City Of San Rafael Historic Sites
1149 Fourth Street - Mulberry House/McDermott Building
The McDermott Building, ca. 1898
The McDermott Building was built in 1883 to house a bar, restaurant and boarding house. The restaurant was named “Mulberry House.” Patrick McDermott purchased the site from William Coleman, a San Rafael realtor and developer who had his office on this corner from 1870 to 1883.
The McDermott family lived on the second floor of the building until 1939. A fire in 1966 damaged the rear section of the building, causing it to be removed. Phillips Candy Shop occupied part of the ground floor in the 1940s, and in 1951 it was remodeled and opened as Deaver’s Coffee Shop. After 25 years in 1976, the space changed hands to become Le Croissant. The building was declared a city landmark in 1984, and the second-story exterior retains most of its Italianate architectural features, including round-arched windows and projecting pediments with curved brackets above each window. Metal rings in the sidewalk survive from the time when people hitched their horses in front of the building.
This building is unique in San Rafael for remaining much the same as it was when built in 1883.
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Boyd Gate House
1125 B Street, San Rafael
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