Neighborhood Landmark

West of West Street, there are avenues with the names of the 26^th and 27^th Presidents of the United States: Roosevelt (1901-09); and Taft (1909-13). I reasoned that this part of the neighborhood was probably built after 1913, commemorating at that time, the most recent Presidents.   I later learned that my assumption was correct. These new streets were a 1920’s expansion of the original street grid that surrounds Central Avenue. The 25^th President, McKinley (1897-1901) had a street named after him as well, but the name was later changed to Tracy Boulevard and serves as the newer western boundary of this neighborhood of bungalows.

One of the Tracy’s landmark water towers, stands near the corner of McKinley Ave/Tracy Boulevard and 6^th Street. Because they are metal and are elevated so high, the water tower is like a cloud, pale and bright, reflecting the colors of the sky and the surrounding landscape.