The Culvert Road

March 27, 2015, 4:15 pm

≫ Next: On This Site Stood the Home of John Singleton Copley

New York, Orleans County, Ridgeway

Only road under the Erie Canal in Ripley's Believe It Or Not. Culvert built in 1823.

(Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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On This Site Stood the Home of John Singleton Copley

March 28, 2015, 10:19 am

≫ Next: All Saints Church

≪ Previous: The Culvert Road

Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Boston

On This Site Stood the Home of John Singleton Copley Distinguished Historical and Portrait Painter Born in Boston 1737 Died in London 1815

(Arts, Letters, Music) Includes location, directions, 1 photo, GPS coordinates, map.

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All Saints Church

March 28, 2015, 10:44 am

≫ Next: Veterans Stadium

≪ Previous: On This Site Stood the Home of John Singleton Copley

Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Etna

All Saints Church
John Theodore Comes, architect
1914

(Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Veterans Stadium

March 28, 2015, 11:34 am

≫ Next: Norden Station

≪ Previous: All Saints Church

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia

A multi-purpose stadium opened here in 1971 and served as home to Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles, 1971-2003. The stadium was the site of three World Series in 1980, 1983, and 1993; two Major League Baseball All-Star games in 1976 and 1996; two National Football Conference Championship games in 1981 and 2003; and 17 Army-Navy football games. "The Vet" had a seating capacity of over 65,000; razed in 2004.

Original Dedication marker Philadelphia Veterans Stadium
April 4, 1971 Dedicated to those brave men and women of Philadelphia who served in defense of their country.

(Sports) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Norden Station

March 28, 2015, 11:35 am

≫ Next: Veterans Memorial

≪ Previous: Veterans Stadium

California, Nevada County, Norden

History
“new addition… modern design… large new ski hut… semi-rustic design… oiled pine walls … ideally suited to skiers’ requirements… central heating… Norden awaits the opening of the winter sports season.” So advertised the Southern Pacific in December, 1939, its Snowball Express.

Sugar Bowl opened in December, 1939 and the Southern Pacific wanted to take advantage of the growing popularity of skiing and winter sports. It put $26,000 into a new station at Norden - inside a snowshed (right).

The train left the Ferry Building every evening and made an overnight trip to Donner Summit for the round trip cost of $4.50 (Pullman berths $1.35 extra). Dinner was 75 cents. When the train arrived in the morning passengers awoke refreshed and ready for a day’s skiing at Norden, only fifteen minutes from Sugar Bowl. They were taken “by sleighs of the latest design pulled by tractors operating on a punctual and regular schedule.” One Snowball Express car sold and rented ski equipment and toboggans at “city prices.” Equipment could also be rented at the Norden Station.

Since there were not enough rooms on Donner Summit for all the people wanting to come, Southern Pacific parked some Pullman cars in Truckee where winter travelers could rent weekend berths. Wouldn’t that have been fun?

A Good Story
Peter Picard was a long time ski instructor at Sugar Bowl after WW II. One of his early jobs was to meet the Snowball Express skiers and get them situated. He remembers so many novices coming off the trains excited about skiing, but almost totally unprepared. He sometimes spent the entire day fitting equipment. The Snowball Express did not last too long. The liability of skiers wandering the snowsheds was too much for S.P.

(Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Veterans Memorial

March 28, 2015, 11:49 am

≫ Next: Tunnel 6

≪ Previous: Norden Station

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia

Philadelphia City Council in 1970 chose Veterans Stadium as the name for the city's new sports facility. Veterans Stadium opened April 10, 1971, was closed September 28, 2003 and imploded March 21, 2004.

To commemorate the site of Veterans Stadium, the Phillies dedicate this monument as an everlasting memorial to veterans who have defended America's freedom since its inception in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776.

