the hotel was used as an Army barracks; today it stands as the Olema Inn & Restaurant.

Olema Hotel in the town of Olema, 1892.

Women on a mission

On April 20, 1913, Larkspur’s City Hall was dedicated, a tribute to the efforts of a determined group of women who banded together to beautify their newly incorporated city. The Larkspur Women’s Club promoted a $45,000 bond issue--$35, 000 for paving Magnolia Avenue and other streets and $10,000 for a city hall, which would later include a library. The Mission Revival-style structure, designed by architect Charles O. Claussen with an Italian Villa influence, has twin towers with tile caps and another interesting feature: During the building’s dedication, a baby shoe was dropped in the cornerstone for good luck. The shoe’s owner was born the day the bonds passed.

Larkspur City Hall, 1984.

Hearst Castle, Sausalito

In April 1890, construction of a castle for young William Randolph Hearst began on a Sausalito hillside overlooking the southern end of Bridgeway (then called Water Street). Already renting a house in Sausalito, the San Francisco native and publishing magnate wanted more—his dream of living in a grand art-filled home was inspired by the palaces he saw in Europe as a child. Despite his wealth, however, residents held him at bay, and he was not invited to join the yacht club, perhaps in part due to the fact that he lived openly with his mistress. No matter—work ceased on the would-be castle, and Hearst later set his sights on a hilltop above San Simeon.

Sausalito hillside above the south end of Bridgeway, 1893.

Good deal for Marin

In April 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that would ultimately benefit the landscape of Mt. Tamalpais. A New Deal program designed to employ men to conserve the country’s natural resources, the CCC helped Marin County promote fire protection and erosion control on its mountain. For $30 a month, men young and old cut trails and built everything from fire lookouts to benches to dams. Perhaps the most impressive CCC legacy is the Mountain Theater and its 40 rows of stone seats. By the end of the CCC’s eight years of operation, almost 3 million people in the U.S. had been put to work.

Seating courtesy of the Civilian Conservation Corps for the Mountain Play, 1933.