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Page & Turnbull MILL VALLEY HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT MILL VALLEY, CALIFORNIA [ 17050] PREPARF.D FOR CITY OF f"liLL VALLEY, C,' PAGE & TURNBULL JANUARY 2021 imagining change in historic envronrnenls through design, research, and technology CITY OF MILL VALLEY HISTORIC CONTEXT STATEMENT Final Draft January 2021 Prepared for: City of Mill Valley 26 Corte Madera Avenue Mill Valley, CA 94941 www.cityofmillvalley.org Prepared by: Page & Turnbull, Inc. PAGE &TURNBULL 170 Maiden Lane, 5 th Floor ~'f;"f• .,.•. ~ .. ,.,....'1 ~ & t~ A""11e.., t Joe.:.·n-:Tl'rr l ~ San Francisco, CA 941 08 http://www.page-turnbull.com/ Mayor Sashi McEntee I Vice Mayor john McCauley Council members Jim Wickham I Urban Carmel I Tricia Ossa Alan Piombo, City Manager TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................. .. ..... ....................... I I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 3 A PROJECT BACKGROUND & OB)EGIVES ............................................................................................................] B. DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHICAL AREA ......... .................................. .......... .. ... ................................................... 3 C. METHODOLOGY & RESEARCH .......................................................................................................................... S D. HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT ............... .......... .......... ........................................................... ....... ................ 7 E. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ....... ..................................................... ....... ...... ..... .................. .... ................ 8 II. PREVIOUS SURVEYS, STUDIES, AND REPORTS ............................................... II Ill. GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION ............. ....................................................... .... IS A. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT THEMES .......... ...... ................ ................... ................... .. .................................... 15 B. SUMMARY OF PROPERTY TYPES . ..................................... ,....... ...................... .... ....... .............. ., .. .... .......... /6 C. EVALUATION CR/TERIA ................................................................................ ,................. .................................. I7 IV. HISTORIC CONTEXT...................................................... ..................................... 23 A NATIVE AMERICAN & SPANISH MISSION PERIODS (10,000 BCE TO 1833) ................. ..................................... 23 B. MEXICAN RANCHO & EARLY AMERICAN PERIOD (1834 TO 1882) . ........ ................................. ...................... 29 C. OUTDOOR RECREATION & RESORTS (1883 TO /899) ,. .. ,........... ,.......................... ,............... ......................... .37 D. INCORPORATION & EARLY DEVELOPMENT ( 1900 TO 1929) ............ ............................................................... 6 7 E. THE GREAT DEPRESSION THROUGH WORLD WAR II (1930 TO 1945) .......................................................... 111 F. POST-WORLD WAR II DEVELOPMENT ( 1946 TO 1980) ............ .. ......... ........................................................ .. 141 G. POST-SCRIPT: 198/ TO PRESENT .................................................................................................................. 189 V. REFERENCES ........................................... .........................................-. ............ .......... 19 1 A BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................... ................. .......... .... ., .. ...................................... ....... ,..... ,., ... ,./91 B. MILL VALLEY HISTORIC OVERLAY DISTRICTS ............ ,................................ .. ........ ,....................... .................... 201 C. ENDNOTES ................................................................................................................................................... 