Redwood Creek Crossing - The Buried Landing

A stop on Redwood City History Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Look down: the green stamped concrete in the street marks Redwood Creek, which still flows under your feet in a culvert. This is where Redwood City began.

Long before the town, Ohlone people lived along these bayside creeks. Under Spain and Mexico the land became part of Rancho de las Pulgas, the Arguello family's huge cattle ranch. Then came the Gold Rush. In 1850 Robert Tripp and Mathias Parkhurst started floating redwoods from the Woodside hills down the creek toward San Francisco, which was hungry for lumber. Wharves grew up along this tidal channel, a landing known as the Embarcadero, and in 1851 G. M. Burnham built the first schooner here, named Redwood.

In the 1800s a wooden drawbridge carried traffic over the creek at this spot, and Broadway had a different name on each side. Shipyards, tanneries and later a deepwater port grew downstream toward the bay. Stand on the green strip and picture masts where the storefronts are.

Getting here: Walk east on Broadway about three minutes, past Jefferson Avenue, to the green stamped concrete midway between Jefferson and Main Street.

Did you know?: Wooden shipbuilding thrived on the creek until the 1880s; the last wooden ship built here, the Perseverance, was launched in 1883.

Photo op: Stand at the edge of the sidewalk and shoot along the green strip as it crosses Broadway, tracing the hidden creek.

More on Wikipedia: Redwood Creek · Port of Redwood City · Rancho de las Pulgas · Ohlone

Redwood Creek Crossing - The Buried Landing

Stops on this tour