(Military) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Tunnel 6

March 28, 2015, 11:50 am

≫ Next: St. Nicholas Croatian Church

≪ Previous: Veterans Memorial

California, Nevada County, Norden

History 1866 - Right here
Bam, bam, quarter turn; Bam, bam, quarter turn; Bam, bam, quarter turn; all day long, three shifts a day, day after day, week after week. Chinese workers pounded away at the solid granite. One worker held a star bit, turning it a quarter turn as two other workers pounded the bit with 18 lb. sledges. Four teams at four separate faces making progress only inches a day, cutting through 1659 feet of solid granite. Once a hole was drilled, it was packed with black powder, the fuse was set, and the workers ran. When the smoke cleared, workers hauled out the rubble — all by hand — no machines.

Imagine the courage holding the drill bit. Imagine the confidence in your friends. Imagine the accuracy of the sledge handlers; imagine their concentration, hour after hour.

That was Tunnel 6, the longest tunnel of the Sierra Crossing.

Working the solid granite went too slowly. They blasted a shaft straight down above the middle to open two more faces. Hauling the rubble by hand was too slow. A steam engine was brought in to haul up the rubble.

When all four faces joined up, they were off by only two inches — after two years. Amazing.

Facing granite was not the only obstacle. The workers faced avalanches and heavy snows: 40 feet that first winter. Workers didn’t see daylight for days at a time as they moved from their living sheds to work faces through tunnels dug into the snow.

Nitroglycerine would speed the tunneling but still, work wasn’t fast enough. The railroad hauled track, railroad cars and a steam engine over the pass, over the snow, above here, between Donner Peak and Mt. Judah, so they could continue building on the eastern side — to race across Nevada, to earn pay for miles, to beat the Union Pacific which was coming from the east.

Pictured here, Alfred A. Hart photographs: tunnel 6 incomplete top, “Shaft House over Summit Tunnel, American Peak (now Mt. Lincoln) in the distance,” and east portal of Tunnel 6, bottom.

Things to do right here
Hike to the Pacific Crest Trailhead at Lake Mary and instead of going up hill try and retrace the route going downhill of the old Lincoln Highway. It’s what appears to be a roadway that is now being overgrown.

Walk on the top, over the tunnel and see the monument there as well as the metal covering for the shaft that was used so the Chinese workers could work from the middle out as well as the outside in.

(Asian Americans • Man-Made Features • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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St. Nicholas Croatian Church

March 28, 2015, 11:52 am

≫ Next: Summit Hotel

≪ Previous: Tunnel 6

Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Millvale

St. Nicholas Croatian Church
1900, Frederick Sauer, Architect
Murals 1937, Maxo Vanka

(Churches, Etc.) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Summit Hotel

March 28, 2015, 12:26 pm

≫ Next: Sugar Bowl Academy

≪ Previous: St. Nicholas Croatian Church

California, Nevada County, Norden

History
The coming of the railroad made it easy for well-heeled tourists to visit Donner Summit and with the building of a large hotel, they came. Whole families came to enjoy the summit and stay for weeks at a time.

The first Summit Hotel was built in 1870, the year after the railroad was completed, and was called the Cardwell House. It sat right next to the railroad and not far from Tunnel 6. It burned in 1892 and a new hotel was immediately built a little west of the Dutch Flat Donner Lake Wagon Rd.

The original Cardwell House had 78 bedrooms, sitting rooms, ladies parlor, a dining room and saloon. The new Summit Hotel had 87 rooms, a very nice billiard room, and could accommodate 320 guests at one time in the dining room. In addition to the hotel, it had a grocery store, meat market, post office, postal telegraph office, and a dry goods store. It had one bathtub and a two story red painted outhouse (ladies on the second floor and gentlemen on the first). It took one man, full time, to deal with all the oil lamps and wood stoves. The hotel had its own sawmill to keep it supplied with wood for heating and cooking. Eventually the hotel got its own Delco Electric Plant when it switched to electricity.

