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Barn Along The Lincoln?


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I have a question for the LH experts.

 

I am trying to determine if the barn pictured below and the road that runs in front of it were on the Lincoln Highway. The location is in the Dublin Canyon just east of Castro Valley, California. On the map the barn is at the corner of Paloverde and Palomares (near the bottom-middle, highlighted in yellow).

 

paloverde.jpg

 

At the top of the map is Interstate 580. This section of 580 was built in the early 80's and the section shown cuts through a small hill (note drainage on north side)

 

Just below 580 is the old roadbed for US50/580 that was used until the 8 lanes of the Interstate was completed. I have highlighted the old road bed in red. I do not know when it was built since it was there since I can remember.

 

Paralleling the old roadbed is East Castro Valley Blvd. This roadboad sits lower than the former 4 lane roadbed that it parallels and may have required making some cuts in the hill when constructed. Brian Butko's book lists this as the Lincoln Highway but I am wondering if the section between the two ends of Paloverde might have been built when US 50 was built and that the Lincoln might have followed the roadbed that is now Paloverde Rd?

 

Unfortunately I do not have anything detailed enough that shows this section of the Lincoln.

 

Any ideas?

 

SC10_78_08c.jpg

 

Life is a trip, Enjoy the journey

 

Rick

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Rick,

 

Hint One. The Castro Valley road (US 50) appears to go through a huge cut. If so, it is not a likely early to mid 1920's alignment.

 

Hint two. The 1915 Topo map for the area shows the only east west road to be along Paloverde

 

So what do we know so far. The oldest road doesn’t typically go through a huge cut (see my other posts), and the old topo shows only one road, the one along Paloverde.

 

Oh, and going through a canyon, the newer road looks down on the older

 

Understand that I don’t yet know if Paloverde is the old Lincoln Highway, but it sure looks like the oldest road at this point

 

And understand this is a 10 minute look see. I’ve been wrong before.

 

I’ll follow up in a bit.

 

Let's Keep the Show on the Road!

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OK. The 1942 Topo shows US 50 cutting through the hillside north of Paloverde, leaving Paloverde as an “oxbow.” Bingo, the newer road looks down on the older, and the old road doesn’t usually go through a cut.

 

So far so good. I don’t know when the cut was made, but we know it was after 1915 and before 1942. And by the looks of it on Google Earth, it is quite a cut, too big in my experience for most cuts prior to the mid to late 1920’s when the Lincoln was “active.” (It is conceivable that a lesser cut carried the Lincoln, but why?)

 

So the next question is, did the Lincoln go through here, and if so, was it before the cut was made, and therefore via Paloverde?

 

Anyone in the Lincoln Highway Association of California would probably know, and I would look it up in Gregory Franzwa’s new California Lincoln Highway book, except I haven’t received my copy yet!

 

So back to what I do have. Somewhere around here I have the 1915 guide, but let’s settle for what I have at hand, which is a 1924 reproduction LH guide. The Lincoln Highway goes through Dublin Canyon in 1924 and there is a tiny kink in the map at about where the Paloverde road is.

 

So in 1924 the Lincoln Highway went through this alignment and it even looks like the 1924 map has a kink about where the dip down on what is now Paloverde occurred. My ACSC strip map from the mid 1920’s of the area shows a couple of dips, one about where Paloverde is.

 

So the evidence is pretty good that the Lincoln Highway went past the site of the barn (on Paloverde) for at least part of the period before the cut was made.

 

Obviously the better source is an authority (not me) like the detailed maps Franzwa includes in his books or the California LH Association Map. Or join the Lincoln Highway Association and get Franzwa's current write up in their magazine on the stretch between Sacramento and SF (which he promised for the Spring issue.)

 

What do you think?

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Edited by Keep the Show on the Road!
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OK. The 1942 Topo shows US 50 cutting through the hillside north of Paloverde, leaving Paloverde as an “oxbow.” Bingo, the newer road looks down on the older, and the old road doesn’t usually go through a cut.

