history

Since its inception, countless volunteers have worked to provide the community with a unique gathering place to participate in cultural and educational opportunities.

the mission of magc: cultivating inspiration to create, conserve and connect.

 

The Marin Art & Garden Center had its origin in the 1940s as a vision of two members of the Marin Conservation League, Caroline Livermore and Gladys Smith. Using the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park as a model, they envisioned a self-supporting colony of artists and crafts persons creating and selling their wares within a park-like setting. As America was embroiled in a world war at the time, they also saw it as a “living memorial” to those that had sacrificed their lives in the service of their country.

By 1882, faced with financial difficulties, the Worns sold their beloved home and land to the Kittle family. After a fire in 1931 destroyed much of the roof, the Kittles tore Sunnyside down leaving only a barn and the “Octagon House” on the property. None of the Kittle family wanted to rebuild and the property remained idle until the family decided to sell the property.

In 1941, Livermore rallied to preserve the beautiful and historic property replete with its lovely, though languishing gardens and irreplaceable trees, and within two years, she had brought together eight autonomous groups and purchased the property. The Center was incorporated in 1945, its primary mission to promote appreciation and education of the arts, horticulture and environmental conservation. MAGC is a reality.