Timeline - Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society

LOCAL HISTORY TIMELINE CREATED BY FORMER TIBURON MAYOR AND TOWN HISTORIAN BRANWELL FANNING. INFORMATION DRAWN FROM THE FILES OF THE LANDMARKS HISTORY COLLECTIONS, LOCAL HISTORY BOOKS, AS WELL AS LOCAL AND AREA NEWSPAPERS.
(Further editing and revision is ongoing).

1540 First European, traveling overland, sets foot in California.
1579 Sir Francis Drake lands in Marin and names it New Albion.
1595 Manilla galleon San Agustin shipwrecked on Point Reyes. Artifacts still surfacing.
1767 A brig, the San Carlos is built in the shipyards of San Blas, Mexico. It is 58 feet on deck, a beam of about 17 feet. It will carry a crew of 30 officers and men.
1769 Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira (Portola), traveling overland from Monterey, sights San Francisco Bay.
1775 The San Carlos, Commanded by Lt. Juan Manuel de Ayala, is the first ship to visit San Francisco Bay and anchors at Angel Island while charting the Bay. Names Punta de Tiburon, or Shark Point and Isla de los Angels, later called Angel Island.
1776 Declaration of Independence is approved in Philadelphia. Presidio of San Francisco established by Spanish soldiers.
1790 First US Census – population 3,929,214.
1805 John Thomas Reed is born in Dublin, Ireland.
1812 Russians settle at Fort Ross. Whaling fleet of many nations winter in Whalers Cove in what is now Richardson Bay.
1813 Hilaria Sanchez is born.
1814 The British sloop-of -war Racoon is beached on the shore of the cove on Angel Island to make repairs. The strait between the Angel Island and the Tiburon Peninsula is named for it although, eventually, the spelling of the little furry animal, Raccoon, becomes accepted.
1815 Last voyage of the Manila Galleon between California and the Philippines.
1817 Mission San Rafael Archangel founded.
1820 John Thomas Reed leaves Ireland for Mexico.
1821 Mexico gains its independence from Spain.
1825 John Thomas Reed arrives in San Francisco from Mexico. He speaks Spanish and is a Catholic, two requirements to be granted land.
1828 Acts of secularization frees up mission lands.
1831 Reed is granted provisional permission to occupy the Rancho Corte de Madera del Presidio, a former pasture of the San Rafael Mission. With 400 cattle and 60 horses he begins ranching the property.
1834 Mission San Rafael is taken over by Mexican civil authorities as part of the secularization program. Rancho Corte de Madera del Presidio is granted by Mexican Governor Jose Figueroa to John Thomas Reed. The 8,000 acre rancho includes all of present day Tiburon (except for Angel Island), Belvedere, Strawberry, part of Mill Valley, all of Corte Madera, and all of old Larkspur as far as Corte Madera Creek opposite the present site of College of Marin.
1835 Captain William Richardson’s plan for Yerba Buena is approved. The town later becomes San Francisco.
1836 John Reed builds a saw mill on a creek in what is now Mill Valley. Marries Hilaria Sanchez, daughter of the Comandante of the Presidio.
1837 John Joseph Reed, son of John Thomas Reed, is born.
1838 Captain Richardson is granted the 20,000 acre Rancho Saucelito.
1839 Hilarita Reed, daughter of John Thomas Reed, is born. Don Antonio Maria Osio, a native of Baja California is granted Angel Island. Raises a herd of 500 cattle.
1841 Benjamin Lyford is born. Maria Inez Reed, daughter of John Thomas Reed, is born. First emigrant wagon train reaches Sacramento. Russians withdraw from Fort Ross. Captain Richardson settles on his rancho at Saucelito.
1842 John Thomas Reed dies, age 38.
1846 Congress declares war with Mexico. Bear Flag Revolt in California. The US flag flies over Monterey.
1847 Widow Hilaria Reed marries Bernardino Garcia.
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican war. California is ceded to the United States. Gold is discovered in California.
