Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)'s photos

In another Bay Area town, just west of Antioch (see adjacent pictures), the former Enean Theatre of Pittsburg. Per Cinema Treasures (link below) the Enean opened in 1936 and was still open in 1957. It was in what was once the center of Pittsburg, a town named after Pittsburgh, PA in honor of their shared heritage as steel and coal mining heritage. The theatre was most recently used as an auto repair shop. There is another historic, preserved, theatre in Pittsburg (see adjacent picture), so it isn’t likely this is going to saved. Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburg,_California cinematreasures.org/theaters/13979

Despite having lived in the SF Bay Area for 13 years (‘83 to ‘96) and having been through Antioch on CA-4 many times through those years and subsequently, I never thought to go see what downtown Antioch looked like. Like many who have lived in the Bay Area, I thought of the small towns near the Bay in Contra Costa County as basically post-war (WWII) suburbs that probably didn’t have a lot of character or history. From a brief glimpse, it turns out I was missing quite a bit. This is looking at the older downtown section of Antioch, with the El Campanil Theatre on the right (see adjacent picture). It turns out that Antioch is one of oldest towns in California, dating back to when a landing on the San Joaquin river was built here in 1848 and then growing from coal mining and then copper mining in the 1860’s and the city being incorporated in 1872. Consistent with my assumptions, it did end up becoming a bedroom community of San Francisco/Oakland, but it seems to have a long history as a fairly distinct city. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioch%2C_California

The El Campanil Theatre, opened in 1928 as both a vaudeville and movie venue. Per the Cinema Treasures link below, the auditorium still has the original Moorish chandeliers and ornate painting. It’s now owned by a non-profit and continues to have both movies and live shows. Sources: cinematreasures.org/theaters/3197 www.elcampaniltheatre.com

Another bridge that makes you wonder ‘why?’. This is the Three Mile Slough bridge (build in 1949), south of Rio Vista. Three Mile Slough at this point connects to the Sacramento River/Ship Channel (the opposite side of the bridge), but on this side the Three Mile Slough is a short stretch of water (three miles long, apparently), connecting the Sacramento River with the San Joaquin River. While the San Joaquin has ocean-going ships going to the port of Stockton (another inland port), they don’t use this slough. So…. why an elaborate lift bridge which probably only raises for recreational boats?

Not a particularly exciting picture if you don’t know the history. The Sacramento River bridge in Rio Vista is a long lift bridge which is surprising to see when traveling that area. You’re in rural farming area alongside a river that seems to be mainly used recreationally, so why the need for a tall and long center span (see the picture linked below). The reason is that Sacramento, 30 miles further inland, is a port (see that picture). All that this picture proves is that the center section of the bridge does occasionally raise, though this time it was just for sail boat. It would be interesting to find the background on Sacramento being a port for ocean-going vessels. Though there was a history of steamboats on the river, it was not a port for ocean-going ships until a very long, straight, environmentally highly questionable ship channel was begun in 1949 to a port that didn’t open until 1963. The port is small and doesn’t handle container ships, so its focus is on bulk cargo such as the agricultural produce from the Central Valley. I don’t understand, other than graft, why a port was built in Sacramento when there exists good rail lines for moving freight to the much larger ports on San Francisco Bay. Rio Vista bridge: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/4594473893 Map of channel: goo.gl/maps/X9fphzSa7cREKsTS7 Sacramento port: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/4588242879

In an overly simplistic way of describing it, the Sacramento Delta and San Joaquin Delta (just a little further west and south) area was essentially a very large marsh formed by the meeting of those two rivers with the waters of Suisun Bay, a northeastern portion of San Francisco Bay. Since the 1800’s the Delta has been increasingly built up with levees to create agricultural land, while in the 1900’s and later, the waters from those same rivers were increasingly diverted for agriculture and residential use throughout the state (even down to LA). For various reasons including the age of the levees, changes in the level of the bay, and changes of the water coming into the Delta, the Delta has become increasingly fragile. At the same time, increased water demands in the state have increased pressure to tap the fresh water coming down the two rivers. For what seems like decades, there have been debates to both increase the water supply and reduce the stress on the Delta by using very large tunnels which capture the water further upstream and then divert it to the state and county water systems that deliver agricultural and residential water further south. During the administration of Governor Brown there was finally legislation passed to create such tunnels with one plan to have two 40’ diameter tunnels. Obviously there is continued debate about the wisdom of diverting so much water, and the impact on the Delta, thus the protests in the Delta. See both the Wikipedia page and the Restore the Delta pages. Having traveled throughout California and having seen the extreme damages to various parts of the state (e.g., the Owens Valley) of water diversion projects, and having seen the amount of agriculture that seems to be of questionable appropriateness for a state where half of it is predominantly dry, I’m willing to question the viability of additional major water diversions and tend to lean against such big fixes. But, the politics and environmental concerns are so complex that it seems impossible for most voters to be able to take a strong position on these issues. Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento%E2%80%93San_Joaquin_River_Delta www.restorethedelta.org/more-about-the-delta

The J-Mack ferry between Grand Island and Ryer Island in the Delta. The ferry is considered to be an extension of CA-220 and is operated by CalTrans, with no fee. On this trip the ferry on the other side of Ryer island was closed for repairs, thus I had to cross and come back. Source: dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/d4-solano-delta-ferries

Both of the ferries in the Delta are cable-guided.

This is a picture from back in 2007 that I discovered wasn’t on Flickr. I’m including the picture here because you seldom see any working (vs recreational) boats in the Delta.

One of the more interesting bridges, with interesting historic artifacts – click on the Steamboat Slough Bridge tag. (see adjacent picture)

In the Sacramento Delta, somewhere near Clarksburg.

This was on the actual grounds of the capitol, within just a few feet of one of the guarded entrances, and I had seen capitol guards in the area – obviously there is no policing of scooters there.

I’ll admit to a weakness for the Capitol building. I’ve lobbied for various causes in there and it just feels like what a working government should be like – busy with school kids, groups lobbying, legislators and staff, places to meet both formally and informally, all the settings for the sorts of bargaining needed for governing. Styled after the U.S. Capitol building, it was completed in 1874.

My timing was off for catching the ‘spiritual virtues of humankind’ doing exaggerated and suggestive selfies with wings. Part of an art installation on the Capitol Mall by a Mexico City artist. Source: www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-gets-its-wings-series-of-sculptures-installed-downtown/26613144

An art installation on the Capitol Mall by a Mexico City artist, meant “to evoke thoughts related to the spiritual virtues of humankind” Source: www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-gets-its-wings-series-of-sculptures-installed-downtown/26613144

Where are the police when you need them? These kids were riding on the sidewalks of the Capitol Mall in a group of about 8 on these rental bikes. I actually looked for a cop since these were paying no attention to any laws, with no sense of courtesy – they ran me off the sidewalk twice before I decided to take a stand and test them. I later found a spot where they were gathered and went to speak with an older woman who seemed to be in charge of them. I didn’t get anywhere with that because she didn’t speak English (sounded Italian).