 

So far so good. I don’t know when the cut was made, but we know it was after 1915 and before 1942. And by the looks of it on Google Earth, it is quite a cut, too big in my experience for most cuts prior to the mid to late 1920’s when the Lincoln was “active.” (It is conceivable that a lesser cut carried the Lincoln, but why?)

 

So the next question is, did the Lincoln go through here, and if so, was it before the cut was made, and therefore via Paloverde?

 

Anyone in the Lincoln Highway Association of California would probably know, and I would look it up in Gregory Franzwa’s new California Lincoln Highway book, except I haven’t received my copy yet!

 

So back to what I do have. Somewhere around here I have the 1915 guide, but let’s settle for what I have at hand, which is a 1924 reproduction LH guide. The Lincoln Highway goes through Dublin Canyon in 1924 and there is a tiny kink in the map at about where the Paloverde road is.

 

So in 1924 the Lincoln Highway went through this alignment and it even looks like the 1924 map has a kink about where the dip down on what is now Paloverde occurred. My ACSC strip map from the mid 1920’s of the area shows a couple of dips, one about where Paloverde is.

 

So the evidence is pretty good that the Lincoln Highway went past the site of the barn (on Paloverde) for at least part of the period before the cut was made.

 

Obviously the better source is an authority (not me) like the detailed maps Franzwa includes in his books or the California LH Association Map. Or join the Lincoln Highway Association and get Franzwa's current write up in their magazine on the stretch between Sacramento and SF (which he promised for the Spring issue.)

 

What do you think?

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

The evidence looks convincing. I do know that the Lincoln Highway passed through the Dublin Canyon on its way towards Hayward, Oakland, and eventually San Francisco. The topography of the canyon itself has been changed considerably but the section around Paloverde has not been touched. Visually looking at the area the Paloverde route required no cuts to be made and would have been the easiest route going back to the days of horse and wagons.

 

The Dublin Canyon connected the agricultural region of the San Ramon Valley with the larger cities of the Eastbay (Oakland, Hayward) and it is completely plausible to me that Paloverde was once a wagon road before being put into service as an auto route.

 

Slightly to the west of the posted map I recall an old road intersecting with Castro Valley Blvd. If I recall correctly it was called Old Dublin Blvd and we used to ride it on our bicyles down to the bottom of the canyon and then met up again with Castro Valley Blvd. after going through some brush. That road has since been covered over by 580. The top of the road may have been paved over when they built an access road to some houses on the south side of 580.

 

I have read that there are a few other small sections of the Lincoln on the East side of the canyon that I intend to look into very soon. One is a curved piece of road that is now in a parking lot alongside Dublin Blvd. There is also a LH museum 15 miles to east in Livermore that I have to get to as well.

 

Another bit of trivia that is not really relevent to this topic but just to the west of the map, on the south side of 580 there is a large berm stretching for about 1/2 a mile. That berm is made up of the remains of the collapsed Cypress Structure that fell during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Every time I drive by it I can't help looking at it and thinking that it is one huge grave.

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The evidence looks convincing. I do know that the Lincoln Highway passed through the Dublin Canyon on its way towards Hayward, Oakland, and eventually San Francisco. The topography of the canyon itself has been changed considerably but the section around Paloverde has not been touched. Visually looking at the area the Paloverde route required no cuts to be made and would have been the easiest route going back to the days of horse and wagons.

 

The Dublin Canyon connected the agricultural region of the San Ramon Valley with the larger cities of the Eastbay (Oakland, Hayward) and it is completely plausible to me that Paloverde was once a wagon road before being put into service as an auto route.

 

Slightly to the west of the posted map I recall an old road intersecting with Castro Valley Blvd. If I recall correctly it was called Old Dublin Blvd and we used to ride it on our bicyles down to the bottom of the canyon and then met up again with Castro Valley Blvd. after going through some brush. That road has since been covered over by 580. The top of the road may have been paved over when they built an access road to some houses on the south side of 580.

 

I have read that there are a few other small sections of the Lincoln on the East side of the canyon that I intend to look into very soon. One is a curved piece of road that is now in a parking lot alongside Dublin Blvd. There is also a LH museum 15 miles to east in Livermore that I have to get to as well.