1850 California admitted to the Union, Marin (population: 325) is one of the original 27 counties. The U.S. Government reserves Angel Island.
1852 Area of Strawberry first appears on coast survey charts. California City is laid out by Benjamin R. Buckelew on 320 acres purchased from John Joseph Reed; today it is the location of Paradise Cay.
1853 Fortifications are built on Alcatraz using rock from Angel Island. More than 100 guns are in place.
1854 A duel is fought on Angel Island between two San Franciscans. Both are wounded, one later died from his wounds.
1856 Reed title to the Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio is confirmed.
1860 A brick kiln begins operation on site which will later be the Net Depot. Antonio Maria Osio’s claim to Angel Island is declared void by the Supreme Court and the Army takes possession.
1863 Military troops set up bases on Angel Island as part of the coastal defenses of San Francisco Bay. Work begins on Camp Reynolds (later called West Garrison on Angel Island).
1864 The first saloon on the Tiburon Peninsula opens. An Army hospital is opened at the cove on Angel Island. Gun batteries are constructed at Point Stuart and Point Knox. Stillwater Bay (Belvedere Cove) is used for drying cod fish.
1865 John Paul Reed, son of John Joseph Reed, is born. Camp Reynolds becomes a recruit station, training men destined for posts throughout the West. The 12^th Infantry, headquartered on Angel Island, has men serving on eleven different posts from Mexico to Alaska.
1866 The Morgan Oyster Co. begins producing oysters in Richardson Bay. The business lasts for ten years. Dr. Benjamin Lyford is mustered out of the Army and arrives in San Francisco. The S.S. China is built in New York for the trans-Pacific trade.
1867 A military reservation is established on “Peninsula Island” now Belvedere.
1868 Hilaria Sanchez Reed Garcia dies. Hilarita Reed inherits 446 acres in Strawberry and 1,021 acres at the East end of the Tiburon Peninsula. Inez Reed is granted most of land west of present Highway 101. John Joseph Reed gets the bulk of the ranch in the middle of the Peninsula.
1869 Brickyards in Tiburon provide material for Fort Point in San Francisco.1870 Vigolite Powder Company builds an explosive plant on the Tiburon Peninsula.
1872 Hilarita Reed marries Dr. Benjamin Lyford.
1874 The first Reed School opens on the Big Reed Ranch.
1875 North Pacific Coast Railroad begins operation through Strawberry and across a 4,000 foot trestle to Sausalito. A post office is opened on Angel Island.
1876 Camp Reynolds serves as a depot for recruits and as a staging area for troops serving in campaigns against Native American tribes.
1877 Lynde & Hough open a codfish processing plant on Tiburon’s east shore. The Hazard Powder Company builds two powder magazines in Tiburon. The Lyfords move into their home on Strawberry Point, the Eagle Dairy Ranch.
1879 The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad (SF & NP), owned by Colonel Peter Donahue reaches San Rafael. Rancho Sausalito is patented to the heirs of William A. Richardson, encompassing 19,571.92 acres.
1883 Maria Inez Reed Deffebach and her husband die. Their four children come to live with the Lyfords. Ship breaking and salvage becomes a major Tiburon industry in the 1880s.
1884 Donahue extends the SF & NP Railroad from San Rafael to Tiburon establishing a railroad yard with machine shops, freight and ferry piers at the end of the peninsula. North Pacific Coast Railroad ceases operation through Strawberry. A post office is opened in Tiburon.
1885 The boundaries of the original land grant to John Reed in 1834 were decided by the U.S. District Court, and a patent was granted for the Rancho encompassing 7845.12 acres. This cleared the title to most of the original Rancho and included both Peninsula Island and Corinthian Island. The Army gives up its station on Peninsula Island.
