Today
From the 1980's to Present.
Each day hundreds of people pass the Fair-Anselm Shopping Center in their cars on the way to and from town. At the east end of the shopping center there is an arterial stop sign at the intersection of Pastori Avenue and Center Boulevard. Pastori Avenue is a mere two blocks long and runs from Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the attractive concrete bridge crossing San Anselmo Creek and leads to the Marin Town and Country Club property. As you approach the bridge from the shopping center side, a sign is clearly visible indicating that the country club is closed, which has been its status since 1972, the last year it operated as a public recreational resort.
Few people passing along Center Boulevard, except for some of the area's older residents and those presently living in the former vacation cabins and cottages on the property, have any idea what lies on the other side of that bridge or the history of the property therein. It is property which has a rich and colorful history.
Time seems to have frozen, nearly 25 years have passed since the Country Club closed its doors and many of the photos you see below still reflect on those "good old days".
The entrance to the pool house. There were over 40 of these signs all over the San Francisco area.
The front of the Main Building that housed the restaurant, cocktail lounge and office.
The site is listed as Registered Landmark # 679 , Bird's Nest Glen, the home of Lord Fairfax, pioneer and political leader of the 1850's and involved in the last of California's political duels.
The main house was formally Pastori's restaurant, built in 1912.
Years later the bar still remained the same as when the doors closed. In the cocktail lounge bar, a historical piece of furniture was salvaged from an off-shore gambling ship.
The gardens and the "Side Walk Cafe."
The open fields toward the back of the property.
The diving pool and kids pool. The club had a total of seven pools of all sizes and depths.
The Cafeteria
The Fire truck which the kids loved to climb on, and the cottages that provide housing.
The Main pool was built buy the Emporium in 1927 and remained the only pool until the late 40's. Today, the pool is well stocked with mosquito fish.
The former covered bleachers were converted to living units and storage in the 1940's
After the storms of 1981, the bandstand and large portion of the dance floor fell into the creek.
