ROSS HISTORICAL SOCIETY/ MOYA LIBRARY
2025 FIRST THURSDAY FORENOON PROGRAMS

​The First Thursday Forenoon lectures are held in the Livermore Pavilion at the Marin Art & Garden Center.
The programs begin at 11:00 a.m., and run for about one hour. A donation of $10.00 per person is requested.
​
March 6*       Marin Tales In his decades of scanning old newspapers, author and historian Brian Crawford
has stumbled upon numerous odd and surprising stories — including a brutal murder on the
streets of San Rafael, a haunted jail cell, the disappearance of society matron Mrs. Mailliard,
the proposed prismoidal railroad, and the mysterious Black Hole of Marin.

April 3*         The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty and his ties to Marin. Award-winning author Richard
Schwartz shares the biography of M. B. Curtis, a 19th-century immigrant actor who funded
the Statue of Liberty’s lighting, starred in America’s longest-running play, and faced fame,
scandal, and reinvention. Curtis’ ties to Marin will delight you.

May 1            Maritime Radio Station KPH started operating in 1905. Throughout its history it represented
state-of-the-art in radio communications and now is operated by the Maritime Radio
Historical Society. Lifelong radio enthusiast and professional Bill Ruck helps keep the station
on the air and his interest in the history of radio communications shows in the presentation.

June 5*          The new book Point Reyes and Tomales Bay: A History of the Place and Its People, written
by Marin historian Dewey Livingston, will be presented. This book covers Coast Miwok
Tamal-ko people's lives into the hippie 1970s. It includes detailed histories of the bayside
towns, dairying, one-room schools, creation of parks, and more recent changes.

Sept 11         "Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Marin Art and Garden Center”, Board President
Tom Perry will discuss the legacy of the Center as the cultural heart of the Ross Valley, as
well as the history of the property under the stewardship of the Worn (his great-great
grandparents) and Kittle families, and give an update on the “Sowing the Seeds” initiative in
support of the Master Plan renovations.
There will be a catered luncheon after the program/details to follow.

Oct 2*               José Moya del Pino’s murals today: Our library’s namesake, past president of the Marin
Society of Artists and founding vice president of MAGC, created a number of murals for the
WPA during the Great Depression and for private entities. Discover his iconic work, from
Coit Tower to breweries and post offices. His granddaughter Paola Coda will share how these
murals came to be and where you can still see them today.

Nov 6            A Commercial Astronaut's Spaceflight - Reflections On Floating Above Earth and The
Rocket Ride To Get There. Ron Rosano flew into space with Virgin Galactic in October
2023. Ross School graduate and spaceflight & astronomy instructor, Ron will present a
suborbital astronaut’s perspective, sharing insights, photos and video from his flight.

For More Information
www.moya-rhs.org
* Books available for purchase and signing

Marin History Museum Events

If your organization has an event you'd like us to post,
​please sent us a note through the contact page

San Rafael library hits 130 years of service, looks to expand
Story in the Marin IJ, June 3rd
Picture
Most of us assume that our library started out in its present Classical Revival Carnegie-endowed building.  But library roots go back to 1887, when the Women’s Christian Temperance Union started a coffee and reading room with a free library in downtown San Rafael.  By 1890, this library had been turned over to the City of San Rafael.  In 1904, the Good Government Club and a local judge who was a personal friend of Andrew Carnegie asked Carnegie for funds for a proper library building.  A grant of $25,000 brought the structure into existence in 1909.  It was designed by the same architects who designed San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.

The Carnegie endowment gave San Rafael a gracious, lovely, building of civic importance that our citizens have viewed with great pride for 108 years!

Civic Center Tours

One-hour docent-led tours of the Civic Center are offered every Wednesday at 10:30 am