The hotel employed dozens of workers: chambermaids, bartenders, a stable man, a roustabout, milkers, teamsters, a blacksmith, cooks, kitchen helpers, a man in the harness shop, servers, and two stage drivers.

To bring more guests special trains ran from Sacramento bringing revelers to regular dances.

That hotel burned in 1925 and was not rebuilt.
Summit Hotel “This Hotel is the finest Summer Resort in the State of California… For invalids no better resort than this can be found in the world, as the air is alway pure and invigorating.”
Sacramento Daily Union, Sept. 17, 1870.

Things to do right here
“Last Wednesday… a party… united in a picnic expedition to Donner Peak. … some engaged in gathering flowers, and others, admiring the grand scenery of the summit peaks, towering up like some grand castle, far above the snow shed… lunch was served out under pine trees which aided the mountain air as an excellent tonic for sharpening appetites. The party then proceeded up the mountain trail near the summit of Donner peak, passing over a large bank of snow. Here a gay game of snowballing was indulged in by the entire company. After fully ascending Donner Peak some grand scenery was presented to view. In the distance could be seen Truckee, Martis Valley, Tinker’s Knob, Castle Peak, Summit Valley, Red Mountain, Devil’s Peak and six lakes. From off this peak fair Donner reminds one of a mirror spread out beneath amid the mountains.”
Sacramento Daily Union, July 31, 1885

(Entertainment • Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Sugar Bowl Academy

March 28, 2015, 12:43 pm

≫ Next: Veterans Stadium Sculptures

≪ Previous: Summit Hotel

California, Nevada County, Norden

History
The current building at the head of Donner Pass on Old 40 was built for the Division of Highways in 1931 to serve as a dormitory for highway workers. That was the first winter the road was plowed and on-call workers needed accommodations. The idea to plow the road had been pursued by the Auburn Ski Club. When they finally took a train load of legislators to the snow the need was seen and the State began plowing the road. The building went up for auction in 1965 when Cal Trans moved to I-80 at Kingvale and became the Donner Spitz Inn with dormitory, bar, and a restaurant. By the early 70’s the inn became the Alpine Skills Institute, a center for telemark ski instruction. Now it is the Sugar Bowl Academy a private school. Pictured here: the building (1930’s) and its octagonal garage (collapsed by snow in 1983), the very first snow removal equipment (except trains) on Donner Summit, and signs at the top of Donner Summit (1930’s).

A Good Story
“Skiing on the 4th of July… the… average snow depth around Donner Pass that 1937-38 winter was 29 feet above the ground. I took a girl from San Francisco skiing - for her first time on skis - on part of the rope tow slope - by moonlight on the Fourth of July, 1938.” Johnny Ellis (built first rope tow on Donner Summit on the mountain behind the Sugar Bowl Academy building)

Things to do right here
The Pacific Crest Trail takes off for the south a couple of hundred yards down the dirt road to the side of Sugar Bowl Academy. Hike up the trail to the first left hand turn and follow the trail to the saddle between Donner Peak and Mt. Judah. Then scramble over the granite that takes you to the top of Donner Lake. It’s only a mile or so - uphill but then its all down hill on the way back. If you are hiking before August you will probably come across some snowfields on the north side of Judah - great for sliding on, making snow cones with, or using to cool off.

(Entertainment • Sports) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Veterans Stadium Sculptures

March 28, 2015, 12:46 pm

≫ Next: Transcontinental Railroad

≪ Previous: Sugar Bowl Academy

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia

Joe Brown, a South Philadelphia native and Temple University graduate, was a member of the Philadelphia Art Commission and a professor and sculptor at Princeton University. He was selected by the Art Commission in 1970 to produce four statues that graced Veterans Stadium from 1976 through 2003. The Phillies removed the statues prior to the demolition of the Vet, then restored and relocated them in March 2005 as a lasting tribute to Brown (1909-1985).