1886 Corinthian Yacht Club is founded. A small club house is built on the end of an island renamed Corinthian Island. The social saloon from the paddle steamer China is removed from the ship before demolition and placed on Beach Road, Belvedere. Point Knox Lighthouse is erected on Angel Island but only has a fog warning bell. Gun batteries are built on Angel Island facing the golden Gate. Manuel Rodrigues da Fonta and his wife and three year old daughter Rose leave the Azores. Finding work on the ferry boats out of Tiburon he settles on the Reed Ranch. The family is also known as Rogers.
1887 The Tiburon School District is formed.
1888 St. Hilary’s mission church is built in Carpenter’s Gothic style on land donated by Dr. and Mrs. Lyford. Named for Hilaria Reed and Hilarita Lyford’s patron saint, it is served by visiting priests from San Rafael. A public health quarantine station is opened on Angel Island. The area is named Hospital Cove.
1890 Belvedere Land Company formed by Thomas B. Valentine and the island is subdivided. The ferryboat Ukiah is built in the Tiburon yards. Dr. Lyford starts his subdivision known as Lyford’s Hygeia after the goddess of health and builds a stone tower to mark its entrance. Fire destroys most of the buildings on Main St.
1891 The Quarantine Station is opened on Angel Island and the first ship, the China puts ashore 257 passengers and crew. Thomas B. Valentine purchases Corinthian Island from the Reed Family.
1893 Sausalito incorporated.
1896 The City of Belvedere is incorporated.
1897 A post office is opened in Belvedere. The Belvedere School District is formed.
1899 John Joseph Reed dies. The quarantine station on Angel Island becomes a detention center for veterans of the Spanish American War who might have contracted diseases in the Philippines, and other troops to be mustered out of the Army.
1900 Mill Valley is incorporated. A light is added to the Point Knox Lighthouse. Fort McDowell is established at Point Blunt on Angel Island as a tent encampment.
1901 First Tiburon School is built just below St. Hilary’s on Mar West. A Discharge Camp is constructed near Quarry Point on Angel Island to handle separation of soldiers returning from the Philippines. 126,000 men will pass through in the next six years.
1904 The U. S. Navy builds a coaling station on the codfishery site on Paradise Drive.
1905 The U.S. Immigration Service opens on Angel Island to receive immigrants from the Far East.
1906 Dr. Benjamin Lyford dies on Strawberry Point. A great earthquake, centered in West Marin, devastates San Francisco. Fires complete the destruction, and sends many families to live in their summer homes and arks in Belvedere. Fire, not related to the earthquake, destroys many Main St. buildings.
1907 The Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP) is created by merging numerous rail lines including San Francisco and North Pacific serving Tiburon. Corinthian Island Company is formed, purchasing the Island from the widow of Thomas B. Valentine.
1908 Hilarita Reed Lyford dies in Mexico. Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet replenishes its bunkers at the coaling station on Tiburon’s east shore. The City of Larkspur is incorporated. A nine hole golf course is developed on Belvedere Island. A three story brick warehouse is constructed at Camp Reynolds.
1909 Direct passenger ferry service from Tiburon to San Francisco ends. Shuttle service to the ferry pier in Sausalito (by ferry and later by bus) continues until 1934.
1910 A permanent Immigration Station opens at Point Simpson (later called North Garrison) on Angel Island. Construction also begins on permanent buildings at Fort McDowell. It is called East Garrison when Fort McDowell becomes headquarters for the whole island.
1912 St. Stephens church is established in Belvedere.
1913 Electricity comes to Tiburon.
1915 A second lighthouse is erected at Point Stuart on Angel Island.
1916 The City of Corte Madera is incorporated.
1917 World War I. Angel Island becomes a training and internment camp.
1919 John Paul Reed dies. Before his death he grants Rose Rodrigues da Fonta the nine acres which is now the Richardson Bay Audubon Center (see 1957). 71,919 aliens pass through the Immigration Station.
1920 Sam Vella opens Sam’s Anchor Café on Main Street.
1921 Fire destroys the machine shops at the NWP yard. Another fire destroys most of the west side of Main St.
1922 The quarry on Angel Island closes.
1923 The ferry Ukiah is rebuilt as the Eureka. (It is now a central exhibit in the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.)
