Gold Country: Auburn, Grass Valley, Nevada City
The foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California are scattered with small towns that originally came into being following the discovery of gold in 1848, particularly along present day Highway 49. I grew up in one of these towns (Grass Valley) and the effect of the gold mining past on these towns can still be seen today (at my high school we were The Miners). Here is map from Google to get a frame of reference where I am talking about
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Auburn (pop 12,462)
Auburn is the administrative seat for Placer County, one of the fastest growing counties in California. The city is ever more becoming the northeastern edge of the greater Sacramento metro area stretching up Highway 80.
For all its preservation of downtown, the majority of current development runs along Highway 49 in the form of strip malls and looks like this...onward to Grass Valley
Grass Valley (pop 10,922)
My home town. Grass Valley is the location of the Empire Mine, one of the richest gold mines in all of California (if you ever get a chance to visit, you should). My pictures are just of downtown, but, the city itself sprawls up and down highway 49, including many unincorporated areas.
A bit of San Francisco style victorians...
Our tallest on the right. It's a residential building for seniors.
This is a historical landmark. Some say it is haunted?
The Del Oro, our original movie theatre, still showing movies...
GVPD, not exactly excitement central.
Nevada City (pop 3,001)
The administrative seat for Nevada County, Nevada City is just two miles from Grass Valley so they are essentially the same metro area. But, Nevada City is more historically preserved, partially due to a ban on most chain stores within the city limits. While both GV and NC have sizable artist communities, Nevada City’s is more "eclectic".
Used for strip mining...
There are a lot of good restaurants downtown, this is one of them (or used to be anyway).
Another historical landmark, lots of plays are held here.
A reminder we're in the mountains
A bit of Art Deco
And unfortunate Modernism
Even a small town like Nevada City is in on the Mixed Use/Downtown Condos craze.
That's all. I hope you enjoyed my tour of my home town.
Part 2: Coloma, Placerville, Amador City, Sutter Creek
Part 3: San Andreas, Angel's Camp, Jackson
Part 4: Sonora
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Tour of California
Part One: Los Angeles
Part Two: Hollywood, Pasadena, Glendale, Beverly Hills
Part Three: Riverside, Santa Ana, Long Beach
Part Four: San Jose
Part Five: San Diego
Part Six: Fresno
Part Seven: Stockton, Modesto