Christmas Tree Hill about 1910, as seen from Chapman Park,
with Corte Madera Avenue at bottom of photo,
and Redwood Avenue at far right.
with Corte Madera Avenue at bottom of photo,
and Redwood Avenue at far right.
Corte Madera had railroad service beginning in about 1875, along a route extending from Sausalito to Tomales, with a stop in what we now call Old Corte Madera Square. When a tunnel under Corte Madera Ridge in 1895 brought a faster train, soon the "Merry Colonists” and “Morningside” tracts were subdivided on the Hill, and 1,250 sq. ft. lots were sold for tents and cabins at the price of $50 on terms of a dollar down and 50 cents a week. Most of the later year-round homes were built on combinations of several such lots. In 1912 the "Corte Madera Woods" tract was laid out at the top of the Hill. At that time, the entire Hill was known as either "Little Tam" or "Tank Hill."
In 1898, the first commercial structure was built in Corte Madera: the hotel and tavern on the south edge of the Square, near the (now removed) train station. Soon, campers, artists, and others escaping the City came to inhabit tent cabins and bungalows on the Hill, particularly after the 1906 earthquake. Paved streets came along in the 1920s. Until then, access to homes on the Hill was mostly limited to using footpaths and steps.
As early as the '20s, street lamps on the Hill were changed out at Christmas time with colorful bulbs, and people all over town began to recognize the shape of a Christmas tree made by the zig-zag streets of the Hill. From that time forward, the neighborhood has been officially known as Christmas Tree Hill. It's been decades since utility poles had colored lights installed for the holidays, but the lights from homes along those zig-zag streets still create the shape of a Christmas Tree, even though tall trees obscure some of the effect.
By the 1950s, houses stretched up to the top of the HIll, built along one-lane roads that are very narrow, steep, and winding. In the early 1970s, with numerous new construction projects proposed, residents of the Hill formed the Christmas Tree Hilldwellers Association. Among the concerns of residents was the proliferation of cars, and parking in all manner of unsafe locations, and a proposed 54-acre home development on the southern side of the Hill. The Hilldwellers helped Friends of Corte Madera Northridge raise $65,000, which was matched by other funding sources, and that 54 acres became the first acquisition for the Marin County Open Space District’s Camino Alto Preserve.
In the mid-1970s, CTHA volunteers built the stairways on Jean Bean Path and Spring Trail. In 1983, the CTHA sponsored and won approval for a special assessment district, resulting in the new water tank on the top of the Hill, 7 additional fire hydrants, sewer line replacements, and some repaved streets. In 1984, Town authorized mergers of small lots, and set 20,000 sq ft as the minimum lot size on the upper Hill (above the junction of Redwood & Summit), and 7,500 sq ft on the lower Hill.
In 1992, after two years of hearings, the Town approved the Christmas Tree Hill Community Plan, providing criteria for guiding design approval to preserve the character of the Hill: the natural environment, the smaller homes and natural buffers, and also parking, second units, and upgrades to the trail system. Another concern was avoiding tall privacy fences that block views and create a blind canyon effect for cars and pedestrians.
The following year, representatives of the Town and CTHA walked the Hill, marking with white boxes the places for safe parking, to increase fire safety and access. By 1994, the Town adopted the zoning overlay district for Christmas Tree Hill.
Many of the pathways on Christmas Tree Hill are much older than the roads, and there once were several more public paths and stairs, which went straight up the Hill where roads meander. The CTHA works with the Town to address the problem of maintaining, clearing, and improving some of the remaining pathways.
The CTHA is also a social organization, which has in the past 18 years held annual picnics, an occasional community yard sale (in Menke Park), and Christmas caroling and tree lighting. CTHA holds its meetings in various homes, to let members see some of the great variety of structures and views that abound. The culture of the Hilldwellers has long been laissez-faire, if not libertarian, as many residents of the roughly 275 houses on the hill prize their privacy. But the CTHA also recognizes that the best security arises from knowing your neighbors, and that the time may come for any or all residents of the hill (in earthquake, wind, or fire) to depend upon one another. With that in mind, Hill residents have established a CTH Neighborhood Response Group (NRG) as part of a townwide network of NRGs to be deployed in case of natural disasters such as earthquake, wildfire, or flood.
In 1898, the first commercial structure was built in Corte Madera: the hotel and tavern on the south edge of the Square, near the (now removed) train station. Soon, campers, artists, and others escaping the City came to inhabit tent cabins and bungalows on the Hill, particularly after the 1906 earthquake. Paved streets came along in the 1920s. Until then, access to homes on the Hill was mostly limited to using footpaths and steps.
As early as the '20s, street lamps on the Hill were changed out at Christmas time with colorful bulbs, and people all over town began to recognize the shape of a Christmas tree made by the zig-zag streets of the Hill. From that time forward, the neighborhood has been officially known as Christmas Tree Hill. It's been decades since utility poles had colored lights installed for the holidays, but the lights from homes along those zig-zag streets still create the shape of a Christmas Tree, even though tall trees obscure some of the effect.
By the 1950s, houses stretched up to the top of the HIll, built along one-lane roads that are very narrow, steep, and winding. In the early 1970s, with numerous new construction projects proposed, residents of the Hill formed the Christmas Tree Hilldwellers Association. Among the concerns of residents was the proliferation of cars, and parking in all manner of unsafe locations, and a proposed 54-acre home development on the southern side of the Hill. The Hilldwellers helped Friends of Corte Madera Northridge raise $65,000, which was matched by other funding sources, and that 54 acres became the first acquisition for the Marin County Open Space District’s Camino Alto Preserve.
In the mid-1970s, CTHA volunteers built the stairways on Jean Bean Path and Spring Trail. In 1983, the CTHA sponsored and won approval for a special assessment district, resulting in the new water tank on the top of the Hill, 7 additional fire hydrants, sewer line replacements, and some repaved streets. In 1984, Town authorized mergers of small lots, and set 20,000 sq ft as the minimum lot size on the upper Hill (above the junction of Redwood & Summit), and 7,500 sq ft on the lower Hill.
In 1992, after two years of hearings, the Town approved the Christmas Tree Hill Community Plan, providing criteria for guiding design approval to preserve the character of the Hill: the natural environment, the smaller homes and natural buffers, and also parking, second units, and upgrades to the trail system. Another concern was avoiding tall privacy fences that block views and create a blind canyon effect for cars and pedestrians.
The following year, representatives of the Town and CTHA walked the Hill, marking with white boxes the places for safe parking, to increase fire safety and access. By 1994, the Town adopted the zoning overlay district for Christmas Tree Hill.
Many of the pathways on Christmas Tree Hill are much older than the roads, and there once were several more public paths and stairs, which went straight up the Hill where roads meander. The CTHA works with the Town to address the problem of maintaining, clearing, and improving some of the remaining pathways.
The CTHA is also a social organization, which has in the past 18 years held annual picnics, an occasional community yard sale (in Menke Park), and Christmas caroling and tree lighting. CTHA holds its meetings in various homes, to let members see some of the great variety of structures and views that abound. The culture of the Hilldwellers has long been laissez-faire, if not libertarian, as many residents of the roughly 275 houses on the hill prize their privacy. But the CTHA also recognizes that the best security arises from knowing your neighbors, and that the time may come for any or all residents of the hill (in earthquake, wind, or fire) to depend upon one another. With that in mind, Hill residents have established a CTH Neighborhood Response Group (NRG) as part of a townwide network of NRGs to be deployed in case of natural disasters such as earthquake, wildfire, or flood.
