Making Suburbia

Throughout the 1950s, there was little private development in the area.  One important local improvement came when Highway 50 was expanded from a two-lane road to a four-lane highway in 1953.  The U.S. Air Force took over the old Navy base and operated Parks Air Force base until 1959.  Tens of thousands of young men went through basic training there or passed through on their way to or from Air Force service.

By the early 1960s, two real estate developers sought to recreate their success in Southern California by building in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.  They chose the Dublin area for a huge suburban housing development.  The Volk-McLain company’s success led other developers to purchase and build near Dublin.  Dublin went from a few hundred residents to several thousand residents in the period from 1960 to 1965.  More commercial and residential development took advantage of the creation of a new, more substantial crossroads with the completion of the multi-lane freeways, Interstate 580 and 680, in the late 1960s.

Show All Answers

1. Crossroads of the Bay Area
2. The First Settlers
3. Spanish Explorers, Missionaries, and Mexican Rancheros
4. Gold Rush Adventurers and Early Farmers
5. More Farmers, the Lincoln Highway, and Bootleggers
6. World War II: The First Big Expansion
7. Making Suburbia
8. Local Control, Incorporation, and The New History
9. The Future?