On the base of Tackle (1974):
Veterans Stadium was home to the Eagles from 1971 through two playoff games ins January 2003. Biggest of their 11 playoff games at the Vet was a 20-7 win over the bitter rival Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Champiionship game before 70,696 roaring fans, January 11, 1981.

The Vet was home to another pro football team, the Philadelphia Stars, of the United States Football League. The Stars played there during the 1983 and 1984 USFL seasons. Included was one playoff game in their initial season.

Seventeen times the Army/Navy college football classic was played at the Vet. The stadium was home to Temple University football, 1974-2002. Among other college football teams that made appearances at the Vet were Notre Dame, Penn State, BYU, Villanova, Florida A&M, Howard University and Delaware State.

On the base of Play at Second Base (1974):
The Phillies played at Veterans Stadium, 1971-2003. They reached the post-season seven ties and won three National League pennants (1980, 1983, 1993). The Phillies' greatest moment was winning the World Series over the Kansas City Royals, October 21, 1980, before 65,838 delirious fans at the Vet. Twice, the Phillies hosted the All-Star Game, 1976 and 1996, with the National League winning both games.

Following the last out of the 2003, season, the Phillies closed Veterans Stadium with an emotional Closing Ceremony that featured a parade of Alumnia and the 2003 team. Tug McGraw, who got the final out in the 1980 World Series win, threw the simulated last pitch. The date was September 28, 11,859 days after the first game, April 10, 1971.

Hundreds of youth from the area played at Veterans Stadium through numerous baseball programs, including the Carpenter Cub for high school players, Liberty Bell Classic and Bill Giles Cup for colleges and Philadelphia Recreation Department games. The Home Run Derby championships were held there annually.

On the base of Full-Swing (The Batter) (1974):
Veterans Stadium hosted many concerts including Bruce Springsteen, Genesis, Madonna, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Who, Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, U-2, Billy Joel, Elton John, Dave Matthews and N'Sync. Other events included religious conventions, pro wrestling, Hero Scholarship Thrill Show, truck/tractor pull and closed circuit championship boxing.

On the base of Punter (1974):
The Philadelphia Catholic League football playoffs were held at the Vet during the 1970s and 1980s. South Philadelphia High School played a football game there in 1983. Soccer, including two pro soccer teams, the Fury and the Atoms, plus a World Soccer Exhibition in 1991, took place at the stadium.

(Arts, Letters, Music • Sports) Includes location, directions, 9 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Transcontinental Railroad

March 28, 2015, 12:49 pm

≫ Next: Donner Summit Overlook

≪ Previous: Veterans Stadium Sculptures

California, Nevada County, Norden

History
It was a race. The Union and Central Pacific Railroads were crossing the continent with steel rails each trying to build the most miles and so get the most money from the government. The rugged Sierra and its winter climate were challenges. 15 tunnels were needed - each through solid granite, all with black powder, nitroglycerine, and hand labor.

In 1866 the railroad came to Summit Valley. 8,000 Chinese workers and a few whites, toiled on the grading, rail laying, and tunnel building. There were camps up and down the route along with the support needed to maintain them.

The wail of the train whistle comes through Summit Valley many times a day now. Once it was only a dream but America was growing, and people would come to California, the land of promise. A railroad would encourage migration and enable California’s bounty to be shared with the rest of the world. Theodore Judah was sure he could conquer the Sierra and he set to work to lay out the route. He did and the railroad was built overcoming labor shortages, strikes, accidents, floods, geography, fire and avalanche. When it was done, a ribbon of steel joined the nation.

The completion of the railroad in 1869 meant that for $140 you could travel from New York to San Francisco in 6 days, 20 hours - much less than the six months it had taken the wagon trains not long before.

A Good Story
The CPRR was so powerful it could even move mountains. In order to get the higher fee for construction of track in the Sierra versus in the flat Central California, the CPRR forced a change in the definition of where the Sierra began. They moved the mountains miles west and closer to Sacramento.

