Livermore’s Creepy Landmarks, Legends And A Curse

LIVERMORE, CA — The city known for its rich Tri-Valley history and award-winning wineries is also home to a few other unique curiosities and urban legends residents may or may not know about. We are not referring to the occasional funky smell from the tap water, which has been explained by water officials.

Totem Pole Curse?

The city’s sewer system was cursed decades ago by Adam “Fortunate Eagle” Nordwall, who was behind the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz by Native Americans. Nordwell donated the famous Livermore totem pole located near Fourth and Holmes streets in Centennial Park. When the pole was originally installed, workers removed some of the length, and although it was eventually restored, Nordwell cursed the Livermore sewage system as a result of the damage to the pole.

Optical illusion or magnetic mystery?

Livermore’s gravity hill has drawn curious teenagers and locals for years. Located at Patterson Pass Road, Mile Marker 1.57 in Livermore, the area is rumored to have some sort of gravitational aberration that allows large items to roll uphill when they should be rolling backward.

Why won't this light bulb burn out?

Livermore's Centennial Bulb, the most well-known light in the state, has been burning for more than 116 years. Located inside Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Station 6, the bulb has garnered attention from the world and was the focus of numerous news reports, television shows, movies, books and tourists. It was given recognition from dignitaries throughout the United States. The Centennial Bulb was in the Guinness Book of World Records twice, first in 2007 and again 2013, and is listed as the oldest running light bulb. The Discovery Channel's Mythbusters show, which was filmed in Alameda County, visited the bulb in 2006. The Centennial Bulb has a Facebook page with more than 11,000 likes.

Did former patients linger?

The Arroyo Del Valle Sanitarium, which was built in the early 1900s to house those suffering from tuberculosis, was rumored to be haunted by former occupants. The building was demolished in the 1990s, and Camp Arroyo was built in its place.

Everyone loves a good ghost story...

Livermore is not the only city in Tri-Valley to have whispers of ghosts. Nearby Pleasanton is known around the East Bay for its many hauntings. Home to settlers, scoundrels, prospectors, ladies of the night and bandits, it was originally named Alisal when it was established in the 1850s. In its early days, Pleasanton was nicknamed “the most desperate town in the West” and was also a popular stop for gangs, bandits and drifters continuously passing through and mingling with the locals and a prostitutes, which prompted the occasional drunken skirmish. Many of the buildings along Main Street are rumored to be haunted. Some think we caught one on camera...

Read more:

• Unnerving Hotel Shadow May be One of Pleasanton's Legendary Ghosts

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