A motel on the corner of Ross and San Anselmo Avenues was proposed in this architectural drawing by architect Harold Stoner who envisioned a 3-story motel building surrounding a courtyard with a swimming pool.
Richard McLaren and his sister Ruth McLaren Thornton explored this idea when considering what to do with the downtown property they inherited from their father, Peter, upon his death in 1960.
Peter C. McLaren had established the San Anselmo Livery Stable on Ross Avenue in 1903. He had a thriving business in early San Anselmo taking care of horses and repairing carriages. The McLaren family lived upstairs where Richard and Ruth were born. In later years, the livery stable was converted into an automobile repair shop.
The motel idea was not pursued, and the property fronting San Anselmo Avenue between Ross and Woodland Avenues was sold in 1961 to Ross Valley Savings & Loan Association, which had outgrown its office at 380 San Anselmo Avenue. The old livery stable was demolished in 1962 and construction began for the new 3-story office building that we see today. It is by far the tallest building in San Anselmo. It opened with a month-long celebration in March 1964.