In 1902, local citizens formed a group to combat the mosquito infestation in Marin, which started with both men and women — originally called the Village — but later became a women’s organization. The first president of the San Rafael Improvement Club was Eliza A. Neale, who served for 12 years. To raise money, the club planned a fundraiser in June 1904 — a “Wild West pony show” — at the Bates grounds in the Coleman Tract. The Marin Journal announced: “Every little boy and girl in San Rafael who owns a pony, and there are scores of them, will on the 4th of June give a genuine Wild West show for the benefit of the San Rafael Improvement Club, which in turn will use the funds to carry on the war against the mosquitoes.”
The event was successful with close to 2,000 people attending. With the necessary funds in hand, they contacted Charles W. Woodworth, an expert entomologist and founder of the entomology departments at both UC Berkeley and UC Davis. To rid the marshes of mosquitoes, workers applied oil to the town’s salt marshes, in addition to digging ditches, repairing dikes and tide gates, and filling marshy areas. Over the next 10 years, the San Rafael Improvement Club tirelessly campaigned to eradicate the mosquitoes. Other fundraisers included a Village Fair, rummage sales, flower festivals, card tournaments and an annual baseball game.
In early 1916, the club bought a new clubhouse. The Marin Journal reported that the club had “acquired the Victrola pavilion in the Liberal Arts Palace at the (Panama-Pacific) Exposition and is now arranging for removing the same to San Rafael for use as a club home. The pavilion is about 60 feet square in size, will have a good hardwood floor and is well suited for dancing parties and for public gathers, where about 200 persons can be accommodated.”
The club purchased the building from Leon Douglass, a sound and motion picture inventor, for $500 and had it moved to its current location at Fifth and H streets. Club member Mrs. Arthur W. Foster and her husband gave the organization use of the property. In 1923, the club bought the property free and clear. This structure and San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts are the only buildings remaining from the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The building is a city and state landmark and in May 1984, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1917, the club reported, “In the 14 years of its existence, the club has labored unremittingly to accomplish its ideal in the completed plan for beautification. In this period, the members have planted more than 6,000 trees of the decorative and shading species.”
Some still provide shade on Fifth Avenue today.
The club was a popular venue to local schools for graduations, musical programs, dances and card socials. During more challenging times, the building was used as a soup kitchen during the Great Depression. During World War II, the Red Cross held blood drives and conducted first aid and civil defense classes. Club members knitted socks for servicemen, held scrap metal drives and boxed up care packages.
In 1997, due to the aging membership and the inability to maintain the property, the club gave the building and land to the Rotary Manor Corporation with the stipulation that the building be restored. Despite a lot of money raised in private donations and support from Rotary Club members, the nonprofit could not afford the costs and had to sell. Although the San Rafael Improvement Club no longer exists, its legacy will long be remembered.
(Originally published as History Watch article in the Marin Independent Journal)