LaVerne Heights Maps

October, 2009

LaVerne Heights Recorder’s Map – click to enlarge

Pixie Trail open space originally consisted of large blocks of raw land. A developer purchased the land, platted it and graded the streets. Part of the LaVerne Heights subdivision map recorded in 1911 is shown above. At that time, there was only one house in the entire subdivision—it had been built in 1909. Access to it from Molino Ave. was likely via what is now called Seymour Lane.

LaVerne Heights Sales Map – click to enlarge

J.W. Wright & Co., exclusive agents for lot sales, prepared a sales map for prospective buyers. Part of the sales map is shown above. Note the artistic rendition of Tamalpais High School which is misnamed “Marin Co. High School.” A 12-minute walk to it seems quite speedy. The train information is OK. A 1907 timetable states that trains stopped at Park Ave. station every half hour, and it took 17 minutes to reach Sausalito.

The sales map shows a house on Seymour Lane and no other houses in LaVerne Heights. Other streets are named Bolinas Ave., Portola Ave., Fiesta Ave., Pacific Ave., White Ave., Wright St., Plymouth Rock Ave. and Marin Ave. LaVerne Heights had 175 lots, but only 60 of them now have houses on them—the rest are open space.

Pixie Trail Sign

The sales map strays from reality north of Molino and Edgewood. Mirabel, misspelled as “Maribel”, never did lead to the railroad—it ends at Ethel Ave. which is not shown on the map. Park Ave. never existed in the location shown. Commuters from LaVerne Heights would descend steps (not shown) at Molino opposite Seymour Lane down to Ethel Ave. They would then descend Una Way to Park Ave. Station.

Una Way was named for Una Wise who lived in the Wise residence which was not on “Maribel” as shown on the map, but on Una Way. The rest of the sales map has a large number of inaccuracies and misspellings as well as poor representations of houses in existence at the time outside the boundaries of LaVerne Heights.

Homestead Valley residents should be pleased that LaVerne Heights did not turn out as planned. Eric Krag eventually acquired most of the land for his Rancho del Topé and sold it for Homestead’s Pixie Trail open space.