St. Vincent's

I normally shy away from postcard-style pictures and I'm not sure why I made an exception with St. Vincent's Church in San Rafael. Perhaps the reason is that I happened upon a good angle, or perhaps the light was just right.

 

Whatever the case, here's what I found when I got home ~ St. Vincent's, an Italian Renaissance Mission-style church, was constructed in 1855 and is designated a California historical landmark. The state's oldest home for dependent children, the school began as an orphanage during the Gold Rush. St. Vincent's now provides residential care to boys ages seven to 17 with serious emotional and educational problems.

 

A few months ago the following information ran in the Marin Independent Journal. "By a one-vote margin, the Marin Board of Supervisors tentatively agreed to allow more housing than the 221 units county planning commissioners recommended for the 1,230 acres of north San Rafael ranchland owned by St. Vincent's School for Boys and the Silveira family".

 

To be truthful, I don't know whether I have my facts right, and may be mixing apples and oranges. What I do know is that Tamalpa Runners used to have an annual Sunday race starting near the church. And, rather than starting at 9 AM, the race would start at precisely 9:18 (I think), in order to give the parishioners time to leave the premises after the service!