Temescal Creek culvert Keith Ave c1969
Description:
Construction of a new underground culvert for Temescal Creek (looking southwest), Rockridge district, Oakland Calif. The new culvert was designed to reroute Temescal Creek under the planned Grove-Shafter Freeway (Highway 24) and BART. The Rockridge BART station occupies this site today. Keith Avenue is in the background.
Date of Document:
circa 1969
Document Author:
Unknown (Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey)
Geographic Location:
College Avenue and Shafter Avenue, Oakland, Calif.
Context:
Flowing down from the Oakland hills through the flatland communities of Rockridge, Temescal, and Emeryville to San Francisco Bay, Temescal Creek forms one of the largest watersheds in Oakland. Three main tributaries feed the creek: Harwood Creek in Claremont Canyon; the Thornhill branch running from the Montclair district; and Tunnel Branch roughly following Highway 24 west of the Caldecott Tunnel. Today, virtually the entire creek, from Lake Temescal to the bay, is confined to an underground culvert. In many places, the upper reaches of Temescal Creek s tributaries and smaller branches are still visible, although their banks and creek beds often have been altered.