North entrance sign, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
Description
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) improved Lake Temescal Park, now known as Temescal Regional Recreation Area, one of the original units of the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD). When the EBRPD was created in 1934, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and WPA were called upon to make the first parks of the system ready for public use. Temescal Park opened to the public in 1936.
Along with the well-known beach house and cascade (see separate pages) at Lake Temescal, WPA workers made several other improvements – not all of which can be pin-pointed. They created a large play field area by filling the canyon below the dam. They built stone paths and rock walls around the beach house, as well as two stone benches and a picnic area on the east side of the lake (a long handicapped ramp path is newer).
They very likely constructed a utility building at the south end of the park, planted redwood trees on the hillsides around the lake, prepared the lawn area south of the lake, and built a footbridge over Temescal Creek. All these elements have been repaired, altered and added to by EBRPD over time, making it difficult to be sure exactly what is original WPA work.
The east side of Temescal Park was much altered by another New Deal-funded project, the Caldecott Tunnel and its access roads (see those project pages). Landvale Road linked Upper Broadway (the main tunnel road) to Mountain Boulevard in Montclair, and a concrete retaining wall was built to hold it up. The Sacramento Northern trolley was rerouted below that wall and a large arm of Lake Temescal was filled in for the road and railway to pass over. An exit from Landvale road to Broadway Terrace was built over a new tunnel at the south entrance of the park.
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View south over lake, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Beach House across lake, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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View of Lake Temescal, with dam and play fields on the right - Oakland CA
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Play field below dam, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Play field below dam, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Rock wall and table, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Stairway around beach house, Temescal Lake - Oakland CA
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Stone bench and sitting area, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Main path along lake, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Stone bench along main path, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Stone bench on main path, Temescal Regional P - Oakland CA
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Lawn and picnic area, Temescal Regional P - Oakland CA
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Utility building, south end of Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Entrance sign, Temescal Regional Park - Oakland CA
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Aerial photo during Landsvale Road construction, Lake Temescal - Oakland CA
Source notes
Project originally submitted by Gray Brechin on August 11, 2008.
Additional contributions by Richard A Walker.
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.
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