1925 New Tiburon School built in front of the first school on Mar West. The brick bank building on Main Street is constructed.
1926 Fort McDowell on Angel Island is handling about 40,000 men per year, more troop traffic than any other post in the country.
1930 Tiburon Blvd. completed directly to downtown instead of by way of San Rafael Ave, in Belvedere. As oil replaces coal on ships the Navy Coaling Station closes.
1931 The California Maritime Academy moves to the site of the former coaling station.
1933 Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge. The former Navy coaling station on Paradise Drive becomes the staging ground for bridge construction. The suspender cables are spun here by the Roebling company.
1934 San Francisco Yacht Club (founded in 1869) moves to Belvedere Cove.
1937 The Golden Gate Bridge opens for traffic.
1940 The Navy converts the former coaling station to construct and operate anti-submarine nets to protect San Francisco Bay and other Pacific ports. Over 100,000 tons of netting are produced during the war. A second base, becomes the Navy’s Floating Dry Dock Training School (now Paradise Park.) 514 men of the crew of the German luxury liner Columbus are detained on Angel Island. The Maritime Academy moves to Vallejo. Clothilda Reed dies at age 81. She owned 433 acres in Strawberry, the 1,033-acre Big Reed Ranch, and the 544-acre Little Reed Ranch.
1941 The U.S. enters World War II. The Immigration Station on Angel Island closes. Prisoners of War will be held here. The last sailing from Sausalito to San Francisco ends ferryboat service. More than 300,000 soldiers are sent to the Pacific Theater through Angel Island. The Tiburon Fire Protection District is created.
1942 The first apartment complex in Tiburon, Hilarita Housing is built to serve military families on the peninsula. The first anti-aircraft guns are placed on Angel Island. The first POWs arrive at the Detention Center on Angel Island.
1945 The Navy plans to convert the entire peninsula into a huge ammunition supply depot. World War II ends, halting this project.
1946 The last POWs leave the Detention Center. The flag is lowered on the Army posts on Angel Island.
1948 Angel Island is transferred from the Department of Defense to the Department of the Interior.
1949 The Quarantine Station on Angel Island closes.
1950 The Reed Union Elementary School District is created, merging the Belvedere and Tiburon School Districts.
1952 The Tiburon Peninsula Coordinating Council (TPCC), made up of the presidents of the homeowner associations, the City of Belvedere, and all the special districts, is formed in order have a unified voice before the Board of Supervisors and to work with county planners on a Master Plan for the Development of the Tiburon Peninsula.
1953 The Bel Aire subdivision is built.
1954 Reed School completed. The new Saint Hilary’s Church opens, a school is added in 1963. Army engineers construct Nike Missile batteries on Angel Island. The top of Mount Ida (later Mount Caroline Livermore) is lopped off to provide for a radar station to control the missiles.
1956 Third Tiburon School built on the same site as the first two, Mar West at Esperanza. Marin County issues a Master Plan for the Development of the Tiburon Peninsula, created with the assistance of the Tiburon Peninsula Coordinating Council (TPCC). This Master Plan would have allowed for a population of 20,000 to 40,000 people. There was a four-lane, divided highway circling the peninsula and provision for a bridge to San Francisco. Incorporation of a City of Tiburon was proposed but failed to get the support of the large land holders. The Belvedere and Tiburon post offices are combined.
1957 Reeds Port, a plan for 2,000 houses yacht harbor and businesses, is proposed for Richardson Bay. The 900 acre Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary is established ending the scheme. The Lyford House is barged across the Bay from Strawberry (near the present day Harbor Point development) to the nine acres of land donated by Rose Rodrigues da Fonta Verrall, Tiburon’s “Goat Lady”, where the Audubon Sanctuary headquarters is established. Most of the buildings of the abandoned Quarantine Station in Hospital Cove are destroyed.
1958 The Navy closes the Net Depot.
1959 Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary relocates to the Strawberry Peninsula.
