1954 Map of Novato

About this map

The Northwestern Pacific railroad tracks trace the eastern edge of the Marin hills, marking a corridor of rapid mid-century development. While the 1954 topography shows the established footprint of Novato and Hamilton Air Force Base, extensive purple revisions from 1968 document the suburban expansion of Novato Heights and Santa Venetia. This layer of growth is most evident near Rafael Village and the Meadow Park School, where residential blocks began to fill the valleys between Big Rock Ridge and the Petaluma River wetlands. The map identifies several specialized institutions of the era, including the Arequipa Sanatorium and the Marin County Hospital. In the south, the community of Sleepy Hollow is shown tucked into the hills of Canada De Herrera, representing the suburban transition that defined this portion of the San Francisco Bay Area during the post-war decades.