Downtown Danville Historic Walking Tour Preview

1

Danville Depot

205 Railroad Ave.The first San Ramon Branch Line Southern Pacific train arrived on June 7, 1891. Farmers built warehouses next to the tracks and were able to ship crops in all kinds of weather. The depot building is now rhe Museum of the San Ramon Valley.

2

Veterans Memorial Building

400 Hartz Ave.This building was constructed, at a cost of $18,000, to commemorate the San Ramon Valley's World War I veterans. Today it is used for meetings and events, by dedicated VFW, American Legion members and others. Commemorative plaques from the Danville Women's Club are placed at the front.

3

Danville Meat Market

114 E. Prospect Ave. This Lawrence family building was originally used as a mear warehouse and market.

4

Elliot's Bar

369 Hartz Ave. Established by Hiram Elliott in 1907 on the corner of Diablo Road and Front Street. The bar moved to its present location in 1912. During prohibition, Elliott's became the Danville Ice Cream Parlor because Elliott was a law-abiding man.

5

McDonald's Drug Store

345 Hartz Ave.The first floor was a drug store, ice cream fountain and news depot that also sold candy, phonographs and records. The McDonald family lived on the second floor.

6

Firehouse Building

340 Hartz Ave. The Danville Fire Protection Discrict purchased this lot for $600. It cost approximately $5,ooo to build the station. Volunteer firemen could hear the siren as far away as Alamo. The Town of Danville installed a plaque to remember volunteer firemen.

7

Pynn's Drygoods Store

327 Hartz Ave. The original building is one of the oldest buildings constructed for commercial use in downtown Danville. The building also once housed Danville's first beauty parlor and a harness shop.

8

St. Isadore Catholic Church (site)

Linda Mesa and Hartz Dedicated in 1910, this Romanesque church served the first Danville parish. It was razed in 1963.

9

Elliot House

146 Diablo Road This home is situated on a large lot facing the County Road, now called Diablo Road.

10

The Old Oak Tree

Diablo RoadEstimated to be over 350 years old, the tree is surrounded by a structural brace to prevent the branches from falling. The tree is a symbol for Danville, as well as its most notable landmark.

11

Close Family House and Property

Diablo Rd/Front Street The Close family home was located west of Front Street on Diablo Road, surrounded by gardens. Their ice cream socials were well-known. Several Close-owned 19th century commercial buildings faced Front Street.

12

Fredrickson House

172 E. Prospect Ave. This house, first located where the Veterans Memorial Building now stands, moved to its current location in 1922. In 1978, the house was converted into a retail shop.

13

Danville Post Office

145 E. Prospect Ave. Built by Dr. John Biemer in 1946, 161 Prospect was the modern Danville Post Office afrer World War II. The American eagle and mail slot from the 1950s post office have been integrated into the new Prospector's Square building.

14

Cohen/Vecki House

169 Front StreetThis house was built for Michael and Matilda Cohen who had a general store on Front Street, the town's main street for 50 years. The subsequent owners, Victor and Claire Vecki, lived in this house from 1906 until the late 1930s. Dr. Victor Vecki was Danville's first dentist.

15

Danville Presbyterian Church

201 Front Street The original Contra Costa Presbyterian Church was built in 1876 on this site. This structure burned on May 27, 1932, and a new church building was constructed in the Mission Revival style. In 1989, the Town of Danville restored the building which became the Town Meeting Hall.

16

Grange Hall

233 Front Street The Grange Hall was built by a national organization of farmers. In 1913, that building was raised up and became the second floor of a new fraternal and social club. The Grange initiated the first public library and high school. Today, the Town of Danville owns the building, which has a theater and offices.

17

Danville Grammar School (site)

The Danville grammar schools on this site, west of Front Street, had classes from the first to the eighth grade. In 1896 a new building was constructed. The no-nonsense teacher A. J. Young was in charge from 1883-1900.

18

Eugene O'Neill Commemorative

Front Street Park Nobel prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill lived at Tao House in the hills west of Danville from 1937-1944 and wrote his final great plays there. Interpretive panels on his life and plays are included. Call the National Park Service at 925-838-0249 for a reserved tour of Tao House.

19

Eddy House

500 Hartz Ave. The original San Ramon Valley Union High School was located in a house east of this site, beginning with 30 students.

20

Shuey/Podva House

100 School StreetOriginal owners John and Lelia Shuey owned a general store and the hay and grain warehouses west ofthe Danville Depot. He was the postmaster from 1889-1893. Le May and Cecil Podva lived in the home from 1938 until 1999. Branagh Development preserved and restored the home and constructed an addition.

21

Bert Read House

571 Hartz Ave. Bert Read was a constable in the 1920's. He lived here with his wife Ramona. The Doyle Family preserved the home and now use it as a law office

22

Cabral House

551 Hartz Ave. Tony Cabral built this house, which has never been altered. It includes the characteristic porch pillars, low-pitched front gable roof and double-hung windows.

23

Hartz House

455 Hartz Ave. John and Catharina Hartz owned 220 acres in Danville, stretching from behind the buildings on Front Street to the base of Las Trampas. They sold 8 1/2 acres to Southern Pacific for the railroad station, then subdivided the remainder into 74 lots. Thus, Hartz Avenue began. The Hartz family lived in this house during retirement.

24

Freitas House

439 Hartz Ave. Joseph Freitas built this house for his bride Annie Regello in 1913. She died six months later of tuberculosis. Four years later, he married Julia Noia and lived here three more years before moving to his ranch, east of Danville.

25

Dodge House

425 Hartz Ave. The Dodge family lived here for 37 years. Mrs. Emma Dodge was the postmaster of Danville between 1913 and 1933. Her husband was blind and would get the mail at the train station and deliver it to his wife.

26

Danville Hotel/McCauley House

411 Hartz Ave. The two-story hotel, now painted red with white trim, was built after the railroad came to Danville. The hotel originally faced Railroad Avenue. When it was evident that Hartz Avenue would be the main street, the hotel was turned around and moved to this location in 1927. The McCauley family ran the hotel. Their one-story house sits to the south of the hotel today, and is considered to have transition style between Queen Anne Cottae and Colonial Revival.

27

George Foster House

402 Hartz Ave. George and Minnie Foster lived in this Stick/Eastlake style house. Mr. Foster worked for WPA, a federal public works program during the Depression. He helped grade the high school track.They were also foster parents.

28

Joe Foster House/Original Danville Emporium Site

404 Hartz Ave. Joseph and Annie Foster lived in back of the Emporium by 1914. Annie Foster had a kitchen fire which burned down the Emporium and two other houses in 1926. The existing two craftsman style houses were built after the fire. Some prices around 1922: 1 ladies waist ­ $1.23; 1 pair bloomers - $50¢; 1 pair white silk gloves - $75¢; 1 pair boys underdrawers - $30¢; 1 bungalow apron - $75¢; 1 house dress - $1.20.