1959 The Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society is formed in order to purchase Old St. Hilary’s and preserve it for the community. It is later learned that the garden surrounding the church is home to 217 species of wild flowers, some unique to the site.
1960 Bel Aire School completed. An automated light house is erected at Point Blunt on Angel Island making this the only island in the U.S. with three lighthouses.
1961 Del Mar School completed. The U.S. government proposes to convert the Net Depot property to a missile testing facility. The missiles were to be launched from Raccoon Strait. Public outcry stopped this plan. The property is then designated as a marine research facility known as the Tiburon Marine Laboratory. The Richardson Bay Audubon Center is established by the National Audubon Society. A massive development of high-rise apartments on the Strawberry Peninsula sparked a new attempt by the TPCC to incorporate the entire Tiburon Peninsula. The Elephant Rock fishing pier is built in memory of an 11 year old boy who drowned while fishing off the rocks.
1962 A recall of Supervisor Walter Blair and the election of Peter Behr in his place killed the Strawberry project so Strawberry pulled out of the incorporation plan and the fifth attempt to form a City of Tiburon died. Direct ferry service from Tiburon is restored using San Francisco Bay excursion boats. Branwell Fanning becomes chairman and John Hoffmire vice-chairman of the TPCC. The Nike base on Angel Island is deactivated.
1963 A new plan for a Tiburon-San Francisco bridge, the missile testing base at the former Net Depot, and other schemes prompted the leaders of the Tiburon Peninsula Coordinating Council to decide on another attempt to incorporate a City of Tiburon. A gerrymander of the map eliminated most opposition to the incorporation. The last shops in the Tiburon rail yard are closed. The Point Knox Lighthouse is burned by the Coast Guard. Angel Island becomes a state park.
1964 The Incorporation election is held and the proponents are victorious by 101 votes. Gordon Strawbridge and John Hoffmire are elected to four year terms on the new City Council. Anne Ellinwood, Leo Souza and Fred Hannas get two year terms. Strawbridge is elected mayor. Larry Rose, City Manager of Carmel by the Sea, is hired. The city is broke, but The Tiburon National Bank loans enough money to carry the city until the first tax revenue are received. Rose Rodrigues da Fonta Verrall, “the Goat Lady” dies at age 80. Granada Community School completed.
1965 The 11 acre Harbor Cove Nature Preserve is established by the City of Tiburon and the Strawberry Recreation District, the first open space purchase by the new city. Gordon Strawbridge is reelected mayor. The city establishes a Zone of Interest to govern future annexations. A Parks and Recreation Commission is created.
1966 Blackie, Tiburon’s swaybacked horse, dies, aged about 40, and is buried in the field where he had grazed for about 25 years. It is still called Blackie’s Pasture. John Hoffmire is elected mayor. A development group contracts to purchase the railroad waterfront property and proposes a large complex of buildings. The city takes action to stop the proposal. The section of Tiburon Blvd. by-passed by the new construction is renamed Greenwood Beach Road.
1967 The last train leaves Tiburon ending the railroad period. The right-of-way is abandoned and the rails removed. John Hoffmire is reelected mayor. The Master Plan, The General Plan, and Zoning Ordinance are adopted. Strawberry decides against annexation to Tiburon.
1968 Bill Bremer is elected mayor. The first City Hall is established at 80 Main Street on Ark Row. Angel Island is proposed as the site for an anti-ballistic missile base. The council disapproved and the project died. Blackie’s Pasture is designated as a future city park. Gas lights are restored on Main Street. Peggy Bremer designs a logo for the city: a ships wheel with a smiling shark in the center. Tree and view preservation ordinances are approved. Denis Rice and Anne Ellinwood are elected to the City Council. Reedland Woods Unit 1 is annexed to the city. An annexation plan for Paradise Drive properties fails. Trestle over Tiburon Blvd is dismantled.
