The stories of Contra Costa County, CA
127 narrated audio stories from across Contra Costa County — hidden history, true crime, food legends, and local lore from its towns, landmarks, and back roads.
Walnut Creek
From Cubicle to Cartoon: Dilbert on TV
How Scott Adams’ office satire leapt from newspapers to animated television.
Walnut Creek Library
Where Downtown Walnut Creek Comes to Read
A downtown library became a shared room for readers across generations.
Lesher Center for the Arts
From Newsprint to Curtain Call in Walnut Creek
How the Lesher name came to anchor one of Walnut Creek’s cultural stages.
Rakestraw Books
Where Book Tours Pause in Danville
A downtown bookstore turned author visits into local ritual.
Lesher Center for the Arts
When Opera Put on Its Costume in Walnut Creek
How Festival Opera made staged opera a local experience at the Lesher Center.
Lesher Center for the Arts
Where Walnut Creek Found Its Orchestra
A city, an arts center, and the residency that made musical home.
Borges Ranch
Where the Red Barns Still Hold the Hills
A ranch that keeps Portuguese-American history standing in open space.
Broadway Plaza
How Broadway Plaza Remade Walnut Creek’s Center
An open-air shopping center changed how downtown Walnut Creek worked.
Shadelands Ranch Museum
The House That Outlasted Shadelands
A ranch house remains after Walnut Creek grew over the land around it.
Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
Where Coal Towns Became Ghost Towns
A story of coal, families, danger, and memory in Black Diamond.
Walnut Creek
From Concord to Congress
A local political climb that kept widening around Walnut Creek.
Walnut Creek
From East Bay Suburbs to the Diplomatic Front
How Ellen Tauscher carried suburban representation into global security work.
Walnut Creek station
Before San Francisco, Walnut Creek Got Oakland
How votes, tunnels, and timing reshaped a Contra Costa commute.
Nordstrom at Broadway Plaza
When Minutes at Nordstrom Shook Walnut Creek
A brief robbery became a statewide symbol of organized retail theft.
Lindsay Wildlife Experience
How a Children’s Museum Became a Wildlife Hospital
In Walnut Creek, teaching kids led naturally to rescuing wild animals.
Clarke Memorial Swim Center
How a Walnut Creek Pool Shaped Artistic Swimming
At Heather Farm, a public pool became the heart of an elegant, demanding sport.
Clarke Memorial Swim Center
From Heather Farm to Olympic Water
How a Walnut Creek club turned local routines into national and Olympic medals.
Walnut Creek
Tom Candiotti and the Art of the Floating Pitch
From Walnut Creek to the majors, a knuckleballer made uncertainty his craft.
Mount Diablo State Park
When Peregrines Returned to Mount Diablo
A cliffside comeback built by law, science, and watchful human care.
Mount Diablo
Mount Diablo, Made by Pressure, Not Fire
From Walnut Creek, a mountain that looks volcanic tells a different story.
Mount Diablo State Park
Why Mount Diablo’s Bloom Mattered
A mountain of wildflowers, and the people who taught Californians to care.
Walnut Creek station
When the Future Stopped in Walnut Creek
A station opening that brought Contra Costa County into BART’s new world.
The Ruth Bancroft Garden
Where Ruth Bancroft Let the Desert Try
A self-taught gardener turned Walnut Creek into a living test of dry-climate survival.
The Ruth Bancroft Garden & Nursery
When a Freeze Changed the Orchard
How Ruth Bancroft remade loss into a landmark dry garden.
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