ASSOCIATION OF VOLUNTEER FIREMEN
The Larkspur Association of Volunteer Firemen has a long and proud history since being formed in 1906. In the beginning, the only equipment the volunteers had consisted of a hose cart and a bucket brigade, but no firehouse.
By 1910, the Volunteers had grown to 24 strong and had a double chemical wagon, and 500 feet of hose for the original cart, but still no firehouse.
Larkspurs early Booster Days were designed to promote Larkspur and raise money for fighting fires. They had carnivals and contests for fund raisers. In 1910, a dance was staged across from the Blue Rock Hotel, on a 40' x 60' platform with a band perched on a platform in a tree. This platform had wild roses climbing up walls of chicken wire.
That dance, and subsequent dances were so financially and social successful, that in 1913, firefighters not only had the money to build their first firehouse behind City Hall, but also had enough money to purchase a half acre redwood grove on Cane Street for a permanent dance site to be named the "Rose Bowl".
These dances brought in about $75,000 a year and eventually would pay for hydrants, a fire alarm system and their first fire engine, bought in 1922.
The Larkspur Volunteer Fire Department came into its own during the 1920's and 1930's when it was the most prestigious organization in town and the social and political arbitrator of civic affairs. Membership as one of the 22 regulars was a tightly guarded privilege.
By 1947, they completely financed the $500,000 Fire Department.
In 1957, the Volunteers turned over the one-half million dollars in equipment to the city.
The "Rose Bowl" continued to fund the Volunteer Association until 1963 when the dances were discontinued and the property was eventually sold off.
However, the volunteers still flourish today and offer both support and suppression activities to a paid professional staff of 18 members and are an integral part of the Larkspur Fire Department.
THE LARKSPUR FIRE DEPARTMENT
HISTORICAL ROOM
The Larkspur Fire Department Historical room situated on the second floor of the main fire house on Magnolia Avenue, is a tiny room filled with historical artifacts that document the history of the department from the early 1900s to present.
What will you see? Pictures of the 1929 Mount Tamalpais fire which devastated Marin, our first turn-of-the-century fire truck and fire station when it was located in an old garage at the corner of Doherty and Magnolia. The original 1916 fire truck is being restored, and while it will never fit in the tiny museum, it may be seen in local parades and Open Houses.
Many visitors to the exhibits reminisce about the annual Rose Bowl Dance, a fund raiser for the volunteer department, when they gaze at black and white photos of the crowds. Amidst the old fire hoses, helmets, alarms, pictures and pails is the lighted moon, complete with a wink and a smile, which used to shine above the dance floor at the Rose Bowl dances. These dances were sponsored by the Volunteer Fire Department to raise money, and the Rose Bowl pictures have proved to be one of the museum's most popular exhibits. Come and see if you can spot yourself or your friends dancing the night away.
People wishing to visit may do so free of charge by coming to the Larkspur Fire Department, 420 Magnolia Avenue on any day from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
