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Although it's known throughout Marin mainly as "the town with the malls," Corte Madera has a vibrant heritage and quaint charm that is most apparent in the historic district surrounding the former train station at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais.

Twelve miles north of San Francisco, Corte Madera is a mere four square miles—-a small parcel of land seemingly made sprawling by Highway 101's split of two vastly different sides of town, and marked by two of Marin's largest shopping centers.

But up the road, not far from the upscale designer boutiques and elite department stores of The Village, and the more mainstream shops at the Mediterranean villa-inspired Town Center, Corte Madera's Old Town Square offers a chance to revisit Marin's past while providing a unique opportunity for sipping, shopping and self-beautifying in the area that was once a major railway stop.

The town of Corte Madera is part of the 8,000 acres of ranch lands once called the Corte de Madera del Presidio Rancho that was granted to John Reed in 1834 by Mexican Governor Figueroa. Reed quickly took to the lumber industry, logging the area's immense supply of redwoods and shipping the lumber to San Francisco by way of Corte Madera Creek—-some of this wood was used to build the Presidio in San Francisco. And the town kept growing.

In 1850, California joined the Union, and the Gold Rush, by then a year old, brought more settlers to the area. By 1875, the North Pacific Coast Railroad set its tracks through Corte Madera, allowing flatcars to haul lumber, and later, passenger trains to service commuters to and from San Francisco, aided in its early stages by the Sausalito ferry. A few of those commuters significantly influenced the formation of Old Town.

In 1885, a New England lawyer, Frank Morrison Pixley, was guaranteed a title for 160 acres from Reed's daughter, Hilarita. (Pixley later practiced law in San Francisco, became involved in local politics and founded an esteemed magazine called The Argonaut, whose writers included Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce.) The Pixley family was credited with creating Corte Madera's first subdivision and with developing downtown. Population continued to grow (eventually exploding after construction of the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937).

The first business structure in Corte Madera was a hotel and tavern just south of the train station, built by Jerry Adams of Switzerland in 1898. The three-story building still exists today on First Street, between Corte Madera Avenue and Montecito Drive, and these days houses a beauty salon, an architectural sheet metal firm and a number of residential apartments.

A smaller barn-like building constructed around that time behind the Adams's hotel went through its evolution as a hardware store, a mattress place, an antique shop, a design studio, a gallery and now contains the neighborhood video store, specializing in world cinema and eclectic art-house film rentals.

Across from the railroad station, a huge barn was built in 1898, and was used as a livery stable, handy for horses to haul goods from nearby mines and for local freight delivery from the trains. In 1906, it then operated as Buckley & Co. general store for the next 50 years. After renovations, the barn exists today at the corner of Tamalpais Drive and Serra Street as a luxurious spa and full-service beauty salon.

In 1905, Del Mahood came to Corte Madera to be the railroad agent and stationmaster. He was also a telegrapher and, along with his brother Foster, Del operated the local telephone agency, the post office and a sweets shop in their building next to the Episcopal Church. The Mahoods' building still stands, over a century later, on Redwood Avenue.

Other buildings remain from that burgeoning era: the dramatic triangular-peaked Holy Innocents church built in 1901 at the northeastern corner of Old Corte Madera Square still stands, as does the Presbyterian Church built on the old road above the square around the same time.

Across from the Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, two stucco structures were built in the early 1900s. That property, featuring a creamery and an automobile repair shop, now exists as a yoga studio. Most of the remaining buildings around the historical village square went up in the 1920s and '30s.

The square around the train station was the original center of Corte Madera, around which everything bloomed exponentially—-and literally. Established in 1916 and preserved by the Women's Club, Railroad Park is located in the northwest quadrant of the old train station square. It was renamed Menke Park in the early 1950s after the town leased the property from the railroad and took over maintenance of the land.

Today Menke Park is a beautifully landscaped area with rose bushes and hydrangea, and the bright romanticism of Piccolo Pavilion's gazebo, bordered by a walkway and antique lampposts with hanging baskets bursting with bouquets of red, purple, yellow and pink flowers.

Several homes constructed during that time pay tribute to the New England-influenced architecture of the late 1880s, and can still be seen in the Old Square's surrounding neighborhoods.

Through all of its evolutions, Corte Madera's Old Town Square diligently preserves its spirit with constant club and merchant support, and a few community festivals.

The Fourth of July celebration—-joining Corte Madera and its "twin city," Larkspur—-draws thousands of spectators and residents from all over the Bay Area. The event includes a rollicking parade through Old Town, as well as festivities and a picnic in the nearby Town Park.

East Corte Madera

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