Theodore Judah, having surveyed the local trees, did not think snow would be a problem over Donner Summit. He was sure accumulations would not be much and could easily be pushed out of the way. He was wrong. There were 44 snowstorms the winter of 1866. On the Summit 35 feet of snowfall is average and 60 feet possible. Not long after, there were 40 miles of snowsheds protecting the tracks and preventing passengers from seeing the majestic Summit scenery… but that’s a story for another sign.

(Railroads & Streetcars) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Donner Summit Overlook

March 28, 2015, 1:01 pm

≫ Next: Connie Mack

≪ Previous: Transcontinental Railroad

California, Nevada County, near Norden

History
“I don’t believe I have adequate words to describe the real beauty of Donner Pass. As we stood looking down I had a floating sensation… I lost all fear as I looked at one of the most beautiful blue lakes (Donner Lake) I have ever seen. Everything below us seemed suspended in shimmering light.” - Thornton Round, 1914, from The Lincoln Highway California.

Donner Pass is beautiful but its uniqueness comes from more than beauty. Its history is unique. You can stand on Donner Pass in the same place that Native Americans crossed for thousands of years, in the same place the remnants of the Donner Party crossed or that the first wagon train, the Stephens Party, (Stephens Peak is nearby) used. From that place you can see the first transcontinental highway and the first transcontinental railroad. Under your feet, or nearby, are transcontinental fiber optic cables and a gas pipeline. Overhead you can see the transcontinental air route and even higher, at night, you can see passing satellites.

A Good Story
Look east to Donner Lake and then right. That is Schallenberger Ridge. Moses Schallenberger and two companions stayed behind with most of the Stephens Party wagons in 1844. When his companions decided to follow the main group in to California, Moses remained alone for the winter. He ate coyote (“stringy”) and fox (edible) and survived in a little cabin that would be used by part of the Donner Party two years later. Moses was 17 years old. His friends came back for him in the spring and together they hiked over the Summit snow down to California. The Native Americans stripped the wagons - the first vehicle thefts in California?

Things to do right here
There is so much to do here: bike ride Old 40 to Cisco and back, watch the rock climbers, explore the petroglyphs, look for old ads painted on the rocks, trace the Lincoln Highway, check out China Wall, hike up Donner Peak (or Judah or Stephens or… ) Crazy snowboarders board down the rocky crags on the south side of the pass. You might not want to do that.

(Natural Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Connie Mack

March 28, 2015, 1:36 pm

≫ Next: Rainbow Bridge

≪ Previous: Donner Summit Overlook

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia County, Philadelphia

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, 1901-1950. His teams won nine American League pennants and five World Series. Mr. Mack never wore a uniform, preferring to manage in street clothes while holding a scorecard to signal his players. This statue was unveiled near Connie Mack Stadium on April 16, 1957, moved to Veterans Stadium in 1971 and relocated here March 30, 2004, just before the opening of Citizens Bank Park.
Mr. Baseball
1862 - 1956
Connie Mack's Sportsman's Creed
I promise to play the game to the best of my ability at all times.
I will always play to win, but if I lose I will never look for excuses which would detract from my opponent's victory.
I will always abide by the rules of the game on the diamond as well as in my daily life.
I will never gloat in victory or pity myself in defeat.
I will judge a teammate as an individual and never on the basis of his race or religion.
A's Wall of Fame
From 1978 through 2004, members of the Philadelphia Athletics were honored in the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame located in the 200-level concourse at Veterans Stadium.

