Next to Parkside market, was "Artcraft of Marin" custom draperies and upholstery. My aunt Barbara owned the shop,my grandma, uncle, my mom, and group of family friends all worked there at one time or another. Me and 2 cousins would hang out there after school everyday, there was a big side yard between us and the church with the big tree, my aunt had a dough-boy pool set up fro us out there and every year we would all get together and watch the 4th of July parade out in front of the shop! Best Seats in the house. and whenever one of us kids were in the parade for some reason, be it campfire girls, or marching band, we always got watermelon or something cold to drink, which so happened to be about half-way thru the parade. Does anyone remember the candy store up and around the corner from there next to B&B auto parts, it was a ladies house and she sold candy out of the front of it like an old time candyshop, she was bestknown for all the different rock candy colors she had and those huge jawbreakers!
I remember Madera Foods where the Pet Club is now , and another market on Tamalpais ( Paradise Mkt. ? ) but there was another little market next to where the muffin shop is now , that is where I found out about frozen Milkey Way bars. I never saw them before or since then. That is back in '65 so someone hep me.
When I started work at the Corte Madera Post Office in October 1968 it was still located at 11 First St. A real old-fashioned PO, with actual service windows mounted in a hardwood "screenline" decorated with intricate mouldings. The following year it moved to the building on Pixley.
As a Larkspur kid, it was kind of unusual becoming familiar with all the CM businesses and residents. In my childhood, I tended to think of CM in a them-vs.-us way. Larkspur was my town and Corte Madera, well, it was sort of Brand-X in my view. OK, so that may not have been a typical attitude; I was sort of weird about those things.
Anyway, I grew to know lots of CM residents as I waited on them at the widow and sorted their mail (you have no secrets from your mailman, you know). Mario Schenone and his gravelly voice, of course; the drug store guy - I'll mangle the spelling, I know - Bob Saittherwaite? Tod Ewald, pastor of Holy Innocents (who struck me as being something of a character). Of course, my boss, Ed Victor, the Postmaster.
Nobody seems to have mentioned the bar that was located at the north end of the square, next to the railroad tracks. In my day, it was called The Embers, which was ironically appropriate, since it burned to the ground, some time in the 60s, I'd guess. For years and years thereafter (and perhaps today?) its cement foundations (and red-painted entrywalk) just sat there, home to weeds and the ghostly memories of barflies long gone. That's another way Larkspur had Corte Madera beat; we had three bars in our downtown.
Sorry to go off topic for a minute but I have a question.
There is a bank or real estate office at the corner of Tamalpais Drive and Madera Blvd that is shown in all the old pics as a tract house just like it's neighbors.
When did the house get torn down and how did it become commercial property ?
Corte Madera town square, as it is now so cutely called, had a pet shop, a grocery store, a fancy ladies' dress store, and a hardware store but what did I care...I spent my 25 cent allowance at the Variety Store. It was owned by the Ferraris, who later (and maybe still? ) had a stationery store near the civic center). In those days it was a good old fashioned 5 and 10 cent store. We could spend an hour choosing how to spend our quarters and dimes. Or, we could walk into Larkspur and see what was going on there. On Saturday afternoons, we could take th bus to San Rafael or Mill Valley for a movie.
It was located where Bread and Roses is now. The park was a marsh. We had to walk to school across a wooden plank walkway. If we stepped off, we could be up to our knees or even our waists in mud and water. "Shorty" was the beloved crossing guard there at the corner where the Parks and Rec is (and was). There was a library branch in that building.
I was in the first kindergarten class at Neil Cummins, my teacher was Eleanor Rigsby. (!) Mrs. (Neal) Cummins was my 2nd grade teacher. Then Mrs. Fisher, Mrs. Preston, Mr Kerr. 6th and 7th I forget; then we moved to San Rafael.
ha ha!! That is wild! I never heard of such a thing! I used to see teenagers driving their trucks along the tracks, after they had been pulled, though. How on earth did you EVER figure out that it would work?
My grandpa and dad actually worked for NWP railroad, but my dad got out of it in the early 1950's. He saw the end coming, and went to work for MMWD. Unfortunately, evil step-relatives gave all my grandfathers railroad memorabilia kind of stuff away to their own families after he died, and I was too young to do anything about it.
I remember playing in that old electrical substation. It was very spooky. Right below it, there was a marshy spot that used to have a seasonal pond, and we would hunt polliwogs. Now there is a giant monster house built there and the substation is boarded up. We used to play all around there, because on that side and around the back side of Palm Hill there were trails that led up to the top of the street, and on the back side the trail had a fantastic rope swing.
oh, yeah, I remember the gas pumps at that old building, too. My mom actually used to buy gas there, I guess during the late '40's. McLeran's roofing was located there.
We always used to watch the 4th of July parade from that block, at the Square. Remember how crazy 4th of July could get during the parade and at the park?
