Just north of San Francisco's Golden Gate is Mount Tamalpais State Park.  It has redwood groves and oak woodlands with a spectacular view from its 2,571-foot peak. On a clear day, visitors can see the Farallon Islands 25 miles out to sea, the Marin County hills, San Francisco and the bay, hills and cities of the East Bay, and Mount Diablo. Coastal Miwok Indians lived in the area for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. In 1770, explorers named the mountain La Sierra de Nuestro Padre de San Francisco, which was later changed to the Miwok word "Tamalpais."

People began visiting and enjoying the natural beauty of Mount Tamalpais as early as the 1850s.  The CCC expanded the recreational opportunities of park visitors with new trails, camping facilities, and the monumental amphitheater.  Except for the winter of 1938, veteran companies occupied the CCC camp from April 1934 through April 1940.

The Mountain Theatre (a.k.a. The Cushing Memorial Theatre) was built in a natural amphitheater by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The stone seating accommodates 4,000 people and is the site of the “Mountain Play” event each spring.

CCC building the Mountain Theatre at Mount Tamalpais in 1939

Above the CCC building the Mountain Theatre at Mount Tamalpais State Park in 1936.
Below the Mountain Theatre today.

Mountain Theatre at Mount Tamalpais. Photo by Marc Holmes

Mount Tamalpais State Park has these CCC features:
Mountain Theatre (Cushing Memorial Theatre) and Actor Dressing Rooms,
Fire Lookout Tower, Footbridges, Camp Stoves,
Sixteen campsites and Thirty-Two day use sites



Camp Mount Tamalpais


CCC company arriving at Camp Mount Tamalpais


CCC enrollees at Mount Tamalpais working on explosives


CCC crew cutting redwood tree at Mount Tamalpais


CCC at Mount Tamalpais on double log bridge in 1935
Park Information:

Mount Tamalpais State Park


801 Panoramic Highway
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415-388-2070
Visit Website:  http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471

 


Pictured: Top Mountain Theatre at Mount Tamalpais in 1936 and recent photo of Mountain Theatre, photo by Marc Holmes. Midway Camp Mount Tamalpais compound and enrollees arrriving at Mount Tamalpais in 1936. Lower CCC crew members working with explosives and a CCC crew cutting down a redwood tree in 1936. Bottom CCC crew members at Mount Tamalpais Ben Johnson Trail double log bridge in 1935.