1960 photo
1934 - April
Cloverdale Police Patrol Car
1936 - Summer
1939 - Jan - Feb
1931 - February
The Cut through the hill at the north end of Cloverdale begins. This was part of a project to improve a 14 mile stretch of highway from McCray’s Hill (named after Pop McCray of McCray's’ resort on the north side of the hill), across the new bridge at Preston (completed in 1934), and up the east side of the Russian River to Hopland. The cut was 65 feet deep and 200 feet wide at the top. Steam shovels removed the dirt which was then used to create the road across Oat Valley toward Preston. Prior to the road going straight through the hill, it rose up Mittelstadt Lane, through the current Grace Lutheran Church parking lot (the church wasn’t there at the time), proceeded north across the hill, and then curved around the back side of the hill and down to what is now Hwy. 128. From there it followed 128 northwest to Mountain House Road, where it continued north to Hopland and Ukiah. The cut was completed in August 1932. The road to Hopland was finished in August 1934 making the trip to Hopland and Ukiah considerably shorter.
1936 - January
The new City Hall and Fire Dept. is dedicated on January 1st. Talk of a new facility began in earnest in 1929. However, many citizens opposed it and voted down a proposal in 1933; this was the Depression, after all. In 1934, the City applied to the State Emergency Relief Association (SERA) which was formed in 1933 to provide funding for unemployed workers. SERA agreed to provide the labor, so the cost to the City was limited to materials. The land had already been acquired, then the Fire Dept. donated funds to purchase an adjoining lot to permit a larger structure. Construction began in April 1935 but was halted in August for a few months when SERA was discontinued. Work continued after the newly formed Works Progress Administration approved the funding. The building consisted of offices for the chief of police and city clerk, court and council rooms, a separate rest room for women, a meeting room for firemen, and an attached garage with space for two small fire engines. [Location: 124 N. Cloverdale Blvd.]
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1936 - December
The new Peter Pan Theater opens with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Swingtime. This theater was located just to the south of the current City Hall and owned by G. F. Wallace. It was a modern theater for its time with sound pictures and a 1937 installation of air conditioning. Roy Palmer bought the theater in late 1937 and renamed it the Del Rio. He made improvements, including additional seating with capacity for 228, and operated it until June 1948 when he sold it to William and Mary Blair. Later, Bill Blair, Jr. and wife Marlene assumed operation and ran it until 1955. After they opened a new theater on First Street in 1950, the Del Rio showed mainly Spanish language films. The building was torn down to make way for the Plaza.
A new Preston Bridge of steel truss construction is completed across the Russian River at the site of the old covered bridge. This is part of the highway improvement from Cloverdale to Hopland. In 1982, federal transportation authorities identified the bridge as one of the most unsafe in the country due to the unstable land on each end. The bridge remained in use until 1987 when the section of new freeway around Preston was completed and the old Preston bridge was removed.
A high school is built on the northwest corner of West and School streets. There were 75 students the first year. This was also the first year that band was offered. A gymnasium was to have been built at the same time, but the funding wasn't available. [Location: 509 N. Cloverdale Blvd.]
The new First Street Bridge made of steel and concrete is dedicated during the Citrus Fair. It sits higher over the river than did the old bridge, and the riverbed was dredged to provide more clearance. In August 1940, a flood control district was formed which led to the construction of levees in 1940 and 1941 as a joint county and Works Progress Administration project.