Overview

The Dominican Sisters operated this school for young women at San Rafael, CA, in 1891. It occupied an imposing three-story building that had Romanesque touches such as arched windows as well as turrets and mansard roofs. An advertisement of 1891 boasted of the school and its “full collegiate course of study:” “A Boarding School of highest grade. Superb modern building, steam-heated; beautiful, commodious class rooms, Music and Art rooms. Location in the lovely Magnolia Valley, unsurpassed for beauty and healthfulness. (See San Francisco Directory, 1891, p. 52.)

Building History

The Dominican sisters, led by the Belgian-born Saint Mary Goemaere (1809-1891), first established a convent and school for girls, Santa Catalina, in Monterey, CA, after their arrival in 1851. They transplanted their institution first to Benicia, CA, c. 1854, then relocated to the emerging metropolis of San Francisco by 1862, where they established another convent and school, Saint Rose Academy.

By 1888, Mother Louis O’Donnell(1852-1931) of the Dominican Order petitioned Archbishop Patrick William Riordan (1841-1914) to enable the convent and school to relocate to the then-isolated and verdant village of San Rafael in Marin County. Riordan okayed the move and by 1888 land had been obtained and construction begun on a large and imposing Romanesque building crafted of locally abundant redwood. Scott Fletcher, writing in the Marin Independent Journal.com said of this first school: "In 1888, at the urging of Mother Louis O’Donnell, Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco approved the move of the Dominican Sisters to San Rafael. The site purchased was in what was then called Magnolia Valley and was selected for its park-like setting and fine weather. The owner of the land, William T. Coleman, donated half of the land and sold the other half to the Dominican Sisters for $10,000, to be paid off as a loan. The main building was built and dedicated in 1889 and welcomed young girls the following year to what would be called the College of San Rafael. The new, ornate, Victorian-Renaissance style building housed the convent, novitiate, and the lower and upper schools for girls." (See Scott Fletcher, Marin Independent Journal.com, "Marin history: The origin of Dominican University of California," published 07/22/2019, accessed 07/14/2021.) The motherhouse, novitiate and school opened in 08/1889 at San Rafael, and the Congregation of the Most Holy Name registered Articles of Incorporation for their school with the California Secretary of State in 1890.

Building Notes

In 1917, the Dominican College of San Rafael became the first Catholic institution to grant bachelor's degrees to women students in the State of California.

Demolition

Painting contractors accidently started a blaze that destroyed the 100-year-old redwood building in 1990.

PCAD id: 24056