Living in an area full of attractions makes it easy to miss the fascinating history around you every day. The Walnut Creek Historical Society has an answer to that problem with monthly downtown historical walks. These tours will show you how to recognize the town's past in today's modern buildings.
The Historical Society's docent, Linda Scotting, has led tours for the past 10 years. She says they started as educational programs for third-grade students studying local history. From there, they morphed into the monthly tours for adults.
She notes tours with the adults enable the docents to get into detailed explanations and statistics compared to the younger participants.
"What's fun is that you get people who remember some of the old businesses and places downtown. But I think everybody who comes on the tour is amazed by the history," she says. "It's like, how much do you really take in when you go through downtown?"
Each tour participant gets a free informational booklet made possible by a Walnut Creek Civic Pride Foundation grant. Inside are photos of the historic buildings, some of which you can still recognize.
For example, a visit to the new Model Bakery on North Main Street will take you to the oldest commercial building in Walnut Creek. The first structure on that site was built around 1861, and it became a mercantile business in 1872. That earlier building was destroyed by a fire in 1879 and rebuilt the following year. Since then, it's been a grocery and liquor store, restaurants, and now, a bakery.
Also, the next time you visit the Havana restaurant at 1516 Bonanza, take a closer look at the building. Built in 1926, it was Walnut Creek's first fire station. Linda points out that the top of the building is precisely the same, even though extensions were added on both sides.
Linda shared her experience about a family that came on the tour a few years ago. "The matriarch of the family said, 'My godmother was the wife of the fire captain, and I had my ninth birthday party in that fire station.'"
The tour also highlights past notable members of the Walnut Creek community. One stop is at the former home of Dr. Claude Leech and his wife, Eva. The house was built in 1873, making it the oldest residential structure in downtown. The couple occupied the house starting in 1904, which also served as Dr. Leech's practice. He was the town doctor for 36 years, including during the 1918 flu pandemic.
"There are two front doors because the doctor lived upstairs, and his clinic was downstairs. So, patients walked into the right door to go to the clinic and not into his apartment. We ask the children, 'What difference can you see between the two doors?' They start counting the windowpanes or think one has a mail slot, but it's more obvious. One door has a brass knob, and the other has a glass one," says Linda.
The walking tours take place every second Saturday from March through October. Each lasts 60 to 90 minutes and covers about six blocks of the downtown area. There are places to sit along the way for those who need a break from standing.
The walking tours are free, but registration and tickets are required, which can be obtained at wchistory.org. Check-in for the tour begins at 9 a.m. at the Liberty Bell Plaza fountain. All ages and abilities are welcome.