Tri-City History in Photographs

A monthly column in the Tri-City Voice

Let’s explore local history through themes and photographs. Have a topic or idea you’d like us to explore? Email us at info@museumoflocalhistory.org.

No. 1: February 1, 2022: Hats

Hat (noun): A shaped covering for the head, usually with a crown and brim, especially for wear outdoors.

Drawbridge, 1917: Eight young men in suits and ties (four in hats) on the front deck of the Lomita Gun Club.

Mission San Jose, Oct 18, 1902: Sunderer Family (five in hats) on a picnic in Mission Peak Hills.

Niles, December 1907: Man in hat outside foundry in Niles.

Warm Springs, 1925: Eight hay crewmen in hats on lunch break. Manuel Ramos at far right. In background are wire bales and hay baler.

No. 2: March 1, 2022: Depots

Niles, 1876: George Fisher Family at Niles (now part of City of Fremont) Station. For many years the Fisher Family ran the Depot Restaurant and combo bar/hotel.

Centerville, July 04, 1911: View of July 4th Parade, facing east, with view at right of Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at Centerville, now part of City of Fremont.

Decoto, year unknown: The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at Decoto was located between Depot Road (east), H Street (north), Railroad Avenue (west) and Decoto Road (south) in the town of Decoto, now part of Union City.

Alvarado, 1972: View of Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at Alvarado (now part of Union City) in disrepair.

No. 3: March 29, 2022: Bicycles

Centerville, 1902: First motor bike club in front of Bell’s Bicycle Shop.

Newark, year unknown: “Candy” Annie Fowler stands next to bicycle, with men and boys gathered around.

Irvington, year unknown: Ladies on bicycles at Curtner Seminary for Young Ladies.

Ardenwood (Centerville/Newark), 1880s: Clara Patterson with her lady’s safety bicycle

No. 4: April 26, 2022: Schools

Alvarado / Alviso, March 1907: The original Alviso School during a flood. These buildings were replaced by a new school in 1910, and then a third in 1940.

Irvington, 1899: Curtner Ladies’ Seminary (this structure) opened in 1896 at the corner of Washington Boulevard (then known as Mission Road) and Driscoll Road. This was the second school on that site. The main Curtner building burned down July 4, 1899, and in 1900 reopened as Anderson’s Academy, a military school for boys that had relocated from nearby Alameda.

Decoto, year unknown: The first Decoto school opened in 1869 on the May Ranch bordering Dry Creek. The second grammar school (this structure) was built in 1883 on H Street. The third school was built in 1929 on the same spot. That school was improved over the years, eventually becoming an adult school within the New Haven Unified School District.

Newark, year unknown: Lincoln Public School, built in 1865, was Newark’s first school. It was a typical one-room school catering to grades K-8. The building remained open until 1945, but is now gone. Its legacy lives on in today’s Lincoln Elementary.

No. 5: June 7, 2022: Mission (Part 1 of 2)

1797 / 1997: This painting of the founding of Mission San Jose in 1797 is one of a series created by Hal Booth as a possible cover for the book Two Centuries of Mission San Jose by Philip Holmes, published in 1997. No paintings or drawings of this historic event were available, so Booth based his paintings on verbal records available.

1826: Watercolor painting of vaqueros roping a cow with Mission San Jose and Mission Peak in the background. This painting was done by William Smyth during the winter 1826-27 foray into the San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey, which occurred under the command of English Captain Frederick William Beechey during an expedition to chart the area and discover a Northwest Passage. In his notes Beechey wrote that in 1826, Mission San Jose possessed 15,000 head of cattle and 3,000 head of sheep, which roamed throughout today’s Tri-City Area.

Mid- to late-1800s: The Mission San Jose Complex during or just after the transition from Mexican to American rule, as photographed by Carleton Watkins – best known for his landscape photography, specifically of Yosemite. Watkins’ photographs made the west visually accessible to Americans in the east.

June 13, 1897: Open Air High Mass during the Centenary Anniversary of the founding of Mission San Jose. The full day program included a parade, high mass in three languages, a “bounteous” barbecue given free to all who attended, as well as live music and dance performances. Special trains came from San Francisco and San Jose into Niles and Irvington for this notable occasion.

No. 6: June 28, 2022: Mission (Part 2 of 2)

1916 (approximately): Early Committee for the Restoration of Mission San Jose – from left to right: Thomas Witherly, Frank Brackendort, Robert Gallegos, Manuel Silva, Evelyn Azevedo, Fritz Fernandes, Manuel Telles, (unk) Silva, Joe Azevedo. From 1913 – 1916, money was raised to help restore the Mission to some of its former glory. The “new” Mission was restored and dedicated in 1916.

1947: Taken from a scrapbook compiled to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mission San Jose, this image shows the site where the 3-day pageant was presented (now home to Ohlone College). This celebration drew a crowd of 50,000 visitors in May 1947.

1960s: Taken from a series of photographs called “Fremont as of 1969,” this image depicts the Ohlone Cemetery located at the intersections of Washington Blvd. and Paseo Padre Pkwy. This graveyard was used for centuries before the Spanish people came into contact with the native people of California. A granite monument at the burial ground suggests that 4000 burials took place there during the Mission Period. In 1964, as construction of Interstate 680 was planned, the Ohlone people put forth an effort to protect this sacred ground. Not only did they succeed in rerouting I-680, they also helped to alter the proposed path of Paseo Padre, thus saving the property from being paved over. The deed to the cemetery was officially transferred from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland to Ohlone Indian Tribe, Inc. in June 1971.

Spring 1983: Mission Days was celebrated in June 1983 amidst reconstruction of the Mission Church. Here the adobe walls are being built. The reconstruction began in 1979 with archaeological work and the moving of the rectory building from Mission Boulevard to Anza Street. In 1982, the wooden St. Joseph Church was moved to San Mateo. The reconstruction of the Mission Church took place over several years, and it was completed and dedicated in 1985.

No. 7: July 26, 2022: Shops

Irvington, 1898: H. Crowell Blacksmithing & Machine Works

Alvarado, 1910-1920: Interior of Auto Garage

Mission San Jose, 1900: Stanley’s Agricultural

Warm Springs, 1920s: Exterior of Liberty Garage and Gas Station