HONOR OUR HEROS IN SWING STYLE - Fun for the Whole Family
Join in the Swinging Celebration of Hamilton Field’s Veteran Community on November 11, 2023, Saturday, from noon-2 pm-ish. Enjoy swing / big band sounds, games, pot luck wartime cuisine to honor this important day. This iconic moment is the reason we have our Hamilton homes and the Hamilton Theater in this amazing former US Airfoce neighborhood! 

THE BACK STORY
On February 20, 1929, Lt.Col. Brant, Commander of Crissy Air Field in San Francisco, made a survey of three possible sites for a new airfield in Marin County. (Crissy Field suffered from poor weather conditions.) One week later, a squadron of five planes from Crissy Field landed at Marin Meadows (now our Hamilton Field). This 937 acre property, known then as Marin Meadows, was sold to the government for $1. The base was built in 3 years for $5 million dollars. Hamilton Field was the foundation of West Coast Air Defense for many years to come. In fact, as its airforce use withered, the State Department used Hamilton as temporary housing for thousands of Boat People fleeing violence in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the early 1980s. Today, our celebrations continue in the Hamilton Field History Museum (HFHM) opened in May 2010 on the 75th anniversary of the dedication of Hamilton Air Field in 1935. The museum is housed in the building that was originally the base firehouse.

TIMING
Dress up in red, white and blue or your favorite military-wear for a veteran celebration.

12:00 (noon) Arrival at Hamilton Field Museum

12:00 Swing & Big Band Music

12:15 Games & Raffle 1

12:45 LIVE MUSIC BREAK – 30 MINUTES

1:00 Food and beverages are served. (This is complimentary.)

1:15 Live Music is back on.

1:30 Games & More Fun

2:00-ish Mega Raffle drawing!

CLASSIC CAR SHOWCASE with The 5150 Foundation
Come see former wartime vehicles preserved for days like this in the Field Museum parking lot. Don't forget to put on your red and blue-wear and take a photo with your favorite vehicle. 

COMPLIMENTARY WARTIME GOODIES

We will be working off these recipes: https://the1940sexperiment.com/100-wartime-recipes/

** FOUNDATION BACK STORY**

ABOUT THE EFFORT TO SAVE HAMILTON THEATER:
This a PASSION project to preserve and grow the historic Hamilton Music & Arts Town Center, by building up its music and arts roots as well as adding to it. Tap the original intended use by the early inhabitants of the Hamilton Air Force Base occupation as well as bring expanded perspective. 

The Hamilton Theater is an original structure, erected at the beginning of Hamilton Field’s pre-World War II development. The Theater was in operation as late as 1994 and has a newer cinema screen. The building itself has become the symbol of the new Hamilton Field community, part of Novato, California, about 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Built in 1938, the Hamilton Theater is a charming, 320-seat, Spanish-styled Theater that served the armed forces that were stationed at Hamilton Field. The Theatre building has cast-in-place Churrigueresque concrete medallion serving as attic vent - and is a very unique design effect to this structure, and other buildings in the Hamilton Field area. Churrigueresque refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the entrance on the main facade of a building.

WHY THIS MATTERS:
California towns are committed to the Surplus Land Act (the "Act") to increase the availability of real property in California for affordable housing development by requiring the prioritization of affordable housing when selling or leasing public lands no longer necessary for agency use. This puts historic properties like the Hamilton Theater at risk. We support low income and senior housing - but not at this historic location in the middle of the Hamilton Town Center. Help us to make the theater what it should be – an historic place for our community to celebrate music and performing arts, forever. 

OUR VISION:

We are over 1,000 strong in the community committed to save this historic 85 year old Hamilton Theater, restoring this classic 1930s 320 seat Spanish Revival gem to its original splendor. The restored Hamilton Theater will become home to live music, live theater, as well as cinema and is the centerpiece of a new music & arts center vision. We plan to expand our efforts by rebuilding the historic Hamilton NCO building as well to create a new place to share artistic ideas and history as building an experiential music museum. The ground floor will be a music showcase and coffee shop, gift shop, sound booths, and hall of fame dedicated to Marin’s long history of musical innovation. The second story may include archival storage, recording studios, meeting rooms, and offices. In the tradition of the old NCO Club, this will be a great place for music and art appreciation, education and collaboration. 

ESTIMATED COST:

The 30-year abandoned Hamilton Theater will cost approximately $6 million, the large parking lot and grounds with utility upgrades is estimated at $3 million, and the 20,000 square foot NCO building restoration is estimated at $21 million. All of this will buiild up the Hamilton Music & Arts Town Center to the majestic place it once was, drawing famous people from around the world to visit and perform at the Hamilton Fields.

PIECE BY PIECE:

We are committed to engaging all those in and around our community at the local, state and federal level to raise the funds to preserve this historic site registered with the Library of Congress by the US Airforce in the 1990s as a historic site foour our town to preserve - and we value this commitment. We understand the importance of our history and its rich roots. To learn more about our 8,500 year old music and art history, learn more at: https://www.savehamiltontheater.org/our-history/

WORDS OF THANKS

Thank you for joining in our cause.