Mike Read/Pages From The Past
100 Years Ago
December 1922
– Contractor Charles F. Schuetz arrived from San Francisco this week and broke ground for the new Community House. Work on the building will be pushed forward with all speed compatible with good work. When completed this house will be the pride of Novato and its greatest achievement in community welfare.
– Men were at work Wednesday on the New Community House – lot. Thanksgiving Day delayed operations for one day, but on Friday a larger force was employed. If the weather continues favorable it will not be long before the proportions of the building are evident. Already the wisdom of securing lots where a block could be had of sufficient size is apparent. Although we have seven lots, in all 140×175 feet, the building, as the foundation lines show, does not leave any too much ground for ornamentation, fire protection and space necessary for outdoor activities. The work begins with no ground-breaking ceremonies because we are a busy people. It is, nevertheless, a matter for great congratulation and rejoicing. It is already attracting people to our midst.
– A bridge across the Golden Gate to connect San Francisco and Marin County is among the future possibilities. J. B. Strauss, a noted Eastern engineer, has completed the plans for such an undertaking.
75 Years Ago
December 1947
– FOR SALE Used Trucks – Good Condition -1937 Chevrolet Panel $650.00 – 1936 Ford Pick-up $650.00 – 1937 Willys Panel $275.00 GARATTI MOTORS Highway 101 Novato. Phone 10-J.
– John Ogle, weIl known here, has sold his 45-acre Olivet dairy ranch, the former Dr. H. J. Trachman orchard property, to Gene Slusser, and his sister-in-law., Mrs. Nadine Bachrach, in a $20,000 deal. Ogle is retiring on account of ill health and is anticipating traveling.
– Novato Masonic club celebrated the third anniversary of its organization with ladies’ night, Friday in the Community House. A Dutch treat baked ham birthday dinner was served. Wives of the twelve charter members presented each charter member with a Masonic pin and the birthday cake, with its three lighted candles, was set before C. E. Carlile, the club’s organizer and first president. James Potter and Cyril Flugger, 2nd and 3rd past club presidents. Capt. Charles Clarkson, incoming president, presided.
– Herman Struck is exhibiting his oil paintings of western lands at the Maxwell galleries in San Francisco.
50 Years Ago
December 1972
– Railroad Station Stirs Nostalgia – In spite of a concentrated effort to whistle, sing, tap our toes, and look the other way, we’ve found that it’s just not possible to pass Novato’s neglected railroad station without a great feeling of nostalgic sadness. Designed by Architect D. J. Patterson and built in 1917, the building was dosed to passenger traffic at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 3,1959. It was used as the city’s first police station at the time of the incorporation of Novato in I960, and later has been used for storage. I stopped by City Hall to see what we’re going to do with our Railroad Station. How satisfactory it was to learn that the city planning commission’s Downtown Plan includes a Railroad Plaza and that future development there could include a branch bank, or a restaurant, or an antique shop. Boxcars could be brought in by the railroad and adapted to any number of purposes … craft shops, or a museum depicting the story of the railroad in Novato … perhaps a model railroad club quarter.
25 Years Ago
December 1997
– One of the Important “catalyst sites” identified by the new downtown plan is the burned-out railroad depot at the eastern end of Grant Avenue. From the ashes of the present depot will raise a new building of similar design that will house a number of specialty shops such as cafes, bookstores and perhaps a depot for passengers traveling by a new rail system.
– The state Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced last week that the 8-mile stretch of Highway 101 has been recommended for a $15 million planning and environmental study aimed at transforming the four lane, divided highway into a freeway. Caltrans wants to upgrade the conventional highway to freeway standards. That means not only adding two lanes but building interchanges and frontage roads. The $15 million would cover the cost of preliminary engineering plans and environmental studies, not the work itself, which Caltrans spokesman Colin Jones estimates will cost $125 million. That does not, however, include the estimated $50 million to $60 million it would take to widen the Petaluma Bridge portion of the highway.
– A renovated Novato Theater Is one of the key elements to the downtown revitalization plan. Plans for restoring the theater are already underway by a private group working with the cooperation of the city. Included in the concept for the theater site is a sit-down restaurant directly across Grant Avenue. The theater site is one of the “catalyst sites” identified by the plan as keys to a revitalized downtown Novato. The Downtown Novato Specific Plan was produced by a committee of city officials, city staff and downtown business and property owners.
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