One hundred years ago, Larkspur's Magnolia Avenue (or County Road as it was then called) was a sea of mud in the winter and so dusty in summer that it had to be sprinkled regularly. Colonies of rats lived beneath the wooden planks that served as sidewalks along the storefronts, and a first order of business after the city was incorporated on March 1, 1908, was to pass an ordinance making it unlawful for riders to avoid the mud by directing their horses onto the sidewalks.

     As Larkspur celebrates its Centennial with special events throughout the year, it's notable that while much has changed downtown, many of the original structures remain - but greatly improved. Larkspur's downtown district, which gained a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, provides a great example of the multiple benefits that flow from historic preservation. Unlike the hearts of many small towns, which have watched as customers drifted away to shopping centers, Larkspur's business district has seldom seen empty storefronts.

     Not only is the downtown valued as a historic resource, but its charm and human-scale atmosphere have also made it attractive for real estate and business investment. "The preservation of downtown Larkspur has proven to be of tremendous economic and emotional value," said realtor Tina McArthur. "It sets us apart from other towns because of its charm and intimate link with the past." In many cases, Larkspur residents have taken the lead in preserving and enhancing key structures in the downtown, and both city and state governments have provided tax and other incentives.

     Perhaps the most significant recent restoration project has been carried out by former Mayor H. William (Bill) Howard, who acquired the property at 467 and 469 Magnolia in 1996. After more than a decade of work to expand and remodel the former meat market and barn, which were built around 1908, Howard says he is satisfied that his efforts have been both financially and emotionally rewarding. "It's been a labor of love," he says.

     Howard and his wife Marian have made their home in Larkspur since 1973 and raised their family here while Howard commuted first to San Francisco and then to Silicon Valley. His interest in historic restoration started early. In the mid-1970s he joined a majority on the City Council to create a permanent Heritage Preservation Board and to approve undergrounding of utilities and planting of street trees in what was then a shabby downtown. "We felt that preserving the look and feel of downtown would help the merchants," he recalls. "It seems to have worked."

     Howard's chance to get personally involved in historic preservation came with his acquisition of the onetime butcher shop at 467 Magnolia and the former barn at 469, located behind the storefront. Although construction records are hazy, workmen on the remodeling project found a paper bag behind a wall of the old market that carried the signature of a carpenter and the date November 1907. According to Howard, this established that the walls were closed in at that time and that construction was finally finished in 1908.

     Originally, the building at 467 Magnolia, with its distinctive slanted bay windows and band of toothlike "dentils" outlining the façade, was the home of Hugo Stolzenberg's butcher shop. Cattle were kept in the barn, grazed on the pasture behind it (where St. Patrick School now stands), and slaughtered on the premises. Stolzenberg was succeeded as butcher by Andy Gilardi, whose grandson Dennis Gilardi recently completed remodeling another downtown building in historic style.

     The old Stolzenberg building had several uses over the years but was in sorry shape when Howard took it over. "We found a lot of deferred maintenance, dry rot and termites," Howard recalls. Because it was a contributing building in a certified historic district, Howard was able to obtain a tax credit for spending on improvements from the State Office of Historic Preservation. He also made use of Larkspur's ReStore program (currently in abeyance) providing below-market-rate loans for work on contributing buildings.

     There were some pleasant surprises. Although there was dry rot in the studs behind the asbestos shingles that had been added some years after construction, workers found in removing the shingles that the original 1x6 redwood siding was in remarkably good shape. And Howard found it was possible to restore the storefront, which had been remodeled with aluminum in the 1950s, to its original design, and to extend the former barn a few feet without harming its historic designation. Now called Larkspur/Magnolia Center, the complex is thriving with a children's clothing store, architectural and financial offices and the laundromat operation that began shortly after the barn was converted to new uses in the 1950s.

     While the original uses of these historic buildings may not be apparent today, Howard has preserved memorabilia from Larkspur's early days in a "history box" on the side of the former butcher shop. It contains artifacts found in the old buildings, including a rifle bullet that may have been used to slaughter cattle, and a copy of the carpenter's memento. Of particular interest is a replica of the cast iron meat market sign that hung in Andy Gilardi's shop - donated by his grandson.

     Other Larkspur residents have made important contributions to preserving and enhancing the historic character of downtown. Bernice Baeza, concerned for the fate of the 1936 Lark Theater when it went dark in the 1990s, stepped in to start a nonprofit first to restore and improve the Art Deco landmark and then to operate it as popular venue for independent films, family fare, and special events. Down the street at 464 Magnolia, originally a telephone exchange and later a trendy restaurant, Gary Rulli has built Emporio Rulli into a thriving business centered on Italian pastries, coffee and wine. Rulli has expanded into adjoining buildings, retaining their historic character and adding the marble and mahogany of a fine Italian "pasticceria."

     Efforts like these have been essential to maintaining the vitality and character of Larkspur's central business district. Volunteers led the way in recognizing the importance of preserving the history embodied in the buildings, and the city played its part with regulations and supportive infrastructure investments. But Larkspur has succeeded in saving its downtown only through a productive partnership of citizens, government, and the business community.

Click here for a complete Centennial Year Calendar.