Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)'s photos

More of the perpetual construction trying to keep the road out of the ocean….

Just off the coast in Pacific Grove, some otters lazing around the kelp. Otters are always interesting to watch, but there were none close enough to see well. I later found out that there’s an excellent place for observing otters much further south.

Just a classic view of Pacific Grove. The point in the picture is Lovers Point.

Companions?

51 years since my first visit, and it still feels much the same….

Otter? I’m not sure, sea lions are more common around the wharf.

A not very well known route to the coast and Monterey Bay – the Hecker Pass (CA-152) crossing of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Seen from Hecker Pass - the agricultural areas around Watsonville, very many covered in plastic. At least in California, very many of the berries that one buys in the grocery store are grown in Watsonville.

Originally the California Theatre, it opened in 1923 but it is difficult to trace its history past then. There was apparently extensive damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which shut it for some time (see Cinema Treasures link). It apparently was refurbished and reopened at least twice since then but, in part due to the 2008 recession, it has been closed for a number of years. Various comments on Cinema Treasures indicate that original murals and interior design may be largely intact, but that isn’t clear. Watsonville’s economy is primarily based on the surrounding agriculture and there are two much wealthier cities with thriving arts communities nearby (Santa Cruz and Monterey), so its not surprising that efforts to save the theatre have not been successful. Cinema Treasures: cinematreasures.org/theaters/323 Fox / Loma Prieta earthquake: cinematreasures.org/theaters/323/photos/1319

One of the better maintained buildings in central Watsonville, a Wells Fargo Bank built in the 1930’s. I could not find any history of the building, but was impressed by the relief over the door (adjacent picture).

Interesting relief. Maybe its the change in eras, but I’m always surprised to see reliefs that seem to be honoring industry and workers, on bank buildings.

On the campus of Pajaro Middle School, a fascinating older structure. The architecture suggests an auditorium built with New Deal funding in the 1930’s, but I could find no information about it. Since it was a middle school and school was in session, I did not walk onto campus to look for any markings on the building. Pajaro is adjacent to Watsonville and is apparently an unincorporated area.

Niles rail depot, built by Southern Pacific in 1901. Though not well known, this depot was important in the rail history of the west since it was the west end of the very first transcontinental railroad. If you know rail depots, you’ll quickly realize this is sitting backwards. There’s a convoluted story behind that – after SP discontinued passenger service, they wanted to develop this piece of land, so the depot was disassembled and moved to a nearby location. BUT, Niles folk wanted it back and the city of Fremont (Niles was a city but later became a part of Fremont) wanted to restore the area, thus they worked out a deal which resulted in the depot being moved back. Since the rail side of the depot is more attractive, it was rotated for placement on the site. The depot is built of redwood and is one of the few depots built with ornamentation at the top of the columns. Source: nilesdepot.org/niles/history.html

The central part of the former town of Niles has a number of interesting buildings, but I could not find any history for any of those buildings. Interestingly, though, this former IOOF (International Order of Odd Fellows) building is now the Macau Cultural Center. I didn’t find any information regarding why they are in this building, but the Macau refers to Macanese Americans who are descendants of the Portuguese settlers of the Macau Peninsula of China, some of whom emigrated to California. Source: www.uma-casademacau.com/index.php/club-house

I should have taken more pictures of this building – the brickwork is unusual and there are multiple Middle-Eastern hints in the design – all visible when looking at a larger version. Also, the mural on the right includes a depiction of Charlie Chaplin, who made five movies in Nile (see later photo of a plaque).

Another interesting building in the center of Niles, with no easily discoverable history. The glazed brick on the facing, the black porcelain tiles, and the black casement windows gave it a rather striking image.

In a nicely preserved portion of downtown Pittsburg, the restored California Theatre. The California Theatre, opened in 1920, predates the elegant movie/vaudeville houses that opened nearby later in the 1920’s in Oakland and San Francisco. Like other of those elegant theatres, it closed in 1954 and remained vacant for very many years. Fortunately in 2011 the city of Pittsburg decided to renovate it, including a replica of the original marquee; it now serves as a performing-arts center for the community. Source: cinematreasures.org/theaters/5138