Lab sprouts population growth in Livermore

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Apr 7, 2006 | by Lea Blevins, STAFF WRITER

Editors note: The following historical account is based on information obtained from Gary Drummonds Glimpses of Livermores Past adult education class. This is the final installment of Livermore 101.

LIVERMORE -- Population began to boom in Livermore by the mid- 1900s.

Military bases, a naval training station and two employers -- which just happened to be national laboratories -- were drawing people to Livermore by the thousands.

Camp Parks and Camp Shoemaker were established in the early 1940s in Dublin. Camp Parks was a recuperation and replacement center for naval construction battalions, and Camp Shoemaker served as a disciplinary barracks for the U.S. Navy.

In 1946, Camp Shoemaker was turned into a prison farm by the Alameda County Sheriff. It was known as Greystone Barracks, and it housed less-violent prisoners.

Camp Parks later was used in the 1960s for federal activities, such as the Job Corps, a training program for young inner-city men.

One major contribution the Corps made to Livermore was the transfer of library books from the old Carnegie Library to the new Livermore Public Library at the Civic Center in 1966. It took just 48 hours to complete the transfer. These werent the only military influences in the Valley, though. In 1942, Livermore saw the opening of a Naval Air Training Station in the area now occupied by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The servicemen were welcomed byLivermore residents. They started a United Service Organization and invited Navy personnel to attend local events and have Sunday dinner with families.

Across the street from the naval station, at the site now occupied by Sandia National Laboratories, a center was opened up for the WAVES -- Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services. Their job was to help out with the war effort.

The military had to station a soldier at the entrance to the WAVES building, "to keep the sailors on their side of the street," local historian Gary Drummond joked.

More than 4,000 pilots were trained at the station between 1942 and 1944, when the Navy ended the flight-training program.

For a short while, the site was used to ease overcrowded schools, but in 1950 the Atomic Energy Commission and the California Research and Development Co. decided to operate an atomic particle accelerator on the property.

Not much history is known about the accelerator, but in 1952 E.O. Lawrence and Edward Teller suggested the commission use the site as a nuclear weapons design laboratory.

The facility became known as Lawrence Livermore Laboratory -- now known as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The laboratory's director was able to have classified discussions by using the naval station's infirmary X-ray room, which had lead- lined walls.

Eventually, the lab branched out into other programs along with its weapons research: high-speed computers and biomedical projects.

The first group of "Sandians," employees of Sandia National Laboratories, arrived in 1957. They initially worked out of Lawrence lab buildings, as construction on the current Sandia site didn't start until 1959.

When the labs came to town, they brought many people with them. The population in Livermore nearly quadrupled from 4,364 in 1950 to 16,058 in 1960.

Housing developments were rising up all around the city.

In 1950, one development advertised homes priced between $5,600 and $7,350. Today, the prices "bring tears to your eyes," Drummond said.

Neighborhoods popped up in the early 1950s where the streets of Olivina, Pine and Rincon are today. Other communities were being built near East Avenue and off both sides of Holmes Street.

By 1959, homes were being advertised at $12,950 -- garbage disposal optional.

And each neighborhood had its own shopping center to serve the needs of its residents.

It was suburban bliss.

But that didn't mean everything was perfect.

In the late 1950s, the city was still operating under a general plan written in 1931. A mayor and four council members made up the city's administration, and it was these same fellows who served on all the city's committees.

"Those guys did double and triple duty," Drummond said. "It was a complicated mess."

In 1958, the council created the position of city manager and also hired a city planner and public works director. These administrators worked with the staff members already in place: a city clerk, police chief, patrolmen, town attorney, city inspector and fire chief.

Through the 1960s,'70s,'80s and up to today, the city of Livermore has continued to expand both in its population and its offerings to residents.

More than 80,000 people call Livermore home today.

Although the city may look different, its residents can still enjoy the golden foothills, the Livermore Valley wineries and a quaint downtown to have dinner or catch a movie.

Maybe things haven't changed so much after all.

Staff Writer Lea Blevins can be reached at lblevins@angnewspapers.com or (925) 416-4819.