A long vibrant history
Though Belvedere itself was incorporated in 1896, in the late 19th century, the area that is now the lagoon was still part of a sheltered waterfront landscape where arks — flat-bottomed houseboats that were popular as summer retreats for San Franciscans —gathered in the calm waters of Belvedere Cove.
By the 1890s and early 1900s, floating arks and pleasure boats from the Corinthian Yacht Club wintered in the lagoon and then paraded out each spring through the passage between Belvedere and Corinthian Islands. The Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society traces this tradition to the beginnings of what later became Opening Day on the Bay. The first official organized parade, according to the Landmarks Society, took place in 1917 after a new large drawbridge was built.
The modern residential lagoon took shape in the 20th century thanks to the imagination of Harry B. Allen, and a lot of dredging and land reclamation. Filling began by 1927, accelerated after Harry B. Allen acquired the Belvedere Land Company in 1935, and continued—with interruption during World War II—until the late 1940s, when the first homes in the lagoon development became available. The project transformed former mudflats and part of the old golf course area into the protected waterfront neighborhood seen today.
Early Belvedere Sailing Society (BSS)
Before the lagoon was completed, families from Belvedere Island founded the Belvedere Sailing Society, a separate volunter-led, social organization, primarily to teach children to sail.
A festive atmosphere flourished from there, and the first Lagoon Regatta Days were held in 1953. Today, the BSS is open to all Belvedere residents. BLPOA members are encouraged to join and attend their choice of numerous events every year.
Photos from ‘A Pictorial History of Belvedere 1890 - 1990’.
The BLPOA Member Director gifts this book to every new BLPOA member.