 

Another bit of trivia that is not really relevent to this topic but just to the west of the map, on the south side of 580 there is a large berm stretching for about 1/2 a mile. That berm is made up of the remains of the collapsed Cypress Structure that fell during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Every time I drive by it I can't help looking at it and thinking that it is one huge grave.

 

Watch out buddy, its staring to get in your blood!! Yes, a wagon road it was! And then the Lincoln probably used it. Since I think the Lincoln came through there in 1913, you can almost be certain it followed Paloverde because there was no other road to follow!

 

I confess I would rather decipher an old alignment myself than turn to an expert. It is like treasure hunting. If you know where the treasure is hidden, half the fun is gone! Thanks for the opportunity to do a little sleuthing. Now when I get my Franswa book, I’ll see what an expert says.

 

Do you want the URL for the old Topos? More and more historic topos are going up on the web, and they really help in trying to decode the old routes. I have hundreds of California strip maps in my collection , but none have the detail of an historic topo when it comes down to the finish line. Still I love ‘em all.

 

Now I’ve been down the Dublin Canyon, virtually at least! I have driven I-580 more than I want to, which is only a couple of times, and now I know where to find a probable section of the Old Lincoln. I use it sometimes on my way to Santa Clara (Olympia - Sacramento - Tracy - Santa Clara) because I consider the Livermore Canyon suicide alley.

 

I think there was a Canyon Inn along the Dublin Canyon stretch. Do you know where?

 

Keep the show on the Road!

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I confess I would rather decipher an old alignment myself than turn to an expert. It is like treasure hunting. If you know where the treasure is hidden, half the fun is gone! Thanks for the opportunity to do a little sleuthing. Now when I get my Franswa book, I’ll see what an expert says.

You don't give yourself enough credit. I don't know what it takes to become an expert but my hat is off to you sir.

 

Do you want the URL for the old Topos?

Yes, please!!! I would love to take a look at them and use them as a reference.

 

Now I’ve been down the Dublin Canyon, virtually at least! I have driven I-580 more than I want to, which is only a couple of times, and now I know where to find a probable section of the Old Lincoln. I use it sometimes on my way to Santa Clara (Olympia - Sacramento - Tracy - Santa Clara) because I consider the Livermore Canyon suicide alley.

 

There are a few local sections that I know I have driven many, many times without knowing I was on the Lincoln. One of my favorites is the section that goes through the Altamont Pass. Now that I have learned a little more LH history I need to drive back out there and look around again. There is also a section between Mountain House and Tracy that is still driveable. There is even a piece of the highway that the aquaduct was built right on top of. You can see the roadway sticking out of the bottom of both banks of the aquaduct.

 

I think there was a Canyon Inn along the Dublin Canyon stretch. Do you know where?

 

I have never heard of an Inn along Dublin Canyon, there are a couple of spots where it would not be to hard to imagine that an Inn once stood. Any other clues? It is likely that it is buried under the interstate too. Most of the canyon was torn up during construction of the Interstate and facilities to support BART so it is really hard to tell. However, there is one short stretch on the east side of the canyon that meets the criteria for the early road. You notice the change in the road as you drive it, it is much lower than the new road, and it follows a small creek.

 

Next time you have to make that trip to Santa Clara we will have to arrange a Lincoln exploration day trip.

 

Cheers,

 

Rick

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Thanks for the kind words! But because I’m wrong far too often, I claim experience, not expertise!

 

When I am in your area again it would be fun to catch a cup of coffee and compare notes.

 

I noted the Canyon Inn in a 1915 Automobile Blue Book when I was looking for the Lincoln Highway Route along Paloverdes. It was located 6.2 miles west of Dublin on the right side of the road. I have copied the excerpt below.

 

ARCanyonInn.jpg

 

The growing on-line access to historic USGS Topos, and the advent of Google Earth have made the old alignments much easier to follow. I used to spend hours matching Blue Book or other guide book directions with 2D maps, trying to discern the old routes. Now a look at Google Earth in 3D and reference to one or more old Topos cuts the time down to minutes.

