Downtown Danville Historic Walking Tour

Danville Historic Walking Tour

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Downtown Danville Historic Walking Tour

Danville, California 94526, United States

Created By: Town of Danville

Tour Information

The 28 locations highlighted on the tour are historical gems within Downtown Danville which include preserved and renovated buildings as well as architecture. Tour content is presented in collaboration with the Danville Heritage Resource Commission and the Museum of the San Ramon Valley.


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What You'll See on the Tour

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 S... Read more
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 p... Read more
114 E. Prospect Ave.  This Lawrence family building was originally used as a mear warehouse and market.
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... Read more
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.
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 ... Read more
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.
Linda Mesa and Hartz  Dedicated in 1910, this Romanesque church served the first Danville parish. It was razed in 1963.
146 Diablo Road  This home is situated on a large lot facing the County Road, now called Diablo Road.
Diablo Road Estimated 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.
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. ...
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. 
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... Read more
169 Front Street This 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 1... Read more
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 re... Read more
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... Read more
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.
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 Nation... Read more
500 Hartz Ave.  The original San Ramon Valley Union High School was located in a house east of this site, beginning with 30 students.
100 School Street Original 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. Br... Read more
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
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.
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... Read more
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 Dan... Read more
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.
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 ... Read more
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. ...
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.... Read more

 

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