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interesting... just today I read about how Vallejo is on the verge of bankruptcy
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BADG108NOD.DTL But it looks nice! http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/2...lejo039tp7.jpg |
Glad to see my home county, maybe some Dixon in the near future? :D
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I've seen bits of Vallejo, but Benecia apparently has much more to offer than what's visible from 680.
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These places look quite nice
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And besides... in the internet age... nothing is "out of the way"... I can access news and information in Buenos Aires just as quickly as Pittsburgh. |
Nice...but I wonder about the cost of living there? Nice shots.
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Beautiful!
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Great tour, stepper. All these years and I've never stopped in either city. Driven through enough times though. I'll definitely have to change that one of these days.
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Cool. I've always been curious about Vallejo for some reason, but have never seen it.
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Yet another great thread. The Bay Area has so many enchanting towns. Not sure about Vallejo, but perhaps in the coming years Vallejo will catch fire as the next up and coming area and a model for redevelopment. Stranger things have happened.
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Another thing Vallejo has going for it is direct ferry access to SF. It must take them around an hour, but it beats driving.
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Thanks for highlighting a couple of the Bay Area's lesser known cities. Vallejo does have big development plans for Mare Island (across the drawbridge in the first 2 pictures) and the downtown has tons of potential, but it's a shame about the bankruptcy. Hopefully things will turn around, it's an interesting little city. Benicia has a much quieter, small town vibe.
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Well Vallejo can be kind of boring, and most of it is suburban hell. But I see since the last time I was in central Vallejo its looking much better.
Also I have friend in the area, actually right behind the amusement park. Still I have never visit the park, perhaps one day as they can actually walk to it from their home. |
There is alot of Anglo California history, er Trivia
No instructions on pronouncing VAL-LAY-HO?
Admiral Farragut established a naval shipyard at Mare Island in 1854. It closed in 1996 - which led to a lot of Vallejo's current financial problems. Many Civil War era structures remain on Mare Island. They built and maintained nuclear subs during the Cold War. This is where the Napa River enters S.F. Bay. Benicia is where the Sacramento River enters S.F. Bay. Trains would cross the river between Benicia and Contra Costa on railroad ferries that were the largest that have ever been built. A bridge was built in 1930 to replace the ferries. Benicia's founders (1846) initially wanted to name their city Francesca, but decided otherwise because it sounded to similar to San Francisco. The US Army established the Benicia Arsenal in 1847, which became the army's staging area on the West Coast during the Civil War - General Grant served time there. The Army's only Camel Corps was established for a very short time, a failed military experiment. The Arsenal closed in 1964, and the town recovered when Exxon (then Humble Oil) built a huge oil refinery in town. A lot of old buildings (by California standards) are still there, some used as artist lofts, some empty. |
No. I thought it was obvious. I've never heard anyone mispronouce Vallejo before. :D
I just looked at it briefly, but, there is more information on the redevelopment going on Mare Island: http://www.lennarmareisland.com/ From the Vallejo Marina, I could see there were a lot of really interesting, old buildings on the island. I hope some of them are renovated and preserved in the new development. |
Benicia > Vallejo... judging from the photos. Heard lots of reference to Vallejo when I watched Zodiac!
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Awww, my old stomping grounds. Nice shots!
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