St. Mary’s College and Rheem Valley Comparative Views 1930s vs. 1960s

The Mainline Moraga section covered the 1950s. This section will present the St. Mary's Road-Moraga Road divide through St. Mary's College, from this northeast view from Feb. 9, 1937 to those after SN abandonment in the 1960s. Labelled Photo 19, Pacific Resources Inc., CC-C-11-1, now HJW Geospatial Inc, Pacific Aerial Surveys, Oakland CA.

L22-05-HJW Geospatial Inc, Oakland, CA, & collection of the Moraga Historical Society, Moraga, CA, (Image 1 of 16)

Detail of L22-05, northeast view, Feb. 9, 1937. St. Mary's College was moved from Oakland's Brickpile facility at 30th and Broadway to this spot in 1928. The 11 original buildings constructed during 1928-1929 are still in use today. See annotated version in the following image. Photo 19, Pacific Resources Inc., CC-C-11-1, now HJW Geospatial Inc, Pacific Aerial Surveys, Oakland CA

L22-10-HJW Geospatial Inc, Oakland, CA, & collection of the Moraga Historical Society, Moraga, CA, (Image 2 of 16)

Annotated version of L22-10. The SN right-of-way is in yellow, on the opposite side of the road relative to today's Lafayette-Moraga Trail. The SN passenger station is at the red arrow. The entrance to the college was to the north of where it is today, requiring a bridge over the SN, marked by the green arrow. Lake LaSalle is marked by the purple arrow.

L22-11-HJW Geospatial Inc, Oakland, CA, & collection of the Moraga Historical Society, Moraga, CA, (Image 3 of 16)

This 1947 northeast view documents the absence of the bridge over the SN at the far left, middle, and the new entrance to the college as we know it today. SN records from the Western Railway Museum Archives indicate the grade crossing signal for the new entrance was operational by June 1942, but the bridge survived until late 1945.

L22-15-HJW Geospatial Inc, Oakland, CA, and the collections of the Saint Marys College of California, (Image 4 of 16)

Jumping ahead to 1960, this northwest view of Lamorinda shows St. Mary’s College in the foreground, and a view down the length of Rheem Boulevard to Moraga Road and the Rheem Valley Shopping Center.

L22-20-RL Copeland Photo from the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, (Image 5 of 16)

A closer view of L22-20 relative to L22-10 shows the college has experienced limited expansion in buildings, but much in vegetation. The abandoned SN right-of-way is still prominent, as are the SN station, and the scars of the old college entrance up to the point of the bridge crossing the railroad.

L22-25-RL Copeland Photo from the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, Det, (Image 6 of 16)

This southeast view from 1960 provides a complement to the previous image.

L22-30-RL Copeland Photo from the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, Det, (Image 7 of 16)

The bare cliff above Lake LaSalle is prominent in this 1960 north view featuring St. Mary’s College Chapel and the open space of the Rheem Valley. Appreciate that the lake was constructed to store water from Las Trampas creek. More later ...

L22-35-From the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, (Image 8 of 16)

A west view with the Chapel from 1960 shows orchards planted by the Moraga Company earlier in the century, behind which in Orinda is the Joaquin Moraga Adobe built in 1841, the oldest surviving residence in Contra Costa County. The high peak is Round Top, the 1,763 foot extinct volcano in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, begun as Round Top Regional Park in 1936, one of the first three parks of the East Bay Regional Park District.

L22-40-From the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, (Image 9 of 16)

This west view from 1962 highlights the rapid growth in the region, including the construction of the Moraga Reservoir. Note from 1960-62 how Draeger Drive was extended to St. Mary's Road, providing road access to the water supply. Access to the front of the college from the west is no longer possible south of Rheem Boulevard.

L22-45-Herrington-Olsen Photo from the collection of the Moraga Historical Society, Moraga, CA, 7, (Image 10 of 16)

A closer south view of the college itself in 1962 still includes the SN right-of-way, the footprint of the razed SN shelter, and the scars of the original entrance. This image documents the transformation of Lake LaSalle to a wetland. See http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/precious-water-and-watersheds/saint-marys-college-seasonal-swamp

L22-50-Herrington-Olsen Photo, from the collection of the Moraga Historical Society, Moraga, CA, 7, (Image 11 of 16)

On the subject of reservoirs and Lake LaSalle, this southeast view from 1960 shows the Rheem Boulevard intersection with Moraga Road and the Rheem Shopping Center, left, center. This area became important when an acute need for water developed at the college in 1942.

L22-55-RL Copeland Photo from the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, (Image 12 of 16)

With this southeast view from Oct. 23, 1954 down Rheem Boulevard as backdrop, St. Mary’s College became a temporary Navy pre-flight training site in 1942, increasing the population seven-fold. Las Trampas Creek and its man-made reservoir, Lake LaSalle, were felt to be inadequate to meet the water demands.

L22-60-RL Copeland Photo from the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, Det, (Image 13 of 16)

Back to a similar southeast view from 1960, the new water needs resulted in construction of a pipe to the EBMUD water main near the intersection of Rheem Boulevard and Moraga Road. A critical piece in the history of the college. For the full story see http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/pipe-dream-fulfilled

L22-65-RL Copeland Photo from the collections of the Saint Marys College of California Archives, Det, (Image 14 of 16)

Now ahead to 1965, northwest view of the Rheem Boulevard-Moraga Road intersection. Growth in housing and the shopping center are evident, and the athletic facilities for the new high school, Campolindo, established in 1962, are seen toward the upper right.

L22-70-Herrington-Olsen Photo from the collection of the Moraga Historical Society, Moraga, CA, 8 , (Image 15 of 16)

The comparative views from the St. Mary's Road-Moraga Road divide through St. Mary's College set the stage for a comprehensive look at ground-level images of this section of Moraga in the future. This 1946 image of a reservoir is another reminder of the critical role that the water supply played in the development of the East Bay Hills.

L22-75-Courtesy East Bay Municipal Utility District, P-DT-248, (Image 16 of 16)