Pleasanton

Abandoned Railroad

Before being rerouted to the northwest of downtown Pleasanton, the railroad used to run right through the downtown area. You can still see the railroad crossing signs on West Angela Street, for example, in the Farmer's Market. Some of the railroad tracks are still visible near the Firehouse Theater, and a longer section of abandoned railroad can be seen along Sunol Boulevard to the south of downtown Pleasanton.

Firehouse Arts Center

Opened in 2010, the Firehouse Arts Center is the City of Pleasanton's historic 1929 Fire House One renovated and expanded into an arts center featuring the 230-seat Firehouse Theater, Harrington Gallery of fine arts, two large arts classrooms, and a grand lobby for receptions and events. The transformed facility also offers a pedestrian connection from Main Street to the expanded Lions Wayside Park.

Hacienda Business Park

This isn't the best place for travelers to visit if they don't have much time on their hands, but it's an interesting place to visit if you do not know what else to do with yourself. Two factors are what make Hacienda Business Park visually interesting: the architecture of the street signs and the business park's history. First, the unusual traffic lights and street signs are gigantic square structures that are built across the roads, and they are accentuated by what immediately surrounds them. Second, the history of the park: Hacienda Business Park was built around the 1980s when Pleasanton began to look like it does today, and Hacienda Business Park replaced ranching and farming country. Within a few years, what is now northern Pleasanton went from being countryside to an important part of the City of Pleasanton. However, the plans of the developers to turn Hacienda Business Park into one of the world's great business parks did not succeed — the wide boulevards in the business park are surprisingly empty, giving the business park a near-abandoned feeling sometimes.

Kottinger's Barn

Kottinger's Barn, built in 1852, was once a jail that bandits frequently "visited". The building's thick walls and barred windows are an interesting contrast to the small shop and potted plants which now exist at the location.

Main Street Green

There is a statue in this small park at the northern end of downtown. A path goes to the Arroyo del Valle creek that runs alongside the park.

Museum on Main

Pleasanton Museum

This museum features Pleasanton's history with numerous historic items, maps, and more, some of which date to Native American times. There are also exhibits for things around the area, such as Pleasanton's filming history. These change every few months.

Tue-Sat 10AM-4PM, Sun 1PM-4PM·Free, donations welcome

Pleasanton Commercial District

The commercial district of downtown Pleasanton is based around Main Street, a slow two-lane road with shops and restaurants. Main Street is better for pedestrians than drivers, since the road gets very busy. Some of the buildings are older than others - new buildings are still being added along Main Street, while others have long histories. The best and most expensive of restaurants are generally in downtown Pleasanton, although there are some other good restaurants in other parts of the City.

You can explore downtown for free, but businesses are mostly on the expensive side

Pleasanton Historic Residential District

Along with the historic buildings in commercial district of downtown Pleasanton, there are several blocks of well-maintained older homes which are accessible along Neal Street to the south of downtown. Particularly around Lighthouse Baptist Church, there are several homes dating back to the 1800s. Many of these buildings have nice gardens, along avenues of tall trees. The area has a lot of steep hills, similar to that of San Francisco, so walking around the area could be strenuous to some.

Pleasanton Sign Arch

The sign was installed by the Women's Improvement Club in 1932. In 2005, the sign underwent a complete restoration.

Valley Plumbing

(It faces Peters Avenue.)

mural of the Tri-Valley

Another mural, portraying a street scene, is at {{see