El Granada in San Mateo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Ocean Shore R.R. and Granada

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, February 18, 2016

1. Ocean Shore R.R. and Granada Marker

Inscription. The whistle of the first Ocean Shore Railroad passenger train from San Francisco to Granada echoed of nearby hills 21 June 1908. On board were 500 San Franciscans, great, good-time-loving people, who were treated to free picnic lunches and sales pitches for building lots. The main Granada station was just a few hundred feet oceanward.
Granada, designed by Daniel H. Burnham, famed architect of the 1905 San Francisco plan, boasted curved streets lined with concrete sidewalks and new eucalyptus trees. When the last train whistle blew 16 August 1920 only a few homes had been built here on Burnham's magnificent boulevards.
The Ocean Shore R.R. never made it non-stop to Santa Cruz, its intended destination. The tracks stopped at Tunitas Creek, south of Half Moon Bay. Passengers rode Stanley Steamers to Swanton and then another Ocean Shore train to Santa Cruz.
Ocean Shore's motto was "Reaches the Beaches," but the railroad was continually plagued by landslides along its ocean-bluffs route. It finally succumbed to the automobile. During the 12 years that it operated the Ocean Shore R.R. created a definite mark along the rugged San Mateo County Coast.

Erected 1993 by E Clampus Vitus, Yerba Buena Chapter No. 1.

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lists: Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the E Clampus Vitus series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 21, 1908.

Location. 37° 30.164′ N, 122° 28.176′ W. Marker is in El Granada, California, in San Mateo County. Marker is on Avenue Portola near Avenue Alhambra, in the median. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 Avenue Portola, El Granada CA 94018, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Granada's Burnham Plan (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Hotel El Granada (about 600 feet away); Miramar Beach Restaurant (approx. 0.6 miles away); In Memorial to the Commercial Fisherman Lost at Sea (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Moss Beach Distillery (approx. 2.6 miles away); Bob Breen: Fitzgerald Marine Reserve's First Park Ranger (approx. 2.9 miles away); First Concrete Bridge Erected in San Mateo Co (approx. 3.4 miles away); Zaballa House (approx. 3.4 miles away).

More about this marker. The marker is located in Plaza Alhambra.

Also see . . . A Brief History of the Ocean Shore Railroad - San Francisco Trains

Ocean Shore R.R. and Granada Marker in Plaza Alhambra image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, February 18, 2016

2. Ocean Shore R.R. and Granada Marker in Plaza Alhambra

. One of the wonderful aspects of the turn-of-the-century era was the multitude of grandious schemes for the development of California. In the early 1900's, the country had rebounded from the depression of the 1890's, so a renewed sense of optimism was the mood of the day. It was in this frame of mind that prominent San Francisco businessmen schemed to create a coast railroad from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. It was initially called the Ocean Shore Electric Railway. (Submitted on February 21, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Ocean Shore Railroad image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Unknown

3. Ocean Shore Railroad

Ocean Shore Railroad at Devils Slide image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Unknown

4. Ocean Shore Railroad at Devils Slide

Credits. This page was last revised on June 23, 2018. It was originally submitted on February 21, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 731 times since then and 81 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 21, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.