Waterside Terrace History Walking Tour

Name: Waterside Terrace History Walking Tour
Start: 2025-09-13T10:00:00-07:00
Location: Fernside Blvd & Fairview Ave, Alameda, CA 94501, United States

Schedule

Sat, 13 Sep, 2025 at 10:00 am

UTC-07:00

Location

Fernside Blvd & Fairview Ave, Alameda, CA 94501, United States | Alameda, CA

This tour will also be held on Sunday, September, 14. In 1858, Henry Gibbons Jr., M.D., purchased the property that became Waterside Terrace. The good doctor’s investment, defined roughly by today’s High Street, Fairview Avenue and Fernside Boulevard—was mostly marshland that bordered San Leandro Bay. In 1902, when the Corps of Engineers shaped the Tidal Canal, their dredges created “made land” here. Beginning in 1909, the Southern Pacific Railroad stepped in and built Fernside Boulevard as a right-of-way for its Big Red trains. The city gave its permission with the condition that the Southern Pacific added a paved road along the tracks. The arrival of the trains and the new road attracted speculators who purchased this property with eyes on development. The trains began running on June 1, 1911.
The following year, developers stepped in with plans to build 160 homes on a tract that featured a pair of ideas new and radical in their day: terraced lots and curving streets. And the homes! C. C. Adams (remember him from Mastick Park?) hired builders who put up homes in the impressive new Prairie style inspired by creations at Frank Lloyd Wright’s studio in Oak Park, Illinois. On this walk we’ll learn to distinguish this new style from the bungalows in the neighborhood. It will be easy: Look for the homes with those horizontal lines.
To prepare you for the tour Dennis will provide a short—one hour or less—illustrated lecture to provide additional context. This lecture is optional, and you will enjoy and learn from each tour even without attending the introductory presentation. The link to watch the lecture will be sent to ticket holders before their tour.
The tour will end where it started and should cover 90–100 minutes over 1–2 miles. We suggest you wear comfortable shoes as well as sunblock and bring water. Mobility devices, strollers (kids under 6 are FREE!), and well-behaved (or especially cute) dogs are always welcome.
Photo: Southern Pacific Red electric train on Fernside Boulevard near High St. taken in 1923. This train is headed around the loop towards Encinal Ave. The Red Trains ran until 1941. Courtesy Alameda Museum.