In this 1949 photo, the most prominent sign is “Tamalpais” splashed across a two-story building in the photo’s center right. Even back then, the intersection was known as “The Hub.” That’s because for those nearby, it was indeed a center of activity.
In 1875, two well-traveled dirt roads were joined by a rail line and unofficially christened “The Hub” — today, we know these two roads as Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Red Hill Avenue in San Anselmo. In the 1920s, the area was made more congested thanks to the introduction of the electric-powered interurban trains that started transiting the confluence. At the same time, the Tamalpais Community Playhouse, or “Tamalpais” for short, entered the scene. The Tamalpais’ first movie was The Humming Bird starring Gloria Swanson. As an added attraction, vocalist and pianist Uma Waldrop would perform on a $25,000 organ. Soon, the 1,000-seat venue became the Tamalpais Theater which showed films from the 1930s onwards, before closing in 1989. Today, its marquee publicizes community events, and its greatly reconfigured lobby is home to The Image Flow, a center for quality photographic printing.
As for “the Hub,” by the end of World War II, rail traffic had left town, while traffic caused by cars, buses and trucks significantly increased. To counteract this, a city police officer was dispatched daily in the late 1960s to personally direct rush hour traffic, and in 1972, automated traffic lights were finally installed. Yet despite the many improvements that have been made to these lights, “The Hub” remains one of Marin County’s busiest intersections.