203 Htslm7,. Context J lall!ll7111lt - Ctty Gomuil Rcut&JII Draj/ lvltll f/ alii!)' Exemlii!P.fum ma ry Marin CouniJ•, Calijimun EXECUTIVE SUMMARY "Note the following unparalleled attractions: -Fifty minutes from San Prancisco; delightful climate; perfect drainage; trout streams~ purest and best of water in great :\bundance; water sysrem now under construction; beautiful drives and perfect views of mountain, bay, forest and city. Forests of redwoods and other evergreen trees and shrubs; in fact all the attractions of city life, minus the discomforts of each " 1 So wrote auctioneer Samuel Ferguson, in a publication for the Tamalpais Land & Water Company land auction held on May 31, 1890. The auction resulted in the sale of approximately 200 acres of rhe former Rancho Sausalito land grant. At the rime of the auction, the area was overwhelmingly rural; fewer than ten homes were distributed across all of what is now Mill Valley. The scenic, forested lots located in the canyons and valleys of Mount Tamalpais offered a rural respite from the urban chaos and chilling fog of nearby San Francisco. With the construction of the North Pacific Coast Railroad spur to Mill Valley and, later, the Mill Valley & Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway, increasing numbers of seasonal visitors flocked from San Francisco via feuy service and rail travel for summer camping, swimming, hiking, and hunting. Cabins, campgrounds, hotels, and lodges were established to cater to seasonal visitors. Mostlots purchased in 1890 were gradually developed with permanent residential homes. Civil engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy laid out a plan for Mill Valley that included a commercial downtown area as well as a pedestrian network of steps, lanes, and paths (SLPs). The town of Mill Valley was incorporated in 1900 and soon after became a haven for refugees displaced by the 1906 earthquake-many of whom fled San Francisco and resettled permanently in Mill Valley. During the early twentieth century, Mill Valley prospered as the population rapidly grew. Numerous civic, cultural, and recreational institutions were established, including the famous Dipsea Race (the oldest cross-country trail race .in the nation), the Outdoor Art Club and Mountain Play. After a period of sustained development, Mill Valley experienced a devastating fue in 1929 which damaged or desu:oyed over 100 homes. In the wake of the ftre, Mill Valley grappled with the financial downturn of the Great Depression. In 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge opened, connecting San Francisco and the Marin County peninsula v-ia the U.S. 101 highway- a development that changed Mill Valley forever. Reliance on ferries and passenger railroads sharply declined with the increasing accessibility of the personal automobile. During World War II and immediately following, Mill Valley experienced an explosion in population and housing construction. This growth resulted in tensions between e.x:panding development and a desire to conserve natural spaces and retain the small-town atmosphere. Today, Mill Valley continues to attract residents and visitOrs from San Francisco commuters co outdoor enthusiasts, who all appreciate the natural beauty and unique character of Mill Valley. During the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries, buildings constructed in Mill Valley ranged from rustic lodges and vernacular buildings to high-style examples of the First Bay Tradition, Tudor Revival, and Queen Anne styles. Mill Valley's population increased following its incorporation in 1900, in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, and throughoU[ the prosperous yeatS of the 1910s and 1920s. Residences, as well as commercial and institutional buildings, were constructed in a range of revival styles -including Tudor Revival and Spanish Colonial Rev1val- as well as Craftsman, Arts and Crafts and Bay Tradition regional styles. The 1940s were generally jcllltlrJl)l 202 1 Paga & ' THmbull.lm. Hutom· C(lntc..Yt Staiel!lmi- Ct(y Cortnt11 Re/)/ew Drr!fl 1\lfil/ V allO' Exer:utiue SutJ/mary Marin Com1(y, Califomia characterized by the construction of tracts of Minimal Traditional style houses. These homes included nwnetous houses built by developer Geotge Goheen who leveraged the influx of defense workers to the Marin County area leading up to and during World War II to access financing and otherwise rationed building materials. Following the end of the war, Mill Valley residential development included suburban tract developments that characterized much of national postwar growth. In addition to the typical California futach style houses, Mill Valley also was grounds for a awnber of experimentations in high~ sryle Modernist architecture-including Campbell & Wongs famous and prolific A-frame "Leisure House." A nwnber of prominent Bay Area architects designed homes and institutional buildings in Midcentury Modern and the Second and Third Bay Tradition regional modernist styles. Few extant resources survive from the Native American & Spanish Mission Periods (10,000 BCE to 1833) or the Mexican Rancho & Early American Periods (1834 to 1882), and as such any properties from these periods are likely to be significant evidence of the earliest history of Mill Valley. This historic context statement finds that sw:viving examples of Mill Valley's nineteenth century development may be historically significant for their association "vith the early
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