Mill Valley, California

Mill Valley is a city located in Marin County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 13,600. It is about 10 minutes north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. It is the hometown of rock stars Huey Lewis, Jeff Watson, Bob Weir, Sammy Hagar, Bonnie Raitt among others, as well as the late author Wright Morris, actors Peter Coyote, Dana Carvey, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker and the fictional character B.J. Hunnicutt from the TV show M*A*S*H. In the fictional Star Trek universe, it is home to the 602 Club. It is listed as number 10 in CNN's Best Places to Live 2005 article.

Geography and early history

Mill Valley is located at 37°54'20" North, 122°32'35" West (37.905475, -122.543111){{GR|1}}.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.5 km² (4.8 mi²). 12.2 km² (4.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.28% water.

Related Topics:
United States Census Bureau - Km² - Mi²

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay. Beyond the flat coastal area, it occupies narrow wooded canyons, mostly of second-growth redwoods, on the eastern slopes of Mount Tamalpais.

Related Topics:
Richardson Bay - Canyon - Redwoods - Mount Tamalpais

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The city is named for a saw mill established by John Reed in the 19th century, the site of which is now Old Mill Park. When the wooded area had been completely logged over, it was divided into small and irregular building lots, which were sold at auction. Many of the vacation homes built at that time were converted to residences during the Great Depression of the 1930s, especially after the Golden Gate Bridge eased access to San Francisco. It is now an affluent residential suburb, much of which is reached by narrow, winding roads built in the early 20th century.

Related Topics:
19th century - Great Depression - 1930s - Golden Gate Bridge - Suburb - 20th century

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From 1896 to 1930, the Mt. Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railroad ran service from Mill Valley to the summit of Mt Tamalpais. The 8.25 mile long line had 22 trestles and 281 curves earning it the nickname "The Crookedest Railroad in the World".http://hunza1.tripod.com/tamalpais/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The city's public libraryhttp://www.millvalleylibrary.org/ is located in Old Mill Parkhttp://justplaygrounds.com/play/millValley/oldMill/index.htm, and is generally considered to be one of the most scenic libraries in the Bay Area (in terms of its heavily wooded surroundings which patrons can enjoy a view of through the large windows).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~