Looking Back

Home, the Ultimate Luxury Address.

Kentfield | Offered at $2,895,000 | 28MannDr.com

This beautiful family home, custom designed in 1998 in a U-shape around the large terrace, offers an easy indoor/outdoor lifestyle and a straight on view of Mt. Tamalpais. Mediterranean inspired old world elegance and modern conveniences combine in this great home located on one of the most prestigious streets in the sunny flats of Kentfield. Furthermore it’s practically single level with only two bedrooms and a bath upstairs.

This home has a versatile layout that works for all the stages in life from families with children of all ages to an elegant adult house. The heart of the home is the great room that contains a large kitchen, breakfast area and cozy hang out anchored by a custom fireplace and built in shelves and storage.

The lushly landscaped garden, lawns, olive trees, gracious fountain and raised garden beds for vegetable or cut flowers are a gardener’s delight. Private, sunny and fully fenced. This is the perfect ‘Forever House’.

Jeanne Shenna Moe 415.846.9538 shenna.moe@mcguire.com

Mia Zambrano Michel

415.299.9171 miaz@mcguire.com

DATED 1999

Marin’s Roller Coaster

The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge has also been called Hunchback and Swayback.

BY JIM WOOD

IF YOU’RE A bridge, it could be tough living in the shadow of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge. And when you’re called Swayback or Hunchback, being labeled Marin’s roller coaster is considered a compliment. Here’s how the distinctive curve in the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge happened: in the late 1940s, union strikes beached the ferries that daily transported cars and commuters from Marin to the East Bay and back. Reliability was needed. So in June 1951, $62 million in state bonds were approved and it was decided “cost savings were more important than aesthetic values.” That, according to Marin Independent Journal reporter Mark Prado, “resulted in a critical design decision.” As Prado wrote in his December 31, 1999, story, “Rather than design two distinctive cantilevered sections, a single element was drawn, then duplicated — and that created a dip where the two downward slopes met.” The 5.5-mile (including approaches) double-decked bridge took three-and-a-half years to complete and, at its opening in September 1956, was one of the longest bridges in the world. Of current interest: originally each deck — one heading east, the other west — had three lanes. But eventually Caltrans closed one lane on each deck to allow for “emergencies and maintenance.” And that twolane status is still a matter of contention. m