Local history always attracts a lot of interest, and the Foundation has honored Corte Maderans’ desire to know more about the town they live in by publishing the History of Corte Madera in 2002 and establishing www.cortemaderamemories.org in 2016.
The Foundation is the steward of the Corte Madera Heritage & History Group’s archives, including the Gerrie Reichard Collection of historic photographs, which are widely shared with libraries, schools, civic groups, and individuals searching for information on local history topics.
In 2019, the Foundation received Town Council approval for installation and permanent display of five 18”x24” interpretive signs featuring historic landmark photos at Old Corte Madera Square. Interpretive signs showing historic bayside Corte Madera locations are expected to be installed there in 2020.
The signs have been printed on anodized aluminum with weather-resistant historic illustrations of the area, and are located in and around Menke Park, where railroad tracks existed one hundred years ago. The signs are positioned so that the viewer can see the historic photograph on the sign and then look up to see the same building or scene as it exists today.
The Foundation designed and paid for the signs, which were produced by a company with expertise in creating weather-resistant metal signs for this purpose. They were installed in the designated locations by the Corte Madera Department of Public Works.
An aerial map showing where the signs are placed can be viewed here.
Below are images of the five signs in the first phase of this current project. Click on the images to read the information on the sign.
CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE
Click here to view sign content
Click here to view sign content
Click here to view sign content
Click here to view sign content
Click here to view sign content