1969 Branwell Fanning is elected mayor. CALTRANS is committed to maintaining Tiburon Blvd. as a state highway. Lawsuits are filed to obtain the railroad right of way for a bicycle and pedestrian path. Part of the border between Belvedere and Tiburon is re-aligned. Several attempts by the state and San Francisco to develop Angel Island as a major destination resort are defeated. The first Ayala Day community picnic is held on Angel Island. Hospital Cove is renamed Ayala Cove. After a long strike, ferry boat service is restored by the Golden Gate Bridge District. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is created. Mayor Fanning is appointed to represent all the cities in the North Bay. Reedland Woods Unit 2 is annexed.
1970 Denis Rice is elected mayor. The 2.5 mile path along Richardson Bay on the old railroad right-of-way is opened for pedestrians and bicyclists. Strawberry again says “no” to annexation to Tiburon. A plan by Mill Valley to annex Strawberry and almost all of the unincorporated portions of the Tiburon Peninsula is unsuccessful. Undergrounding of utility wires begins. A Trails Plan for the peninsula is adopted.
1971 Denis Rice is reelected mayor. A $1.2 million bond issue is passed to purchase open space. The Tiburon Police Department is created to replace the hired sheriff deputies. Annexation of Strawberry and the Eagle Rock areas is proposed and fails once again. Louise Teather is appointed Tiburon Historian. The city finally convinces CALTRANS to leave Tiburon Blvd, a two lane road.
1972 Albert Sennett is elected mayor. Open space lands, mostly on ridge tops are purchased. The Arkweekly newspaper begins publishing. Sam Shapero successfully acquires the largest portions of Blackie’s Pasture, and deeds them to the city.
1973 Branwell Fanning is reelected mayor. Bob Kleinert becomes city manager. The boundary with Belvedere on Corinthian Island is changed to correspond to property lines. The Tiburon Peninsula Foundation is created to facilitate the acquisition of Blackie’s Pasture. Hilarita Housing rebuilding plan is approved. A deal is made with Belvedere to jointly build and operate community tennis courts. The Tiburon School is closed. The 200 anniversary of Ayala’s visit is commemorated.
1974 Al Aramburu is elected mayor. Work is begun on McKegney Green. The Del Mar tennis courts are opened.
1975 George Ellman is elected mayor. Rezoning of the old railroad yards is completed. Undergrounding of telephone wires on Tiburon Blvd is begun. Belveron Minipark is completed in the space formerly occupied by the railroad trestle. The final portion of Blackie’s Pasture is purchased. The Federal Government declares the former Navy Net Depot Surplus Property.
1976 Donald Tayer becomes mayor. All of Marin is suffering from a severe drought. Home use of water is tightly rationed. The soccer field at McKegney Green opens using recycled water. Developer Robert Goetz of Belvedere buys 435 acres on Ring Mountain and announces an extensive housing plan. The Richardson Bay Bicycle Path is widened. A board walk is established on the Main St. waterfront and named for its designer, Alan Thompson.
1977 Bruce Ross is elected mayor. Conservation of the ridge lands and open space through purchase and negotiated development is pursued. The Nature Conservancy buys acreage on Ring Mountain.
1978 Hal Edelstein is mayor. Planning for a new City Hall proceeds along with the plan for development of the railroad yards. The Lagoon Road tennis courts are built in a cooperative effort with Belvedere and a new joint Park and Recreation Commission. San Francisco State University creates the The Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies (now the Romberg Tiburon Center) on the former Net Depot property donated by the U.S. Government.
1979 Joan Bergsund is Tiburon’s first lady mayor. The downtown Plan for the old railroad yards is finally complete and approved by a referendum. City Historian Louise Teather leads a successful campaign to change the name from City to Town. The China Cabin is repositioned on Beach Road.
1980 Philip Bass becomes mayor. The four lane highway through, and beyond Blackie’s Pasture and the elevated intersection at Trestle Glenn Blvd. are rejected thus keeping Tiburon Blvd. a two lane road. Town Hall is moved to an old building in the former Hilarita Housing. The police department takes over an adjoining building. Lyford’s Tower is restored. The former Tiburon School becomes senior housing and is re-named Bradley House for long-time teacher Miriam “Brownie” Bradley.
