Wednesday, October 29, 2008

1960-1961, 2 Freeway Grading Hell on Corralitas Drive


Photo: Kleven, 1960. All photos shot from doorstep of 2445 Corralitas Drive. (Click on photos to enlarge.) Before the grading began for the 2 Freeway, you could walk across an open field to Allesandro Ave. and the Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract from Corralitas Drive.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. First they cut down all the trees.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. Then the grading began.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. The pile of earth grew to obscure the once pleasant view.


Photo: Kleven, 1961. If you stood on the fence, you could just barely see over the pile of dirt. Note the house in the bottom right corner. The owner must have been one of the remaining holdouts to eminent domain. Neighbors, present at the time, tell of these holdouts frustrating the State. So the State just piled up the dirt next to and all around their homes until the owners finally sold or were arrested and removed forcibly by Sheriff's deputies. (Click on photo to enlarge.) Also worth noting are the three houses on Alvarado, which appeared in earlier photos from 1923.

Corralitas Grading Hell: Part 1
What part otf the neighborhood is this today?

We're reviewing the photographic history of our neighborhood surrounding the 2 Freeway, in anticipation of the EIR for the 2 Freeway Terminus Project.