Places We Go : California's Port Costa
- kathleen
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Last week, an Instagram vid caught my eye. Turns out, "The Theater of Dreams" is a holiday store in Port Costa, CA. So last Sunday, Sally and I made the 50-minute drive to explore the town. One school building, one post office, one restaurant, one biiker bar, a handful of speciality stores and 194 residents. Let's take a look.
In 1883, businessman George McNear bought a $100,000 plot of land and began to build up the town. Port Costa became the busiest port on the West Coast, primarily shipping wheat.
The US Post office is open 10 am to 2 pm, weekdays only.
The school operated until 1912-1966 , is on the Natonal Historic Registery and is now used for community events.
There's one long block of historical interest. Everywhere you look, there's a feeling that anything standing is one big storm away from falling down.
Before it became a town, Port Costa was founded in 1879 as a landing for the railroad ferry Solano, owned
and operated by the Central Port Costa Pacific Railroad. This put Port Costa on the main route of the transcontinental railroad. The Solano, later joined by the Contra Costa, carried entire trains across the Carquinez Strait from Benicia to Port Costa, from where they continued on to the Oakland, CA Pier.
We headed to the Theater of Dreams. It seems owner/creator Wendy Addison's stock changes weekly. You can follow the store owner on Instagram at @thewendyaddison.
Love Sally's reaction to something she spied. Most of Wendy's treasures are made by hand, combining vintage items. She uses antique German glass for her glitter.
I fell in love with a 6" handmade velvet mushroom ornament - here it is hanging in my kitchen.
This building houses the Compulsive Peddler, crammed full of treasures from around the world.
A garden, complete with a chandelier hanging from a tree, leads to the Crystal Garden shop.
Businessman George W. McNear built the Port Costa Warehouses and Dock Company west of the new ferry terminal in 1880. The valley where Port Costa now sits, at one point called Bull Valley, was part of a ranch owned by William Piper. Now, this 1897 historical building is home to a destination restaurant.
The restaurant had us at "hello" when we walked into the reception area.
The Bull Valley Roadhouse, which opened in 2012, is filled with vintage wonders.
We shared both cod and chicken sandwiches. Both were moist and delish.
We polished off our lunch with a shared apple cake. If you live in the East Bay, I hope you take this Sunday drive - poke around and lunch at the Bull. It's a quick 50-minutes from Oakland. Whatever you do, have a great Sunday!
photos ; Sally & me
For more historical info : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Costa,_California
