Mill Valley Sites

The Public Works Administration (PWA) provided matching funds for the construction of a new City Hall for Mill Valley in 1935-36. The city had already decided to replace an older city hall built on the same site in 1908 and had raised $30,000 through a bond issue in 1935. The new City Hall housed city offices and council chambers, as well as the fire station and city police. The building was designed by architects D.E. Jaekle and Walter Falch in the Neo-Tudor style, which was one of many period revival architectures popular in the interwar period.   City Hall's was heavily remodeled...

The Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Theater was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1936-38. It occupies a natural amphitheater at 1900 feet elevation, near the top of Mt. Tamalpais.  It is known locally as the "Mountain Theater."  This magnificent outdoor amphitheater has serpentine rock seating and holds around 4000 patrons, who enjoy stunning views over San Francisco Bay. The theater lies in Mt. Tamalpais State Park and is still in regular use for summer theater productions.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) made extensive improvements around Mt. Tamalpais – a favorite hiking spot for San Franciscans all the way back to the Gold Rush era (1850s). A major feature of this work was a new fire lookout tower on the east peak of the mountain, which is in the Marin Municipal Water District area.  Built of native stone and wood,  the tower still stands.   As the plaque notes, the tower was renamed in 1937 in honor of the chief warden of Tamalpais Forest Fire District, who led the fight against a major fire in 1929 and died July 13,...

Built by the WPA during the early 1930s.

The CCC did extensive work in Muir Woods National Monument. The National Park Service site summarizes their activity: "The men began work in Muir Woods and the surrounding Tamalpais State Park. Projects included a revetment (rockwork stream banks) in Redwood Creek; construction of a stone-faced concrete bridge on Fern Creek; construction of utility buildings and benches; and the construction of the Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Amphitheater (the "Mountain Theater"), near Rock Springs, on Mt. Tamalpais. The CCC completed its last project in Muir Woods in May 1941, and was disbanded shortly thereafter."   (https://www.nps.gov/) Not everything the CCC did was ideal by modern standards,...

Mill Valley's Park School was originally constructed in 1906. The PWA significantly expanded the school in 1939: “A school bond issue ($55,000) was passed in 1938, which permitted the securing of $45,000 already pledged by the Public Works Administration (PWA). The school board hired Walter C. Falch, who designed Mill Valley City Hall as the architect for the project. Peter Sartorio proposed the winning bid of $86,759 for the construction contract. The new V-shaped edifice, with an auditorium at its apex and wings extending back from both sides, was said to be one of the most up-to-date schools in the...

These two large mosaic panels representing tragedy and comedy were features of the original stage at the High School's Mead Theater. The theater has since been replaced. As of 2008, the mosaics were under restoration, but may since have been reinstalled.

A 38' x 8' oil on canvas depicting a farm nestled in the Marin hills, "The Golden Hills of Marin" was painted by Maurice del Mue with funding from the WPA Federal Art Project. The mural "was removed from the wall of the high school library in the 1960s and rolled up face-in, causing extensive damage and compression cracks." However a major restoration effort recently returned the mural to its rightful place.