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Piedmont in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

Sulphur Springs Grotto

The Healing Powers of Mineral Springs

 
 
Sulphur Springs Grotto Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 7, 2014
1. Sulphur Springs Grotto Marker
Caption: Mark Twain is the slim gentleman to the left of center (center photograph).
Inscription.
The first recorded visitor to the sulphur springs grotto is Isaac Holmes, a retired U.S. Senator from South Carolina, who reportedly installed a bathtub in Bushy Dell canyon in the early 1860s in order to take alfresco baths for his rheumatism.

Walter Blair hoped to capitalize on the curative powers of the water when he bought the park property. According to the newspaper, ”The waters of these springs contain sulphur, magnesia, iodine and iron and are claimed by those who have used the waters to have great curative qualities for rheumatism, neuralgia, dyspepsia and kidney ailments.” Blair bottled his mineral water and built a decorative gazebo over the spring where passersby could use a tin drinking cup. The gazebo features prominently in a photograph of Mark Twain circa 1869 when he was on a lecture tour in San Francisco and also appears on the cover of the prospectus for Piedmont Park tract in 1877.

When Frank C. Havens bought the park property in the 1890s he installed a new man-made faux stone grotto at the springs. The grotto restoration project was completed in 2007 to celebrate the city’s centennial. It incorporates remnants of Haven’s grotto.

”What appears as a tremendous boulder has been built deep in hills, and there, in the twilight of concealed electricity,
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ferns cluster around springs of sulphur and magnesia water, while within a tiny aquarium inserted in the rocky wall, fish dart about, flashing light from their golden fins. It all seems so natural that it is hard to realize that the artistic ingenuity of man had planned and executed such a lovely picture.”
- Carlotta Sessions, Reporter, Overland Monthly Magazine, 1901
 
Erected by Piedmont Beautification Foundation.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Natural FeaturesParks & Recreational AreasScience & MedicineWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1869.
 
Location. 37° 49.335′ N, 122° 13.974′ W. Marker is in Piedmont, California, in Alameda County. Marker can be reached from Wildwood Avenue, on the right when traveling west. This marker is located in Piedmont Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 317 Wildwood Avenue, Oakland CA 94611, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Cascade (within shouting distance of this marker); Eucalyptus Amphitheater (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Maze (about 800 feet away); Piedmont Art Gallery (about 800 feet away); Piedmont Springs Hotel (about 800 feet away);
Sulphur Springs Grotto Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 7, 2014
2. Sulphur Springs Grotto Marker
Faux Bois Benches (approx. 0.2 miles away); Piedmont Springs Clubhouse & Cafe (approx. 0.2 miles away); Honor Roll (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Piedmont.
 
Sulphur Springs Grotto image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 7, 2014
3. Sulphur Springs Grotto
Piedmont Springs image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Muybridge, circa 1870s
4. Piedmont Springs
Mark Twain stands left of center.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 17, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 825 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 17, 2014, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024