Alumni of the A's who were honored:
1978 · Connie Mack, Manager
1979 · Jimmie Foxx, First Baseman
1980 · Lefty Grove, Pitcher
1981 · Al Simmons, Outfielder
1982 · Mickey Cochrane, Catcher
1983 · No Award Presented
1984 · Jimmy Dykes, Third Baseman
1985 · Eddie Plank, Pitcher
1986 · Rube Waddell, Pitcher
1987 · Eddie Collins, Second Baseman
1988 · Wally Moses, Outfielder
1989 · Bob Johnson, Outfielder
1990 · Elmer Valo, Outfielder
1991 · Chief Bender, Pitcher
1992 · Jack Coombs, Pitcher
1993 · Frank Baker, Third Baseman
1994 · Bobby Shantz, Pitcher
1995 · Eddie Joost, Shortstop
1996 · Eddie Rommel, Pitcher
1997 · Ferris Fain, First Baseman
1998 · Bing Miller, Ourfielder
1999 · Sam Chapman, Outfielder
2000 · George Earnshaw, Pitcher
2001 · Gus Zernial, Outfielder
2002 · Rube Walberg, Pitcher
2003 · Rube Oldring, Outfielder

(Sports) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Rainbow Bridge

March 28, 2015, 1:38 pm

≫ Next: Petroglyphs

≪ Previous: Connie Mack

California, Nevada County, near Norden

History
The bridge “eliminated for all time the terrors of the Donner grade from the state highway system of California.”

Automobile travel could be a harrying affair in the old days and Donner Summit was a difficult route. You can trace the old route of the Lincoln Highway by looking up and down the hill. It’s the old dirt sections you can still see. By the 1920’s auto travel was increasing in popularity. People loved the freedom the auto represented. With more people traveling there was demand for fewer bad roads. Interestingly it was the U.S. Forest Service that undertook to improve transportation up to Donner Pass. The Forest Service wanted to facilitate the transportation of lumber out of the Tahoe Basin and the sometimes 18% grades on Donner Summit prevented transit. The Forest Service contracted to have Rainbow Bridge built. It was “a giant highway engineering feat… requiring two years of constant work” to build the bridge, the first with a grand and compound curve - a remarkable feat in those days. It was finished for $37,304.32. Not only was lumber transport improved, but the bridge brought more people to Donner Summit and Lake Tahoe. Pictured here, top to bottom: the bridge in the late 20’s, 1933, and under construction.

A Good Story
Rainbow Bridge has been featured in movies like “True Lies” and in many television commercials and print ads. In the summer of 2007 a bear, pictured below, crawled up in the supports and achieved its 15 minutes of fame before being tranquilized and remove.

Things to do right here
• Check out the petroglyphs and China Wall on the west side of the curve just downhill.
• Scramble among the rocks.
• Watch the rock climbers
• In winter watch daredevils ski and snowboard down the cliff faces of • Mt. Donner just to the south.
• Enjoy the views of Donner Lake to the east.

(Bridges & Viaducts • Roads & Vehicles) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Petroglyphs

March 28, 2015, 1:53 pm

≫ Next: Villa Francesca

≪ Previous: Rainbow Bridge

California, Nevada County, Norden

History
The Washoe Tribe lived on the eastern face of the Sierra Nevada mountains for more than 6,000 years. They didn’t actually call themselves the Washoe Tribe, though. They called themselves the Waashiw (Wa-she-shu) tribe, meaning “people from here” in the Washoe language. The Washoe language is unique because it was left virtually untouched due to the isolation of the tribe from other tribes.

The Washoe people were very peaceful and had few enemies. One of their enemies was the Paiute tribe. The Washoe were also very independent, so they formed their own language. One of the main food items of the Washoe Tribe was pine nuts.

