The Blue Rock Inn was originally built in 1891, serving as a hotel or guest house for the many pioneers coming from the East. It was known, at that time, as the Larkspur Inn.

In 1911, the Larkspur Inn was rebuilt to accommodate the growing Marin County population.

Blue basalt rock, discovered in the 1880s by gold miners in Blue Canyon, was used in the new structure. It was at this point that the Larkspur Inn was named the Blue Rock Inn.

In the 1920s and 30s, the inn had the largest public dining room in Marin County, with bedrooms upstairs for travelers.

During WWII, the top floor of the premises was used as an emergency hospital.

Post-war, it was back to business. The Blue Rock Inn served lunch, dinner, cocktails and Sunday brunch, as well as having a piano bar on Friday and Saturday nights, for the next three or four decades.

The property changed hands over the years and was briefly renamed Hotel Merwin.

In 1994, it became the Left Bank Brasserie and still flourishes today.

We think this colorful menu, showing an elegantly dressed cartoon-style couple, is from the late 1960s or early 1970s.