Eureka Waterfront Trail and 2nd Street

Eureka City Park

(map link)

Sometimes, when it's been gently dribbling rain with scattered heavy torrents for five days straight, I get to thinking the sun is a lie. This is the real Eureka! It's not really true. Neither is the true Eureka because there's too much of both to leave out either. I decided not to stay in on the dribbly day and instead wander along the Eureka Waterfront Trail (including the bit in the middle I'd skipped before) and pop up to 2nd Street on the way out to see the old buildings. Other old buildings are available, but this one happens to have an "Adventure Lab" along it that points out a couple of the numerous historic plaques that tell a little about them. I started at the Eureka Slough unpowered boat launch, which is a small lot behind Target and put my umbrella up against the eternal dribble falling from above.

The slough, the launch, the path, the highway, and the grey.

I turned away from the highway and started along the paved path around the shopping center. After the new industry comes old industry at the Blue Ox Millworks and original electricity generation building. Then it's on to an expanse of green and the bay. As if weary of it all, the drizzle quit and I put away the umbrella under the thick, dark clouds.

Decaying industry. Cheap land "in the day" wasn't exactly land at all. Electricity came out of the blue one in 1904.

Decayed industry. One of many piers, small and large, that have existed along the bay.

All quite covered with little birds.

The green space becomes parking and then park after passing under the undulations of the highway as it bridges the bay. There's public toilets and a public boat launch and everything. Fish and Wildlife was out making sure everyone was fishing with a license, I suppose.

Park and Eureka waterfront on a gloomy day. The boats are in the marina across the water on the Woodley Island.

I wasn't altogether certain how I would get up to 2nd Street, but I spotted some public steps up the bluff and went for them. A path along the top of the bluff behind the library got me to one end of this disconnected street as is starts its journey through old town Eureka.

The buildings along 2nd Street north of the library. There are steps up just left of the retaining wall and good path selection keeps feet dry.

Halvorsen Park and the marina from above.

The Carson Mansion (now a private club) stands at the end of this segment of 2nd Street.

Having made it to 2nd Street, I started down it. The buildings get less fancy, but no less old. They tend to date back to the 1880s. Small plaques tucked in here and there offer a few more details about them than "Victorian". Some are brief just mentioning the style of architecture. Some are longer going into details about the history. For instance, across from the current post office is "the first building purpose built as a post office". It was built with the local postmaster's own money! (I'm sure he got it back in rent.)

2nd Street is quite fancy at this end.

No idea how old the fake lighthouse and keeper's residence might be, but it's silly.

Once a grand hotel for steamship traffic. The top half was added later (but not that much later).

The shops from the Old Town Gazebo (which has a spiral ramp climbing up). There's multiple book shops over there.

The more affordable hotel as the fancy buildings run out.

2nd Street turned more industrial and lost the sidewalk on one side, then just ran out. I jogged over to Waterfront Drive and the Waterfront Trail once more, promptly finding Eureka's four stranded locomotives. They're right where they should be, in the train yard. They were here when the tracks failed 30 years ago and tracks are how they move. They do look a bit chunky for putting on trucks. There's a sign to tell about the train yard as a historical thing, but nothing about the locomotives.

What was once a perfectly good locomotive is a fern planter now.

The marina is on the bay side. Further on is Eureka's very last lumber mill. A sign mentions that there were many more all along here. Now there's "Soilscape Solutions" to help people out with today's crop. There's not much to see on the way to the pier at the end of West Del Norte Street. I headed out on the pier, but not far.

The Waterfront Trail has a devoted path next to the train tracks as it passes the marina.

Something leftover from the sawmills that used to line the coast. The particularly wide tracks comes to the base of the pier.

Then I noticed it was an hour to sunset and hurried the other way. This time I kept to the Waterfront Trail as best I can. I'm not exactly sure how it is supposed to go near Coast Guard Plaza and the recreation center. I took the plaza and the sidewalk.

A bit of former mill serves the purpose of advertising the newcomers instead.

Safety first on an abandoned car in the train yard. The cables are mostly hooked up as instructed.

The backside of the lesser hotel. There's much less to see of architecture from the Waterfront Trail.

Toward Coast Guard Plaza on the waterfront. The lighthouse on Woodley Island isn't lighting the way and the Fishermen Memorial is looking a bit like yet another Bigfoot.

I put my umbrella back up for the last mile. The drizzle had started again. I noticed no change in the quality of the light as the sun presumably went down.

The tide went out and exposed the mud flats, so the little birds are feeding, drizzle or no.

I got back to find a few flashing lights around as the firefighters were up to something. Training or emergency, I couldn't say. Some were chatting at the launch, so the excitement had likely passed. I threaded my way out.

*photo album*




©2022 Valerie Norton
Written 12 Jan 2022