Let’s all raise a glass for a congratulatory toast to the Marin Art and Garden Center, whose historic Ross property was recently awarded a prestigious listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which recognizes cultural resources worthy of preservation for generations to come. The center was founded in 1945 by a group of passionate advocates for the conservation of open spaces in Marin, including Caroline Livermore, Sepha Evers, Portia Forbes, Helen Van Pelt and Gladys Smith, who were instrumental in the conservation of many of Marin’s open spaces including Samuel B. Taylor State Park, Tomales Bay and Angel Island State Park, as well as Point Reyes National Seashore and the enlargement of Mt. Tamalpais State Park boundaries.
The 11-acre former estate property showcases the work of architects Gardner Dailey and Donn Emmons and landscape architects Thomas Church and Robert Royston. The buildings on site, designed in the Bay Region Modern–Second Bay Tradition, retain the original modern lines, exposed structure, glass walls and wood panels characteristic of this period, and they embody modernist goals still sought after by Marin homeowners today.
“I’m passionate about the site, its history and the ways in which it serves the community as a place to explore, learn and celebrate,” says Marin Art and Garden Center Executive Director Antonia Adezio. “We hope that the recognition of the center’s significance will encourage people from throughout the Bay Area to visit our gardens, enjoy this historic 11 acres that has been preserved for all of us, and be refreshed and inspired by their experience.”
The nonprofit will surely celebrate its new status on the National Register at its 7th annual Harvest Dinner Fundraiser event on September 16.
For More on Marin:
- Living History: Marin Art & Garden Center
- The Marin Art and Garden Center Turns 75
- The Marin Art and Garden Center
Lotus Abrams has covered everything from beauty to business to tech in her editorial career, but it might be writing about her native Bay Area that inspires her most. She lives with her husband and two daughters in the San Francisco Peninsula, where they enjoy spending time outdoors at the area’s many open spaces protected and preserved by her favorite local nonprofit, the Peninsula Open Space Trust.