 

Here are a few historic topos for areas you are interested in:

 

http://bard.wr.usgs.gov/ Good for your area, and where I got the maps I cited.

 

http://cricket.csuchico.edu/spcfotos/maps/topo_search.html A great collection at Chico State University. Primarily California. Love these folks for making it available!

 

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/CA/CA_125k/ Some harder to find California topos from the 1000 pound bear.

 

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/histopo/ More Bay area Topos from the big bear.

 

http://keck.library.unr.edu/ The University of Nevada, Reno. Yeh, UNV! A must for your upcoming Lincoln Highway trip to Nevada.

 

One of the great benefits of this interest in old alignments is that it tends to take you and keep you on two lane roads. I don’t scorn the freeways, for several reasons, but primarily because they keep ”destination drivers” off the two lane roads,...all those good folks who through necessity or ignorance focus on the travel destination to the exclusion of the travel experience.

 

BTY, nice shot of the barn! Can you determine its age?

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

Edited by Keep the Show on the Road!
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I noted the Canyon Inn in a 1915 Automobile Blue Book when I was looking for the Lincoln Highway Route along Paloverdes. It was located 6.2 miles west of Dublin on the right side of the road. I have copied the excerpt below.

 

I took a quick drive during my lunch break this afternoon in search of the Dublin Canyon Inn.

 

I started at Foothill Blvd. and Dublin Canyon Rd. heading west (this would be on the opposite side of the Interstate as the first notation in the Blue Book but there are 8 lanes of concrete that cover the route)

 

~1/2 mile west on Dublin Canyon intersects with what I suspect is the LH roadbed.

 

About 1/2 mile after that there is a small bridge over a culvert. The railings of the bridge are made out of concrete, painted white, and have a painted marker on each end that is red, white, and blue with an 'L' in the middle. I strongly suspect that this bridge was part of the Lincoln Highway.

 

I drive another 1/4 of a mile and there is another small bridge over a culvert that has concrete side railings and a painted marker on each end that is red, white, and blue with an 'L' in the middle. I can be dense sometimes but I am now convinced that I am on the right road.

 

In another 1/4 mile the road changes and parallels the Interstate. This road is straight and built above the small canyons that it passes by. I get to the corner of Dublin Canyon and Paloverde and turn left. Following Paloverde loops me around and back on to East Castro Valley Blvd. The 6.2 mile point on this journey is on East Castro Valley Blvd directly below I-580.

 

The question is; How much was the route through the canyon shortened by straightening it out? If it shortened it by a 1/2 mile or less then it is quite possible that the Inn was along the Paloverde stretch. If it shortened it by more than that then the spot of the Inn is probably under the I-580 roadboad. I doubt that it would have been any further west of this spot.

 

I did go a bit further west and found some other remnants buried in the Canyon. There is another bridge that is now surrounded by some houses on Old Dublin Canyon Road. I need to search through those topos that you sent the links for and see if I can figure out where the roadway went after the Paloverde stretch.

 

One thing I find curious in the page you scanned is the entry "(right leads to Martinez)." I would think that turning where the directions state for Danville - Walnut Creek are more appropriate to get to Martinez.

 

I plan on going back out this weekend and noting some exact mileages as well as taking some pictures of the two bridges. I'm not sure how I would determine the age of the barn other than carbon dating the wood and unfortunately the batteries are dead on my portable carbon dater. Any suggestions of what I should look for to determine vintage?

 

Rick

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Now that’s what I call a great lunch break! And some great old road sleuthing.

 

The odds are 1000 to 1 against finding the Canyon Inn but the old garage at Altamont still exists (I think), so who knows. No matter really, you already discovered a couple of bridges. That’s not a bad lunch hour.

 

You are going to love the Lincoln Highway on your trip in Nevada and Utah. There isn’t a big 8 lane freeway running over the old alignment.

 

It should be relatively easy to fix the location of the Inn on the old USGS Topos. I haven’t looked, but the 1914 topo might even show the building since we know it existed in 1915. You can then make a good estimate of the latitude and longitude and transfer that number to Google Earth. Or eyeball it by terrain features.

