May - Historic Preservation Month - What we do!
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The Heritage Herald

 

Hi Preservation Friends,

May is just around the corner and with it a flurry of historic preservation activity.  Did you know that the beautiful month of May is National Historic Preservation Month?  You may have participated in our "This Place Matters" demonstrations in front of historic buildings in the past.  This year our May 2nd event will be held at the Boyd Gate House.  Read on for a description, and join us!

The Trust for Historic Preservation and the California Preservation Foundation are in full swing, the former offers ways to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence while the latter invites you to attend a preservation conference.  Learn more by clicking on the embedded links.

We are your stalwart local preservation organization, and have been extremely busy since January.  We established 2026 goals that power our mission, 

        "To promote the preservation of San Rafael’s historic resources and
        architecturally significant structures and to support 
        other historical and preservationist organizations in Marin County."

San Rafael Heritage will:

  1. Focus on the growth of the organization

  2. Work with the City for implementation of the Downtown Precise Plan and placemaking as it relates to historic preservation

  3. Establish working relationships with the City’s Departments of Community Development, Library and Recreation, and the City Manager’s office

  4. Pursue our partnership with the Marin History Museum

  5. Create space on our website to provide information about historic preservation and relevant regulations, laws, and resources

    To this end, we have had our shoulder to the wheel! Scroll down to read SRH's own Sue Burrell's description of the many ways your forever young San Rafael Heritage Board is working together to promote the City's heritage. Suffice it to say we communicate regularly with City officials and Marin History Museum (MHM) leaders. 

    To recap April, the Preservation Celebration, was held April 19th at the historic Studio Fourth Street.  A classy and upbeat event with live piano music, keynote speaker MHM Board President, Heather McPhail Sridharan it included a robust panel discussion about the intersection of preservation and development with three of our board members.  Watch the video on our website to get inspired. SRH's Preservation Award went to The Carnegie for the excellent restoration and enhancement. Read on and be part of this award's presentation at the May 4th City Council meeting.  The Cityscape Award was presented to Aegis Living for its new building on Mission/Lincoln which is, "Reminiscent of our Mission past," and demonstrates "An example of contexual design while accommodating housing needs for our seniors."  This was a fascinating and informative event!

    REMEMBER TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP BY CLICKING HERE.

    Hope to see you May 2 and May 4th, and of course throughout the year.  Stay tuned for details of our late summer solstice event.

    Yours for preservation,

    Amy Likover
    Board President
The things we do!
By Sue Burrell, Heritage Vice President

We continue to learn about the impact of recent housing legislation on longstanding historic preservation protections such as CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). While resolving disputes about things like height and density of buildings will surely be decided by courts and the Legislature, SRH strongly believes we can do more at the local level to honor and protect our historic downtown and the hundreds of historic buildings in our community.

We have begun to meet with city staff and officials to heighten awareness of the need to reinvigorate the historic preservation work delineated in San Rafael’s Downtown Precise Plan. We wrote to City officials and will take part in a forthcoming study session on downtown development to give our ideas about what is needed.

The most pressing need is for San Rafael to have a historic preservation commission with the duties and powers to pursue the steps outlined in the Downtown Precise Plan. Having a commission would enable us to become a Certified Local Government, and thereby eligible for grants and technical assistance. The commission could also oversee updating our historic preservation ordinance, incorporating objective design standards and recognized historic preservation standards into our municipal code, updating our survey of historic buildings, and providing incentives such as tax relief to owners and developers to honor historic buildings and styles.  

Please contact me if you are interested in this process.
[email protected]
 


We warmly invite you to participate in the first Marin Community History Day on Saturday, May 2, at the Marin History Museum’s Boyd Gate House in San Rafael. This new event will bring together organizations across Marin that preserve, share, and celebrate our county’s rich history and cultural heritage.  Please stop by and help SRH at our table!

Event Details
When: Saturday, May 2, 2026, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Where: Marin History Museum, Boyd Gate House, San Rafael
What: A FREE, family-friendly celebration of local history, culture, and the many organizations that steward Marin’s stories and traditions

Volunteer HERE to help at San Rafael Heritage table
May 2nd 11 am -2 pm (10:30 set-up)

Even for 1 hour!

Participating organizations:

Anne T. Kent California Room
Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society
Jack Mason Museum
Kentfield-Greenbrae Historical Society
Larkspur Heritage Preservation Board
Marin History Museum
Mill Valley Historical Society
Mill Valley Public Library
North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation
Novato Historical Guild
Ross Historical Society / Jose Moya del Pino Library
San Anselmo History Museum
San Geronimo Valley Historical Society
San Rafael Heritage
San Rafael Public Library
Sausalito Historical Society

SAVE THE DATE - MAY 4TH, 6 PM
City Hall, Council Chambers

San Rafael Heritage presents the Preservation Award to the Carnegie Library, "In recognition of the excellent restoration and enhancement of this historic building and important cultural resource honoring its history, architecture and character, and its ongoing cultural significance to our community."
Be part of the crowd to give preservation and local history a standing ovation!
City Study Session on State Development Mandates
Date TBD
We will let you know when the second of these City public workshops will transpire.  City planning staff will continue the explanation of state law as it pertains to San Rafael's development.  The Mayor is in the process of scheduling an early summer date. 

Questions, information or comments?
And to volunteer - contact: [email protected] 

Amy: 415-450-1520

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