The Sunol Water Temple is located at 505 Paloma Way in
Sunol, California
Sunol ( es, Suñol) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Alameda County, California. Located in the Sunol Valley of the East Bay, the population was 913 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the location of the Sunol Water ...
. Designed by
Willis Polk
Willis Jefferson Polk (October 3, 1867 – September 10, 1924) was an American architect, best known for his work in San Francisco, California. For ten years, he was the West Coast representative of D.H. Burnham & Company. In 1915, Polk oversaw t ...
, the 59 foot high classical pavilion is made up of twelve concrete
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
s and a concrete ring
girder
A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ' ...
that supports the conical wood and tile roof. Inside the temple, water originally from the
Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to:
Places
* Pleasanton, California
* Pleasanton, Iowa
* Pleasanton, Kansas
* Pleasanton, Nebraska
* Pleasanton, New Mexico
* Pleasanton, Ohio
* Pleasanton, Texas
* Pleasanton Township, Michigan
Other
* Pleasanton High School ...
well fields and
Arroyo de la Laguna flowed into a white tiled
cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
before plunging into a deeper water channel carrying water from the filter galleries to the Niles Aqueduct in
Niles Canyon
Niles Canyon is a canyon in the San Francisco Bay Area formed by Alameda Creek, known for its heritage railroad and silent movie history. The canyon is largely in an unincorporated area of Alameda County, while the western portion of the canyo ...
and across
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
near the
Dumbarton Bridge. The roof covering the cistern has paintings depicting Native American maidens carrying water vessels. The temple is open to the public Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
History
![Sunol Water Temple 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Sunol_Water_Temple_2.JPG)
Since the mid-19th century a private company, the
Spring Valley Water Company
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a public agency of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water, wastewater, and electric power services to the city and an additional 1.9 million customers within three San Franc ...
(SVWC), owned much of the
Alameda Creek Watershed and had held a monopoly on water service to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
.
In 1906,
William Bowers Bourn II
William Bowers Bourn II (31 May 1857 – 5 July 1936) was an American entrepreneur and socialite. Bourn ran and controlled the Empire Mine and the San Francisco Gas Company, he was an investor in Spring Valley Water Company, and he led a merger t ...
, a major stockholder in the SVWC, and owner of the giant
Empire gold mine, hired Willis Polk to design a "water temple" atop the spot where three subterranean water sources converge (a pipe from the
Arroyo de la Laguna,
Alameda Creek, through the Sunol
infiltration galleries, and a 30-inch pipeline from the
artesian well
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...
field of
Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to:
Places
* Pleasanton, California
* Pleasanton, Iowa
* Pleasanton, Kansas
* Pleasanton, Nebraska
* Pleasanton, New Mexico
* Pleasanton, Ohio
* Pleasanton, Texas
* Pleasanton Township, Michigan
Other
* Pleasanton High School ...
).
Some sources claim Bourn wanted to sell the water company to the City of San Francisco and saw the temple as a way to appeal to San Francisco voters, who would have to approve the purchase
(municipal efforts to buy out the SVWC had been a source of constant controversy from as early as 1873, when the first attempt to purchase it was turned down by the voters because the price was too high
). Other sources claim that as one born into wealth and classically educated, Bourn was partially motivated by a sense of civic responsibility.
Polk's design, modeled after the ancient
Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta hous ...
in
Tivoli, Italy
Tivoli ( , ; la, Tibur) is a town and in Lazio, central Italy, north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna.
History
Gaius Julius Solinu ...
, was constructed in 1910 (Tivoli is where many of the waters that fed
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
converged in the foothills of the
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
). Prior to the construction of the
Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years bef ...
, half of San Francisco's water supply (6 million gallons a day) passed through the Sunol temple. The SVWC, including the temple, was purchased by San Francisco in 1930 for $40 million.
For decades the Water Temple received many visitors and was a popular location for
picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
kers. By the 1980s the water temple had badly deteriorated, and was severely damaged in 1989's
Loma Prieta earthquake
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...
, leading some community leaders to call for its demolition. The site was closed to the public because of safety concerns. A community effort led to the temple's restoration from 1997 to 2001, at a cost of $1.2 million, including seismic and accessibility upgrades. Following its restoration the temple opened again to the public. Today any water that flows through the temple is not part of the
potable water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...
supply.
Fields adjacent to the temple belong to the city of San Francisco which has authorized the digging of a
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...
on the site. Local residents concerned about the temple's future brought a lawsuit to attempt block the quarry project, but eventually ran out of funds and dropped the suit.
In June 2006, a new facility named the Sunol Agricultural Park was opened on a site adjacent to the temple. The park provides space for small businesses and nonprofit groups to grow
produce
Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...
and was originally a project of a non-profit called Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE). The park serves a platform for service and educational programs related to
sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...
and environmental conservation.
Inscription
"I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry lands springs of water.
">/nowiki>/nowiki> The streams whereof shall make glad the city. ">/nowiki>/nowiki> S.V.W.C. MCMX pring Valley Water Company 1910 Pring may refer to:
* Boeng Pring, a khum (commune) of Thma Koul District, Battambang Province, Cambodia
* Daniel Pring (1788–1846), officer in the British Royal Navy
*Martin Pring (1580–1626), English explorer
*John Pring
John Pym Gray Prin ...
See also
*Pulgas Water Temple
The Pulgas Water Temple is a stone structure in Redwood City, California, United States, designed by architect William G. Merchant. It was erected by the San Francisco Water Department to commemorate the 1934 completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqued ...
, a similar structure on the San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo A ...
, opened in 1934 to commemorate the completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct
Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years bef ...
References
External links
Sunol Water Temple
by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Save Our Sunol
a community group that organized support for the temple's restoration
Sunol AgPark
by the Alameda County Resource Conservation District
Sunol AgPark
by Sustainable Agricultural Education
*
{{good article
Infrastructure completed in 1910
Buildings and structures in Alameda County, California
Neoclassical architecture in California
Water supply infrastructure in California
Tourist attractions in Alameda County, California