Harkness Memorial Park holds the former mansion of Edward Harkness, a former multi-millionaire philanthropist, overlooking 230-acres of waterfront property. The mansion was purchased by Harkness in 1907, and with the help of landscape designed Beatrix Jones Farrand and over two hundred million dollars of his own money, Harkness restored the grounds into one of the most elegant sites in Connecticut.
There is admission costs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with tours of the mansion available during that same time. The mansion hosts weddings as well, and admission is free from September to May.
Olompali is a sacred site for both Native Americans and hippies from the Haight-Ashbury days. The park is located three miles north of the Novato city limits on the eastern slope of Mount Burdell and only accessible from southbound Highway 101. Evidence of the presence of the Coast Miwok tribe, called the Southern People (Olompali), dates to 6,000 B.C. The tribe lived here until the 1850s and their descendants are still a recognized and organized group in the North Bay area. Many artifacts can be seen at the park as well as at the nearby Marin Museum of the American Indian. In the late 1960s, the Olompali land was privately owned and became a cultural gathering spot and commune. The Grateful Dead played here regularly. A fire at the house led to the commune's closing in 1969. Many artifacts were saved but have yet to be put on display. The park was opened as a state historic park in 1990. Today it features a small museum, a bookstore, picnic tables and hiking trails.
The birthplace of John Fitzgerald Kennedy looks more residential than presidential, but still holds many ties to the country's 35th commander in chief. It's now in the condition in which you would have found it when JFK was born in 1917, thanks to a restoration undertaken by the President's mother after his death. JFK lived in the Brookline house for 10 years before his family moved to New York City.
