Martinez is the county seat for Contra Costa County
Orinda is in Contra Costa County
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The Orinda Garage and
Miss Graham's Riding
Academy were built
from 1923 - 25 by E.I. de
Laveaga in the Spanish
Mediterranean style.
His uncle ran the
automobile garage on
the corner of Avenida
de Orinda, which still
exists today. . . . — — Map (db m154903) HM
The Orinda Improvement
Association,
inaugurated on May 22,
1923, was the voice of
the citizens in the 1920s
and beyond. It brought
adequate phone service
and fire protection, and
consolidated the local
school districts.
Additional . . . — — Map (db m145030) HM
The first Orinda
firehouse was built in
1923 after several
homes burned down.
It looked like a garage
and accommodated
one truck which held
2 barrels of water. In
1935, the building was
remodeled in the
California Spanish
style, and a . . . — — Map (db m145155) HM
The Orinda Union
School was built here
in 1925. This was after
the first tunnel was
bored through the
Berkeley Hills, roads
were paved and the
village became more
easily accessible,
causing a gradual
increase in population.
It continued . . . — — Map (db m145021) HM
The Orinda Library
began as a branch of
the Contra Costa
Library in 1915 with a
small collection at the
Orinda Park School
(current site of Wagner
Ranch School). The 4 x
4 bookcase was moved
to the old Orinda Store,
Firehouse, and . . . — — Map (db m145031) HM
The vegetation around you is quite different from that observed
during the Anza Expedition of 1776. The pine forests across the
reservoir and on San Pablo Ridge were not here. Oak-bay
woodlands filled the ravines as they do now, but the open . . . — — Map (db m153306) HM
Bryant Station was the terminus of the California and Nevada Railroad, a narrow-gauge steam line which transported local harvests to the Emeryville docks. The railroad, formed in 1881, was originally planned to run passengers and freight to the . . . — — Map (db m24647) HM
Gerald Shmavonian's Buehler House
has been listed on the National Register
of historic places by the United States
Department of the Interior
The house was designed and built by
"the world's greatest architect of all time"
Frank Lloyd . . . — — Map (db m159586) HM
Just east of this monument is the last
remaining original post from the C&N
Railroad trestle structure. The C&N
was incorporated on March 25, 1884.
J.S. Emery was listed as the railroad's
president, for which present day
Emeryville is named. . . . — — Map (db m144979) HM
A nearby plaque
commemorates the
passage in 1860-1861
of Pony Express riders
from Sacramento to
the San Francisco
terminus. They usually
rode river steamers,
but 20 times the Pony
Express took an
overland route as the
steamers did not . . . — — Map (db m142217) HM
Orinda's Theatre
District, historically
known as the
Crossroads, was
developed in the early
20th century after
homes were built
around the established
ranches. More families,
such as the Bryants,
settled or built summer
homes here. It is . . . — — Map (db m136738) HM
The de Laveaga train station, built in the 1880s, is the last remaining station of the narrow gauge California and Nevada Railroad line that linked Emeryville to Orinda. Passengers often traveled to Orinda on weekends for picnics and vacations in . . . — — Map (db m221975) HM
Did you know that Orinda once had a railroad?
This building is the only remaining station of the California & Nevada
Railroad. The C&N, a narrow gauge line constructed in 1890, ran 23
miles between Emeryville and Orinda hauling farm . . . — — Map (db m123143) HM
Built in 1841, the Joaquin Moraga Adobe in Orinda is the oldest surviving building in Contra Costa County. It has been recognized as a California State Historic Landmark since 1954, and was designated as an Orinda City Landmark in 1995.
The . . . — — Map (db m158344) HM
The Orinda Theatre
opened its doors in 1941
and is the city's most
prominent visual
landmark with its
signature dorsal fin
marquee. It is a
textbook example of
Streamlined Moderne
Architecture, a late type
of Art Deco design
inspired by . . . — — Map (db m154890) HM
Pony Express Trail
This plaque commemorates the passage in 1860 and 1861 of the Pony Express riders from Sacramento to San Francisco through what is now Orinda.
Sponsored by the City of Orinda's Historical Landmark Committee and the Pony . . . — — Map (db m29913) HM
In keeping with its
Spanish and Mexican
heritage, the first
church in Orinda was
Catholic, built by Marie
de Laveaga on their
estate in 1892. The
Santa Maria Chapel
held Services
intermittently until 1954,
when its 19 pews were
inadequate . . . — — Map (db m154893) HM
Ordinance Number 03-07
October 7, 2003
The junction of three Mexican land grants - Rancho Acalanes, Rancho El Sobrante and Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados - is located approximately 500 feet uphill from the end of Hillcrest Drive. . . . — — Map (db m91848) HM
Located on hiking trail one quarter mile south east
of this point is the intersecting corner of Ranchos
Acalanes, El Sobrante and Boca de la Canada del
Pinole.
Rancho Acalanes
3,329 acres granted to Candelario Valencia
by Governor Jose . . . — — Map (db m178377) HM
This historic view of the developing history of Orinda was dedicated on January 9, 1978 to commemorate this country’s bicentennial.
Special thanks to those who made this mural possible:
Orinda artist and illustrator, Lonie Bee
The . . . — — Map (db m222673) HM
San Pablo Creek, Orinda’s biggest creek, flow from the Glorietta neighborhood, through both side of downtown Orinda, all the way to Wagner Ranch Nature Area, and into the San Pablo Reservoir. The City of Orinda has many other creeks, as you . . . — — Map (db m222683) HM
As far back as the late 1800s, parties were often held at local schoolhouses and parks, as well as private homes and hotels. The tradition of having festivities at the old Orinda School Playground, now the Orinda Community Park, continues today with . . . — — Map (db m222680) HM
Marker One:
Historic Landmark
Designated by the
City of Orinda
on December 13, 1988
Ordinance Number 88-13
Marker Two:
Federal Works Agency
Public Works Administration
John M. . . . — — Map (db m222688) HM
In the mid 1800s, squatters would occupy land and building structures without legal rights. Such was the case with the Conklin Hotel, built circa 1858, in anticipation of people arriving along the newly constructed Telegraph Road nearby. Known as . . . — — Map (db m222697) HM
Orinda’s Village District was the first hub of the town. It was developed in the late 19th century when homes were built on the surrounding ranches by the de Laveagas, Miners, Sullivans, and Wagners. Public buildings first appeared here in the early . . . — — Map (db m222699) HM