Day 4

6.7 miles

Great Mall of the Bay Area

Milpitas, Cal.

The Mall was formerly a Ford automobile assembly plant that was founded in the 1950s. Ford Mustangs were produced at this plant and Mustangs bearing the name San Jose as the assembly location were in fact built in Milpitas. Fairlanes, Torinos, Pintos, F-Series pickup trucks and Escorts; Edsel Rangers and Pacers; and Mercury Cougars, Montegos, Comets, Bobcats, Lynxes, & Capris (US version) were also assembled here. The plant closed down in 1983 in part due to increasing competition with Japanese auto manufacturers aptly narrated in David Halberstam's book The Reckoning. In the early 1990s, developers resized the former plant and converted it into a mall. Today, an oak tree with a plaque commemorating Great Mall's history stands in the southwest section of its parking lot.
The Great Mall of the Bay Area, which opened on September 22, 1994, was developed as a joint venture between Ford Motor Land Development Corporation of Dearborn, Michigan and Petrie Dierman Kughn of McLean, Virginia.

Day 3

4.4 miles

Drawbridge

Drawbridge is an abandoned town on the outskirts of San Jose and is slowly sinking into the sloughs of San Francisco Bay. It was created on Station Island in 1876 and consisted of a single dwelling to house the operator of two drawbridges owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad that crossed the Mud Creek Slough and Coyote Creek Slough to connect Newark with Alviso and San Jose. It eventually grew into a small town consisting mainly of hunting cabins, hotels, and gun clubs (the San Francisco Bay, before salt evaporation ponds and sewage dumping, was a hunting and fishing paradise). During Prohibition, taking advantage of its location in no man's land between Santa Clara and Alameda counties, it housed numerous speakeasies and brothels. In addition, the police were reluctant to enter as nearly everyone in Drawbridge was armed.

Starting in the late 1920's, the surrounding communities began to pump fresh water out from the sloughs causing the land to sink. Two salt evaporation ponds around Drawbridge prevented the tides from cleaning the waters and the pumping in of raw sewage fouled what remained.

At its peak in 1926, Drawbridge had 90 private residences and two hotels. The train stopped five times daily. In 1979, the last remaining resident left, leaving behind a dozen or so wooden shacks.

Drawbridge is now off-limits to visitors, but there is an informative display about the Bay Area's only ghost town at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Fremont.

Day 2

4.4miles

Glacier Ice Company

The ice industry has seen many changes since the days of cutting blocks of ice out of frozen lakes for use in iceboxes prior to the invention of the modern refrigerator. Ice was delivered door to door by the well-known iceman using horse drawn wagons. The blocks of ice were then brought into the home and placed inside the icebox to keep foods fresh and drinks cold. But how the business has changed to today’s clean, modern packaged ice industry.

John Nicholson founded Glacier Ice Company in 1974 along with Hugo Miller. The company grew steadily through the years as Glacier Ice Company’s reputation grew as a source of quality, reliable service. Manufacturing and distribution capacity continued to expand as Glacier Ice Company entered new market areas, but our primary focus has always remained the same, “offer superior products and the best customer service possible”.

Today, Glacier Ice Company operates two of the largest ice production facilities in North America. We operate numerous distribution centers across all of Northern California. Our Glacier Ice Fremont, California plant, built in 1992, is centrally located to support the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Central Coast Area through its widespread distribution sites.

Alan Hines further expanded Glacier Ice Company in 1995 with the opening of our 72,000 square foot Glacier Ice manufacturing site built in Elk Grove, California. Our Elk Grove facility is the newest and largest Glacier Ice Company location and further enhances Glacier’s position as a leader in technological advancements in the ice industry. With a strong distribution base, the Elk Grove site supplies an area from the Sacramento Valley to the Oregon border and has enabled Glacier Ice Company to continue to expand its commitment to excellent products and service.

Today Glacier Ice Company is a modern, full service provider of premium packaged ice, dry ice, ice sculptures, snow scenes, merchandisers and in-store ice manufacturing equipment. Look for Glacier Ice in your area when you need the finest ice products, service and equipment.

Holy Ghost Cemetery - Fremont CA

Day 1

1.7miles

Holy Ghost Cemetery - Fremont CA 

Holy Ghost Cemetery is one of Fremont's oldest cemetery.  It opened in May 1889 by Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Some of the originals from Fremont are buried here, like Stevenson and Dusterberry.