Arequipa Sanatorium
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Elks 1108 Card Room
6:30 pm
-
7:30 pm
Arequipa Sanatorium: Life in California’s Lung Resort for Women
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 ❖ 6:30 pm
Elks Lodge 1312 Mission Avenue, San Rafael
After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, rising dust and ash led to increased tuberculosis among working women. Seeing the lack of affordable care, Dr. Philip King Brown opened the Arequipa Sanatorium in Fairfax in 1911. With his all-female staff, he helped hundreds of working-class women regain their health. Dr. Brown was a believer in the curative powers of occupational therapy, and from 1912 until after World War I, patients made pottery and tile on the grounds. On nice days, the women decorated their pieces outside among the bay and eucalyptus trees. Drawing on preserved records and interviews with former patients—including her grandmother—Lynn Downey vividly recounts the sanatorium’s history and Dr. Brown’s pioneering work.
Lynn Downey is an award-winning historian and novelist, former Historian for Levi Strauss & Co., and author of Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World and American Dude Ranch. She now works as a consulting historian and serves on the Frank Lloyd Wright Marin County Civic Center Conservancy.
Fee: $10; Free for Elk member with card
For more info: Marcie 415.446.8869
savemarinshistory@gmail.com
Arequipa Sanatorium: Life in California’s Lung Resort for Women
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 ❖ 6:30 pm
Elks Lodge 1312 Mission Avenue, San Rafael
After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, rising dust and ash led to increased tuberculosis among working women. Seeing the lack of affordable care, Dr. Philip King Brown opened the Arequipa Sanatorium in Fairfax in 1911. With his all-female staff, he helped hundreds of working-class women regain their health. Dr. Brown was a believer in the curative powers of occupational therapy, and from 1912 until after World War I, patients made pottery and tile on the grounds. On nice days, the women decorated their pieces outside among the bay and eucalyptus trees. Drawing on preserved records and interviews with former patients—including her grandmother—Lynn Downey vividly recounts the sanatorium’s history and Dr. Brown’s pioneering work.
Lynn Downey is an award-winning historian and novelist, former Historian for Levi Strauss & Co., and author of Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World and American Dude Ranch. She now works as a consulting historian and serves on the Frank Lloyd Wright Marin County Civic Center Conservancy.
Fee: $10; Free for Elk member with card
For more info: Marcie 415.446.8869
savemarinshistory@gmail.com
