While working on the 100th Birthday Project (our family's effort to make our home green certified by the time it becomes 100 years old in 2024) people have asked, “So how do you know the actual birthday of your house?” Good question! The county tax records say that it was built in 1924, but there is not a permit on file for the original construction. The Marin Municipal Water District says the water meter was installed on October 15, 1946 but we know it's older than that. Marin History Museum has books of records that will give us more information, but they are organized by name of whomever owned the property in 1930, not by address. It’s like a treasure hunt! Gerstle Park, the Little Italy of Marin, was home to many Italian-American families over the 20th century. It’s why the Marin Bocce League is here. The Marin History Museum has a copy of an old brochure from walking tours of historic homes the Gerstle Park Neighborhood Association gave back in the 1990s and I found a picture of our house!
But we still don’t know who owned it in the 1930s. The search continues.