 

In the meantime, I am going to see if Google earth has an overlay capability, where you could overlay the old topo on the Google Earth image. If not, I know you can do it in Photoshop. EDIT FOLLOWS: You can do overlays! So you can take a digital file (eg jpg, tif) of a topo and overlay it on a modern 3D Google Earth. You can even rescale the overlay to fit the scale of the Google Earth map. Outstanding! You have to hand it to the Google Earth folks! 2nd EDIT: Wow! Pull the topo jpg into photoshop and strip out the contours, then overlay the map on Google. I can now tell you exactly where the old road went, and it wasn't quite buried! In fact I think I know where the Canyon Inn might have been (speculating here). I haven't done the mileage, but go to Google earth and spot the Old Dublin Rd stub down to Fraga Rd. Fraga is the old road, and probably the Lincoln What is the facility just east on Fraga? Opps, wrong side of the road. Well, back to the maps!

 

Dating barns is way outside my experience. Here is an expert’s (not me!) advice on nails that might help.”By 1886, 10 percent of the nails produced in the United States were made of soft steel wire. Within six years, more steel-wire nails were being produced than iron-cut nails. By 1913, 90 percent were wire nails.”

 

So if the barn has square nails, it was there before the Lincoln. If it has round nails, probably not.

 

Have fun, and Keep the Show on the Road!

Edited by Keep the Show on the Road!
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Now that’s what I call a great lunch break! And some great old road sleuthing.

 

The odds are 1000 to 1 against finding the Canyon Inn but the old garage at Altamont still exists (I think), so who knows. No matter really, you already discovered a couple of bridges. That’s not a bad lunch hour.

 

You are going to love the Lincoln Highway on your trip in Nevada and Utah. There isn’t a big 8 lane freeway running over the old alignment.

 

It should be relatively easy to fix the location of the Inn on the old USGS Topos. I haven’t looked, but the 1914 topo might even show the building since we know it existed in 1915. You can then make a good estimate of the latitude and longitude and transfer that number to Google Earth. Or eyeball it by terrain features.

 

In the meantime, I am going to see if Google earth has an overlay capability, where you could overlay the old topo on the Google Earth image. If not, I know you can do it in Photoshop. EDIT FOLLOWS: You can do overlays! So you can take a digital file (eg jpg, tif) of a topo and overlay it on a modern 3D Google Earth. You can even rescale the overlay to fit the scale of the Google Earth map. Outstanding! You have to hand it to the Google Earth folks! 2nd EDIT: Wow! Pull the topo jpg into photoshop and strip out the contours, then overlay the map on Google. I can now tell you exactly where the old road went, and it wasn't quite buried! In fact I think I know where the Canyon Inn might have been (speculating here). I haven't done the mileage, but go to Google earth and spot the Old Dublin Rd stub down to Fraga Rd. Fraga is the old road, and probably the Lincoln What is the facility just east on Fraga? Opps, wrong side of the road. Well, back to the maps!

 

Yes indeed, the old garage on the Altamont still exists.

 

SC02_14_17.jpg

 

I am going to have to play with those topo maps a bit and see what I can do.

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Yes indeed, the old garage on the Altamont still exists.

 

SC02_14_17.jpg

 

I am going to have to play with those topo maps a bit and see what I can do.

 

 

You keep producing great photos! I like the garage. I have never seen it, but I have read about the fight to save it. A second look and I saw the wind powered generators behind. Interesting contrast.

 

I messed with the overlays, and believe me if somone ever wanted to know which were the old roads, it works. It used to take me hours to size and resize two maps to produce overlays. I really like what you can do with Google earth and old Topos.

 

Gees, I guess I better take a road trip before I get too obsessed with maps!

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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The Four Bridges of Dublin Canyon

 

I did some exploration last weekend in Dublin Canyon to identify what remains of the Lincoln Highway in the area.

 

Starting at San Ramon Rd and Dublin Blvd.

