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Mill Valley around the time of incorporation. Lovell and Throckmorton Avenues run through the center, with Summit School and the old Catholic church nearby.

The new city quickly attracted new residents. This is a page from a Lyon and Hoag real estate brochure, ca. 1905. Prices of large lots ranged from $350-$600.

Members of The Outdoor Art Club (OAC) at their clubhouse, ca. 1904. The OAC was founded in 1902 by Mrs. Lovell White and it remains one of the oldest organizations in Mill Valley.

New businesses also appeared with the influx of citizens. One of the earliest laundry services in Mill Valley, Marin Laundry, ran deliveries by horse and carriage at the time this photo was taken, ca. 1901.

Charles and Emma Dowd with their daughter and two stable hands at Dowd’s Fashion Stables at 157 Throckmorton, ca. 1908.

The Bank of Mill Valley, ca. 1906, would become the Bank of America at 60 Throckmorton in 1911.

Tamalpais Union High School, ca. 1916.

Some of the twenty or so seniors of the 1914 Tamalpais Union High School graduating class.

With new schools, roads, churches, and clubs, residents clamored for recreational areas. Here three locals play a round of golf, ca. 1919, on what might be the land that would later become the Mill Valley Golf Course.

The Great Fire blazed through Mill Valley and Mt. Tamalpais July 4-6, 1929. The fire destroyed the Tavern of Tamalpais and 117 homes, including this one on Summit Avenue in front of which stood Clarissa Young Byrnes and Dorothy Greg.

The fog rolling in over Mesa and Alta Vista Streets in 1930. There were 900 residents at incorporation, and by 1930 nearly 4,100 residents.

Tourists flocked to Mill Valley. They would train into town to hike up Mt. Tamalpais on the weekend or ride the train up to the summit. This photo, ca. 1934.

By 1915 the Gravity Cars on “The Crookedest Railroad” were still one of the town’s most popular tourist attractions. At the Double-Bow Knot the tracks split, running back into town or down into Muir Woods.

The train stopped at the Muir Woods Inn. These tourists in 1915 are relaxing in the dining area near the station.

The dining room of the Mountain Home Inn, ca. 1960. It was built by the Claude Meyers, a Swiss-German couple, in 1912.

By the mid-1920s automobiles had become the preferred mode of transport over Mt. Tam. This garage was located on Lovell Avenue between Bernard and Madrona Avenues.

Frank Filippi’s Elroy Garage, ca. 1930.

Frank H. Lascy (in center with cigar) and E. E. Wood (principal of Tam High and third to left of Lascy) were part of the Shoreline Highway Commission, ca. 1930.

The Great Depression and the car brought about the collapse of the railroad and in 1930 the tracks were removed. Engineer Jake Johnson supervised the deconstruction below the West Point Inn.

The grand opening of the Richardson Bay Bridge on November 22, 1931. It was the largest structure of redwood ever built and connected the stretch of Highway 101 between Alto and Waldo Stations.

A fire station was built next to the new city hall in 1936. Parked inside are three American-LaFrance fire trucks.

Mill Valley’s first Police Chief Alexander Steele McCurdy in 1934.

A parking lot behind 71 Throckmorton Ave., ca. 1941.

The local rock band Kustom Keys posing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, ca. 1959. The Keys played at many rallies and dances in Marin. Left to right: Winston Searles, Otis Bigus, Walt Lennon, Jack Lahargue, and Dean Ferguson.

During WWII many women took jobs typically handled by men. Eighteen Mill Valley women served as volunteer firefighters for the Civil Defense program.

The freedom to work outside the home continued after the war. These women sold the “modern” telephone, ca. 1960.

During WWII 20,000 laborers worked at Marinship, and after the war some stayed. By 1960 the population of Mill Valley neared 10,500.

Mill Valley celebrated its 60th birthday in September 1960 with a giant cake made by Locust Bakery.

The printing room at the Mill Valley Record in 1965. The Record began in 1899 as the Marin County Enterprise, and it ran until 1991.

The former part-owner Mary Harkins in the El Paseo restaurant, ca. 1970. Rocker Sammy Hagar and chef Tyler Florence reopened it on March 21, 2011.

A long line of cars back up along Shoreline Highway in Tam Junction as tourists head up Mt. Tam or down to the beaches. During the summer, traffic can back up on Highway 101 down to Sausalito and up to East Blithedale.

Mill Valley in 1981. The Edna Maguire Elementary School is in the center and the Richardson Bridge is in the upper right. The view extends over Sausalito and out to the iconic San Francisco skyline.