San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Station House-Depot
Also known as: Donahue,Peter,Building; Northwestern Pacific Railroad Depot
.JPG){kind=link}
Why it's listed
Standing in Shoreline Park on the Tiburon waterfront, this two-story redwood depot is the surviving core of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad terminus. Railroad carpenters built it with post-and-beam framing, board-and-batten siding and a low gabled roof of corrugated metal, and it was designed to be portable. The evidence suggests it was barged from Donahue Landing on Petaluma Creek to Tiburon around 1886. A second story was added between 1898 and 1901, and the building was later shifted onto the wharf and rolled back to land in 1939-40, ending within about 20 feet of its original site. Once part of a 60-acre complex of about 50 buildings, it housed passengers, baggage, a telegrapher's office and the station agent's family. It is listed because it is virtually all that remains of a railway and ferry system that shaped Tiburon and the growth of Northern California. It is now used for government offices.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the building as the last important structure of a large railroad and ferry terminus that once dominated the growth of Northern California. It served as the communications center and hub of the S.F. and N.P. and its successors. The railroad also shaped the social and economic life of Tiburon. The building is described as remarkably intact despite its moves and alterations.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95000997, listed August 4, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1920 Paradise Dr., Tiburon |
|---|---|
| County | Marin County |
| Listed | August 4, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000997 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Built by the railroad's carpenter-designers for Col. Peter Donahue, founder of the S.F. and N.P.R.R. |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is government office; the building is publicly owned (local) and stands in Shoreline Park. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.87256, -122.45214 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95000997.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q43401490
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.