West 0.3 miles and turn left into the Hexcel parking lot

This short segment ends at the gated parking lot behind it. Behind the parking lot is I-580. This section would have been bypassed when the road was straightened for US 50. Notice the handsome vehicle on the right? That is "Rocinante." Bonus points if you can name at least 3 literary references where the name comes from.

 

SC10_78_09.jpg

 

Backtracking to San Ramon road, and turn right (south). Right turn on Dublin Canyon Road and reset the odomoter. At 0.5 miles is the first bridge. This is also the point that meets up with the roadway that was covered by the interstate.

 

This photo is looking back towards the spot of the first picture. The Interstate is the large berm where the road curves. The LH would have been straight at this point.

 

SC10_78_12.jpg

 

The bridge looking west. The road has been widened after the bridge to accomodate housing developments in the hills.

 

SC10_78_17.jpg

 

Close up of the Lincoln Highway marker

 

SC10_78_18.jpg

 

The construction of the culvert is quite substantial. They were built to last. Notice the drop in the creek bed. The creekbed under the culvert was also paved and the creekbed has dropped over time.

 

SC10_78_15.jpg

 

Continuing West to the 0.9 mile mark we reach the second bridge. Construction of the culvert was the same as the first bridge.

 

SC10_78_20.jpg

 

Detail of the LH marker on the second bridge

 

SC10_78_23.jpg

 

At approximately the 1.4 mile mark we reach roadbed that was constructed at the same time as the Interstate.

 

SC10_78_26.jpg

 

At 4.9 miles we reach Paloverde and turn left off of Dublin Canyon

At 5.3 miles we reach the barn that started this posting. The barn was built with round nails. On Paloverde there are a couple of old houses on the right side that may date back to the Lincoln period. Is it possible one could have been an Inn in a previous life? Unfortunately I did not have enough time to do a door to door inquiry.

At 5.7 miles Paloverde rejoins with Castro Valley Blvd.

At 6.2 miles we reach the point where East Castro Valley Blvd passes under I-580. This was the mileage point identified as the spot of the Dublin Canyon Inn.

 

I continued west on East Castro Valley Blvd and turned left on Five Canyons Parkway and left again on Old Dublin Rd. At the end of Old Dublin Road (Fraga) is the bridge in the photo below. Construction is very similar to the previous two bridges.

 

SC10_78_28.jpg

 

The hidden surprise is what was 75 yards north of the bridge. Up the creek and higher up the hill was another culvert. There were railings on the downhill side as if it once was roadbed but now had a couple of feet worth of dirt over top. There was a hill behind it and the Interstate on the other side. All of this is hidden on Google Earth by a grove of eucalyptus trees. Hiking around cleared my sinuses. Some of the area was private property which did limit my exploration to the creek and roadbed.

 

When I got home I looked on a 1949 topo map and it did show that a road was put in that cut off the lower bridge. Why is hard to tell but the culvert goes back into the hill significantly. I walked until I ran out of light and still could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. There were no dates to be found on any of the bridges I found.

 

SC10_78_29.jpg

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Roadhound,

 

Boy, that is a great description. It is almost like being there! I can almost smell the eucalyptus! Love it!!

 

(Digression: Did you know that in the teens and 1920’s that Eucalyptus trees were promoted as a California crop? Some of my Sunset Magazines from the teens and 20’s tout them as a business prospect. There are still a few remnants of planted groves)

 

I’m trying to place the half buried bridge in my minds eye. How about giving it a latitude and longitude. Also the Lat & Lon of where you think the Canyon Inn was.

 

I remember when I overlaid the 1914 Topo on Google Earth that the old road east along Fraga kind of skirted along the bottom of the embankment of the newer road, leading me to believe that some of the old road wasn’t fully buried. And there is some sort of club or something east of Old Dublin on Fraga, but on the wrong side of the alignment to be the Canyon Inn.

 

The half buried bridge would conform to my notion, if it is evidence that the new road only half buried the old alignment. But I may be thinking of the wrong location.

 

Now I’m not going to rest easy until you have discovered the fate of the Canyon Inn. It probably met an ignoble demise, but once in a while one of those old places lives on in some form, if only in photographs.

 

Anyway, you have now fully initiated yourself into the Legion of the Lost Roads!