Ah yes, I do remember the Christmas lights in the big pine in front of the church. Must have been quite a job to put them up! I don't have any recollection of the Menke Park Easter egg hunt, though. Great to hear Carl and Ray are still pokin' around. Don't think I ever went into that pharmacy, although my mom may have, before the shopping center was built.
Do you recall the building kind of kitty-corner from the church, and down hill? I think it's currently a yoga studio. There was a 1920's-style gasoline pump on the sidewalk in front. Immediatly past that building, up the dirt driveway, to the left, was Mr. Nelson's fix-it shop. He had an old barn or garage, and would work on small engines, sharpen saws and knives, just about anything you could throw at him, he'd fix. Nice guy!
Your desciption of Parkside Mkt. really brought back lot's of memories for me, thanks. Yeah, Mario had that really rough, gravelly voice.
Freight trains used that right-of-way up until around 1971. At that point, I don't think there were any more than two trains per week. The customers for rail service just dried up. At the end of things, I think they were down to only two: Handi-Cup and Golden State Lumber. North Western Pacific folded up. Later, as teen-agers, we found something fun to do with the abandoned railroad tracks, though. A friend of mine had a '60 Chevy Biscayne and the width of the wheels matched standard-guage track perfectly. We'd go up to Tamalpais Dr., right below the 7-11, where the tracks crossed the street and were level with the street suface. We'd let a few pounds of pressure out of the front tires, to make them kind of mushy, and manuver all four wheels onto the train tracks. Put 'er in second gear, and just let it idle. The car would hug the tracks and cruise along at about 8 or 9 mph. Yeah!! We'd crack a cold beer, and lay back on the hood, with our backs against the windshield. Like a ride at Disneyland! Jungle Cruise! Past the back yards along Palm Ave, past LCM and the little-league field, under the bridge, past Baltimore Park and it's remnants of train station, past the inter-urban power station, over the William Ave. trestle. The end of the line was where the short trestle over the slough that had been taken out. A hundred yards, or so, before we came to that, we'd merely jump off the hood (the car was still rolling), bring it to a stop, put 'er in reverse, move to sitting on the trunk, and enjoy the return trip! Never was there so much as a raised eyebrow, let alone a scolding! But, I don't think I ever mentioned these adventures to my mom! She would have freaked!
Carl and Ray still live in the county. Carl lives down the street from me. What can I say about those two stores? They were playgrounds to me. In the hardware store,The bins of nails, the key machine by the back door, everything so crowded in the store. We used to sneak up to the attic and play. We could look out the little window in the front. Parkside Market had that smell, that only old grocery stores have. The old wood counter with the big cash register, the big white hanging scales for produce, buying drumsticks as a treat, so much to remember! we used to sneak into Mario's back office, where he had a huge wooden desk and metal pincher-tongs that he used to reach things high up on the shelf. Remember Mario's voice, that gravelly, raspy voice? Actually, one of my earliest memories (I was probably 3) is of standing in front of the market and watching a train go by across the street. Must have been one of the last ones. I think they only went by twice a day.
I loved the pharmacy, too. I wish that the Italian restaurant that is there now would take down the awning, and that the owner would fix up the old, retro-style facade. I used to go in to buy lip gloss, and look at all the stuff on the glass counters.
Remember the big pine tree in front off the church? They used to put Christmas lights on it every year? We could see it from our house.
I also remember that the town used to have an easter egg hunt in Menke park, on the grass behind the new gazebo.
Also, I remember the Zenith repair shop above the park, because my father only bought Zenith tv's, for some reason.
Great suggestion from fellow poster, Nancy Reichard, to start a new thread about Corte MaderaTown Square.
Not to be confused with the shopping mall, this is about the old "center of town". It all used to happen right there. The first homes were built in that area, a center of commerce, government (both local and federal), transportation(NWP train station, old county road),town park, scene of civic events, etc.
You'll notice it's built on "high ground", as nearly all of what most folks consider Corte Madera "proper", was all tidal marsh. Yup, right up to bases of the hills. Serious land-fill didn't start till after the war, and the subsequent housing boom. But, I digress...
My most vivid memories have got to be about the hardware store, and Parkside Market.
As a kid, my friends and I always had a project or two going on. Always building or engineering something. Always tinkering. Well, one guy's dad thought this was a great thing (it was), and set up an account for us at Corte Madera Hardware! Anything we needed, tools, electrical goodies, bolts and nails, rubber tubing, whatever. We would merely ride our bikes to store, get Ray to help us find it, and sign for it! Imagine that!!! At the end of each month, my pals dad would pay for it, and we'd chip in what we could from our paper route money.Pretty cool.
I had an IJ paper route in that neighborhood, so nearly every day, I'd stop at Parkside for a pit-stop. Bottle of Pepsi and a Hostess Fruit Pie (cherry, please). I can still see Mario behind the counter, and his wife puttering around, rearranging the produce bins.
