RCA Transmitting Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service

NPS Pacific West Regional Office; Owens, Erica; Bennett, Amanda

The Marconi/RCA Bolinas Transmitting Station is an approximately 422-acre designed landscape that is located on the southwestern side of the Point Reyes peninsula, around two miles northwest of the city of Bolinas on Mesa Road. Located on mostly level terrain at an elevation of roughly 180 feet above sea level, the property historically associated with the station extends from Mesa Road southwest to the Pacific shore with grazing pastures to the north and south. The area for the transmitting station was selected because of its level, low vegetation, elevated topography and its isolated location away from natural and man-made atmospheric signals that could have interfered with transmission. The historic district is comprised of improvements dating from the Marconi and RCA eras, including the majority of the buildings and structures. The RCA/Marconi Bolinas Transmitting Station is within the Marconi/RCA Bolinas Transmitting Station and RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station Historic District that was previously determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 2008. The Transmitting Station is significant at a national-level under Criteria A and C with a period of significance from 1913 to 1973. Under Criterion A, the district is significant for being the location of events that have greatly contributed to the development of early wireless communications systems throughout the country. Under Criterion C, the district is significant for its highly-designed Mission Revival buildings from the Marconi-era and Art Deco buildings that date from the RCA-era. The period of significance covers over half a century, beginning with the initial Marconi Corporation development of the Transmitting Station in 1913 and extending to 1973 when point-to-point radio service was discontinued due to advances in satellite-based communications. This period encompasses the major development of the roads, buildings, structures, antenna fields, and fence lines within the station property. The Marconi/RCA Bolinas Transmitting Station operated without interruption as a radio transmitting station for over sixty years until its purchase by the National Park Service in 1979. It appears today much as it did during the period of significance and retains its historical integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. The Transmitting Station complex contains fourteen historic buildings and structures, organized in three clusters on the property. Contributing resources include the Antenna Field, Marconi Transmitter Building, Marconi Hotel, Marconi Cottage 1, Marconi Cottage 2, Marconi Tennis Court, Marconi Pedestrian Bridge, RCA Transmitter Building, RCA Garage, RCA Switching Building, RCA Cooling Tower Foundation/ Reservoirs, Marconi Cooling Tower Foundation, RCA Tuning Building, RCA Generator Building, and Historic Road Network. Non-contributing resources include the Commonweal Meditation Hut, Commonweal Pump House, and Commonweal Sauna. The historic character of the Marconi/RCA Bolinas Transmitting Station is still evident in the following landscape characteristics: natural systems and features, spatial organization, land use, buildings and structures, small scale features, circulation, vegetation, and archeological sites. Based on the evaluation of these characteristics, the cultural landscape at the Transmitting Station exhibits key patterns, relationships, and features that convey the historical significance of the station. Overall, the landscape is in fair condition.

RCA Transmitting Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service

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