 

You and Mobilene are now stationed at strategic places, and we may have Dusty Rustyford in the Northwest, and of course DennyG is covering the rest of the country. There are several other pros here as well. No old road will ever be able to hide from the American Road sleuths!

 

How is your Nevada- Utah Lincoln Highway trip shaping up?

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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(Digression: Did you know that in the teens and 1920’s that Eucalyptus trees were promoted as a California crop? Some of my Sunset Magazines from the teens and 20’s tout them as a business prospect. There are still a few remnants of planted groves)

 

Yeah, until they figured out the wood was worthless. There are a number of groves still around but there has been an effort after the Oakland Hills fire to remove them. Oily trees in a semi-arid climate could lead to disastrous results.

 

I’m trying to place the half buried bridge in my minds eye. How about giving it a latitude and longitude. Also the Lat & Lon of where you think the Canyon Inn was.

 

I remember when I overlaid the 1914 Topo on Google Earth that the old road east along Fraga kind of skirted along the bottom of the embankment of the newer road, leading me to believe that some of the old road wasn’t fully buried. And there is some sort of club or something east of Old Dublin on Fraga, but on the wrong side of the alignment to be the Canyon Inn.

 

The half buried bridge would conform to my notion, if it is evidence that the new road only half buried the old alignment. But I may be thinking of the wrong location.

 

The coordinates for the first and second bridge are:

 

37 41'51.65 N 122 02'26.32 W elev 270 ft marked as '1' on the attached topo

37 41'53.47 N 122 02'26.97 W elev 287 ft marked as '2' on the attached topo

 

I think this 1947 topo map shows it better.

 

bridges.jpg

 

I will have to keep searching for the Inn. I strongly suspect that it was either buried under the Interstate or was lost for some other reason and the property built over with a newer structure. The 6.2 mile mark is under the overpass but I have marked a couple of other possible spots. The spot marked with a 3 is the old house that I had previously referred to. You may need to come out and do some field research on this one, not sure where else to look.

 

canyon_inn_loc.jpg

 

There more I look at the old topos the more I realize that this canyon has really been hacked up. I am trying to figure out why they would build a bridge within spitting distance of one that was still there only at a slightly higher elevation. The area is in a basin and perhaps they were thinking of damming it off and creating a reservoir at one time and therefore needed to raise the elevation of the road? I don't know.

 

 

How is your Nevada- Utah Lincoln Highway trip shaping up?

 

The summer Lincoln trip is coming along. I have the route that I am going to follow set and both my son and father are on board. Currently I am putting together the equipment list and making sure Rocinante is ready. If all goes as planned we will be doing this during the middle of July. I have followed the route numerous times on Google Earth, have overnight stops picked out, and a good idea what some of the points of interest are along the way (Thanks to you!)

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  • 4 years later...

QUOTE (roadhound @ Jun 21 2007, 05:11 PM)

I think there was a Canyon Inn along the Dublin Canyon stretch. Do you know where?

 

Sorry to revive an ancient thread, but...

 

Yes. There's a photograph taken in the 20s that shows a car in front of the inn. Matching the terrain in Google Earth seems to show the inn about here: 37.700555, -122.038996. I'm confident that's the location within 150 meters, and it's near the old road.

 

It's very buried under 580, if this is indeed the location.

 

Here's a link to the photo: http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt9f59r98m/?layout=metadata

 

[edited to change to better location]

Edited by Brian Beej Hall
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Sorry to revive an ancient thread, but...

 

Yes. There's a photograph taken in the 20s that shows a car in front of the inn. Matching the terrain in Google Earth seems to show the inn about here: 37.700555, -122.038996. I'm confident that's the location within 150 meters, and it's near the old road.

 

It's very buried under 580, if this is indeed the location.

 

Here's a link to the photo: http://content.cdlib...layout=metadata

 

[edited to change to better location]

 

 

Brian,

 

It is great that you revived an old thread! I recall that dialog well.

 

The photo is interesting and adds much to the story.

 

Thanks for the post and welcome to the forum. We hope you will continue to add your insights!

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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