Honors Capstone
Meadowlands
by Sonya Woo
Meadowlands was named after the Golden Meadows in which it resides. Meadowlands was purposely built with an open view of Mount Tamalpais, and 1.5 acres of cultivated garden and three acres of meadowlark. This was a $7,880 mansion initially made for San Francisco Chronicle publisher and philanthropist Michael H. de Young in 1888 to summer in. Since Meadowlands contained nine bedrooms for overnight guests and was conveniently situated near the famous Hotel Rafael. After humbly serving the de Young family for 30 years, Mr. de Young sold the building to the Dominican Sisters on March 4, 1918.
​
Meadowlands has housed countless generations of students since 1919. The bedrooms were “papered in most fashionable Victorian designs: lurid pink hollyhocks flowering on luxuriant green branches against a cream background, bunches of carnations on a dotted ground and, in the house mother's room, once the de Young nursery, gaily decorative Mother Goose designs.”. There was even a large kitchen on the second floor for residents to occasionally bake and make hot chocolate. However, Meadowlands closed as a dormitory for three years between 1976 and 1979 to be open for the community as a Continuing Education Center.
"Meadowlands” (Yearbook, repr., San Rafael, 1932), The Meadowlark, Dominican University Archives, 15.
Meadowlands: A Reminder of a Golden Era (San Rafael, 1940s). Dominican University of California Archives
"Meadowlands” (Yearbook, repr., San Rafael, 1932), The Meadowlark, Dominican University Archives, 15.
Meadowlands: The Transformation Begins” (Yearbook, San Rafael, 2013), The Torch, Dominican University of California Archives, 17.
Luckily by the time Professor Fink was admitted as a student, the dormitory reopened and she was able to live in Meadowlands. At that time, most students on campus lived in the newly built dormitories, Fanjeaux and Pennafort. “There was a sister on each floor watching over everyone. Each room consisted of two students, with pairs occupying every room on the second and third floors,” Professor Fink recalled. In addition, a resident assistant would be on duty at the foyer greeting those who entered and left. Students, including Professor Fink, hung around the foyer and hunt room to do homework and socialize. Meadowlands created a safe environment for fostering friendships and learning.
​
By Summer of 2015, Meadowlands no longer accommodated for residents all together and instead housed the occupational therapy, nursing, and public health programs on campus. 35 offices, 11 cubicle work spaces, three smart classrooms, skill assessment laboratories equipped with simulation technology, pediatric occupational therapy (OT) laboratory, two instructional OT laboratories, and study spaces on all floors were incorporated into the new layout. The foyer, grand staircase, and hunt room were refurbished and not renovated to retain the original character and style of 1918.