1981 Kirk Hanson is mayor. The Waterfront Park is finally approved and built as part of the Point Tiburon development. The Tiburon Crest is annexed to the town. A Precise Plan for the Trestle Glen intersection is approved and several parcels change hands.
1982 Dennis Rockey, mayor. The Town’s financial structure is overhauled to recognize the change in tax structure required by passage of Proposition 13.
1983 The Ring Mountain open space is dedicated by the California Nature Conservancy, preserving several hundred acres in the center of the peninsula from further development.
1984 Larry Smith, mayor. The town celebrated its 100^th anniversary as a railroad town and the opening of a Tiburon Post Office. It is also the 20^th anniversary of the incorporation of Tiburon. Big parade, tent downtown with old movies, jazz festival and fire works. Bel Aire area is annexed to Tiburon.
1985 Valerie Bergmann, mayor. Point Tiburon project nears completion. Work continues on Tiburon Blvd. downtown.
1986 The restoration of the China Cabin is completed and the site is dedicated. Tiburon Heritage and Arts Commission established.
1987 Stone Coxhead, mayor. A task force is appointed to plan for a new Town Hall. The 50^th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge.
1988 Highlands and Ring Mountain subdivisions are approved. Old St. Hilary’s Church celebrates its 100^thanniversary.
1989 Tiburon celebrates its 25^th anniversary. A joint powers agreement is signed with Belvedere for subsidizing the ferry service.
1992 An ordinance protecting significant ridge lines on the Peninsula is passed.
1993 Rosemary Bliss becomes California’s first female fire chief. The new fire station opens on Tiburon Blvd.
1994 The Donahue Building which was deeded to the Town as part of the Point Tiburon development agreement is leased to the Landmark Society for use as a railroad museum. Gordon Strawbridge, Tiburon’s first mayor dies. His will provides funds for a statue of Blackie. A playground for small children opens in the South of the Knoll Park.
1995 Andrew Thompson, mayor. A continuous Tiburon Ridge Trail is completed. A bronze statue of Blackie is dedicated in his pasture.
1996 Belvedere celebrates its centennial. Donahue depot building placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1997 A permanent downtown Town Hall is finally completed and open for business. Construction of senior housing and a new police station is authorized. The new Belvedere-Tiburon Library is opened next to the Town Hall. Terry Hennessy, former Town Clerk, is mayor.
1998 A parcel tax is passed to purchase 117 acres of open space at Old St. Hilary’s preserve. The Red and White Fleet which had been providing ferry service to San Francisco is sold to the Blue and Gold Fleet – service is continued. Cypress Hollow is annexed to Tiburon.
1999 The Elephant Rock Fishing Pier is rebuilt. Richardson Bay Fire District merges with several others to create the Southern Marin Fire District.
2000 The Millennium is celebrated by a huge party on Main Street and the Corinthian Yacht Club. Zelinsky Park is dedicated in the area behind the new Town Hall in honor of Fred and Juanita Zelinsky who donated the land for the Town Hall and their son and daughter (Ed Zelinsky and Barbara Abrams) who donated the land for the Library. Bob Kleinert retires as town manager after 26 years. Alex D. McIntyre becomes the new city manager. Main Street is rebuilt with new wider side walks and handicapped accessibility.
2001 The Lyford House is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2002 Ferry Plaza and a new ferry pier open. The Alan Thompson Walkway along the waterfront is rebuilt and reopens. The Federal Government transfers title of the final part of the old Naval Net Depot, now known as the Romberg Tiburon Center, to San Francisco State University. St. Stevens celebrates its 90th anniversary.
2003 The top of Mount Caroline S. Livermore on Angel Island is restored to its original height of 788 feet. The restoration of the Angel Island Immigration Station is approved by the town.