“What’s Happened Since the Railroad’s Been Gone”

Our Speaker Series continues on Wednesday, April 6 at 3:00 pm with Stuart J. Swiedler.  His presentation,  The East Bay Hills Project  is a collection of largely unpublished aerial images accompanied by ground-based photos that follows the 17-mile right-of-way of the Sacramento Northern Railroad.  You’ll see highlights and details of Rockridge, Lake Temescal, the Mountain Boulevard Freeway, Montclair, Shepherd and Redwood Canyons, Moraga, Lafayette, Saranap and downtown Walnut Creek. You’ll feel as though you’re part of a group of hikers taking a direct route from the base of the Oakland hills to the oldest section of central Walnut Creek.  You see the beauty of the area, including scenic paths, lakes, reservoirs, creekbeds, redwood forests and small communities that have been shielded from major highways and large public centers. You’ll discover changes in the landscape brought about by major public works projects, development and preservation efforts that came to a head in the 1950’s and 1960’s. 

Stu will show special images including chilling photos of the Sacramento Northern Railroad tunnel connecting Redwood and Shepherd Canyons.  He will provide the location of a Roger Heller photo posted on the Web that has baffled experts and share never before published views of the Lafayette “Loop”. He will also address the challenge of documenting changes from the 1950’s in Lafayette’s southern- and eastern-most sections of Burton Valley, Glenside and the section shared with Saranap traversed by Olympic Boulevard.

Stu, an Oakland resident is a member of the Lafayette and Moraga Historical Societies.

For questions or reservations please call (925) 283-1848, send an email to lafayette.history@comcast.net or send your check made payable to LHS to  P.O. Box 133, Lafayette, CA 94549