Looking Back at Belvedere

Belvedere developed as a summer resort community, with early access to Tiburon before the 1930s provided by way of San Rafael Avenue and Beach Road across a drawbridge to Ark Row and Main Street. The drawbridge opened so arks and houseboats could move between Belvedere Cove and the calmer lagoon for safety in winter, and each spring a grand procession returned the arks from the lagoon to Belvedere Cove for the summer in what was the original “Opening Day.” These houseboats and arks served as floating quarters for vacationing families. Views from Belvedere Island showed the Cove, lagoon, railroad yard, and early houses in Tiburon, including the Tropic Bird, which was brought to shore as a residence on Beach Road, and Corinthian Island. After the drawbridge became a fixed span, arks could no longer be moved to the cove for the summer, and many were beached along the shoreline. The bridge was later replaced by a rock wall, and the remaining marsh was filled and built upon. A later model of the drawbridge was seen from Corinthian Island, and the square two-story building at the north end of the bridge still stands.

Belvedere, California · United States