A Good Story
The Washoe had many traditions. A well-known tradition was when a young boy killed a deer, he was considered a good hunter and earned respect from the older men. A celebration would then be thrown in honor of the first kill, representing the boy’s entry into manhood. Another tradition the Washoe were known for was weaving baskets. A member of the tribe named Datsolalee became famous for her baskets.
Washoe Language:
Hello — Huna me hesibr
My Name Is — _______ de gum dia le’i
Long Time No See — Ha lina meligi esi

Things to do right here
First, please respect the petroglyphs; do not walk on them.
Walk a little past this sign to the petroglyphs. Walk up to the Rainbow Bridge and admire the view. Hike to the top of Mt. Stephens just north of Rainbow Bridge. Hike up the north side of Old Highway 40 to the catfish ponds. Beyond the catfish ponds are nice lakes: Angela, Flora, and Azalea. Watch the rock climbers on the different rock walls. Trace the Lincoln Highway and walk the route. It is the road cut you see above. Go up through the underpass and then through the train tunnel - the original Tunnel 6 built in 1867 for the transcontinental railroad.

If you are more ambitious, go to the Summit and take the first left after the Sugar Bowl Academy. Go down to the turn and park. To the left is a trailhead for the Pacific Crest. Turnoffs will lead you to the tops of Mts. Donner and Judah for spectacular views. From Donner Peak you can look 1000 feet straight down to Donner Lake.

This sign was produced by the Brisbin Crew of Sierra Expeditionary Learning School in Truckee, a fourth and fifth grade class during the Fall of 2010.

(Native Americans) Includes location, directions, 5 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Villa Francesca

March 28, 2015, 1:57 pm

≫ Next: The Warner Grand Theatre

≪ Previous: Petroglyphs

California, Los Angeles County, Rancho Palos Verdes

This plaque identifies the estate of Harry E. Benedict (1890-1977). Mr. Benedict, an associate of Frank A. Vanderlip, the initial developer of 16,000 acres of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, completed the gatehouse and the farmstead in 1930. The name "Villa Francesca" honors Mrs. Francis Homberg Benedict, his wife. The architect was Gordon B. Kaufmann, one of Southern California's masters of the Mediterranean style. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dedicated as an historic site October 10, 1987

(Notable Buildings) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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The Warner Grand Theatre

March 28, 2015, 1:59 pm

≫ Next: Palos Verdes Peninsula Habitat

≪ Previous: Villa Francesca

California, Los Angeles County, San Pedro

Opened as the Warner Brothers Theatre on January 20, 1931, it was designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca and interior designer Anthony B. Heinsbergen and was the first sound-equipped theater in the South Bay. Jack Warner called it "The castle of your dreams." Today the Warners Grand is one of the nation's few surviving Art Deco motion picture palaces, with original decor intact.

(Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Man-Made Features) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Palos Verdes Peninsula Habitat

March 28, 2015, 2:06 pm

≫ Next: Memorial Stadium

≪ Previous: The Warner Grand Theatre

California, Los Angeles County, Rancho Palos Verdes

The Palos Verdes Peninsula supports a plant community called coastal bluff scrub that contains elements of coastal sage scrub. Coastal sage scrub communities are composed of soft, witty sub-shrubs. Coastal sage scrub seen at this site is dominated by lemonadeberry (Rhus integrifolia), California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) and small amounts of cactus.

The California sagebrush and California buckwheat are the natural habitat of a bird called the coastal California Gnatcatcher. Indigenous to the coastal zones of California, the California Gnatcatcher is a threatened species that feeds on insects gleaned from California sagebrush and buckwheat. The California Gnatcatcher maintains a year-round territory but stays within the home range during the breeding season. Since these areas of the Peninsula maintain California sagebrush, keep an eye out for a California Gnatcatcher, like the one pictured to the left.

(Animals • Horticulture & Forestry) Includes location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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Memorial Stadium

March 28, 2015, 2:16 pm

≫ Next: Cartago Boat Landing

≪ Previous: Palos Verdes Peninsula Habitat

Alabama, Dallas County, Selma

Erected and dedicated to the
memory of those of Dallas
County who fought and died in
two world wars that we may
retain our great heritage of
freedom, justice and democracy

World War I
April 6, 1917–November 11, 1918
World War II
December 7, 1941–September 2, 1945

(Sports • War, World I • War, World II) Includes location, directions, 4 photos, GPS coordinates, map.

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