New book documents the fight to save the ill-fated Willow Glen trestle

I ve often thought the seven-year battle played out between the city of San Jose and a group of society advocates over an abandoned railroad trestle would make for a great public-policy event scrutiny about how not to manage a project But Larry Ames who led the unsuccessful fight to save the Willow Glen trestle did one better by writing a book on the subject The Willow Glen Trestle - details the history of the picturesque Western Pacific wooden bridge that once spanned Los Gatos Creek near Coe Avenue and the fight to preserve it after San Jose agents decided to demolish it to complete a segment of the Three Creeks Trail It is an epic unique story in the history of the city stated former Santa Clara County Supervisor Rod Diridon a well-known expert on transportation and trains He believes the city made the wrong decision at the start and just wouldn t back down from it Diridon introduced Ames at a book-release party Oct in the backyard of a Willow Glen home Appropriately their backyard not only has a miniature railway and a full-size caboose but a view of where the old trestle was and the new steel bridge is now Ames book which was funded in part by the Santa Clara County Historic Grant project and is available for purchase through Amazon details the legal drama that ensued after the city purchased a prefabricated steel bridge to replace the wooden trestle in There were court cases lost appeals won and lots of newspaper ink spent on the back-and-forth of it all It was one of those cases where everyone involved had good intentions from city personnel and trail advocates wanting to complete a long-awaited trail to historic preservationists wanting to preserve a fading link to San Jose s pre-Silicon Valley heritage Preservationists have fought to save the Willow Glen trestle near Coe Avenue in San Jose which the city wants to tear down and replace with a steel structure Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group The Willow Glen trestle Susan Brandt-Hawley Railroad trestle over the Los Gatos Creek near Lincoln and Coe Avenues in Willow GlenPhoto Jacqueline Ramseyer Bay Area News Group February The Friends of the Willow Glen trestle return to court this week to argue that the trestle is also historic under the substantial evidence standard SAN JOSE CA - JUNE Willow Glen's historic trestle demolition is in mid-process Tuesday June in San Jose Calif Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE CA - JUNE Willow Glen's historic trestle demolition is in mid-process Tuesday June in San Jose Calif Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE - DECEMBER People do certain work near the Willow Glen Trestle in San Jose Calif on Thursday Dec Randy Vazquez Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE CA - JAN A cyclist crosses Willow Glen's new steel bridge Wednesday Jan The span replaces an old wooden train trestle bridge and provides a long-sought trail connection for bikers and pedestrians on the west side of San Jose Calif Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group SAN JOSE CA - JAN Willow Glen's new steel bridge awaits hikers Wednesday Jan in San Jose Calif The span replaces an old wooden train trestle bridge to provide a long-sought trail connection for bikers and pedestrians on the west side of San Jose Calif Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group The new bridge over the Los Gatos Creek in Willow Glen that replaced a -year-old railroad trestle photographed Oct Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Preservationists have fought to save the Willow Glen trestle near Coe Avenue in San Jose which the city wants to tear down and replace with a steel structure Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group Expand But the tale ended in the summer of while we were all dealing with the COVID- pandemic They just came in with a backhoe and ripped it up and it s been replaced with the generic bridge disclosed Ames who spent most of of his career as an aerospace engineer with Lockheed Martin and also served as a San Jose parks commissioner It s a perfectly adequate bridge But it s not anything special that you d go out of your way to see As with any good story there s anticipated for a sequel here There s another wooden trestle that spans Coyote Creek near Happy Hollow Park and Zoo that the city is looking at removing to create a link for the Five Wounds Trail It s not as pretty as the Willow Glen trestle was Ames concedes but it s the only one of its kind left in the city Ames proposes that the city put in a new bridge just to the side of the old one which could be preserved and stabilized and even fenced off to keep people from walking on it He had hoped at one point that could have been done for the Willow Glen trestle He notes there s a viewing station at the new bridge site that had been intended for visitors to see the old trestle Related Articles It s a parade of pumpkins at Silicon Valley nonprofit event Downtown San Jose bars get into the Halloween spirit Silicon Valley Reads A trio of books about creating connections locality Notre Dame High s Women of Impact honorees have a family connection Martha s Kitchen moves into bigger facility in San Jose I m not up to another seven year legal battle but I m hoping that the city has learned a lesson from the Willow Glen trestle that it s major to listen to the public rather than only capriciously making decisions he noted CREATIVE CORNERSTONES There was a great moment at last Friday s Cornerstone of the Arts celebration in San Jose when Luminary Artist Award recipient Joe Miller indicated a slide of a large number of of the logos he s designed for different organizations over the years They included four for Works San Jose the group gallery of which he s executive director but also as varied as KSJS radio Arts Council Silicon Valley the San Jose Poetry Festival and Abhinaya Dance Company It was a nice reminder that our creative area is indeed an ecosystem Miller was one of three honorees at the event held at the Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose and sponsored by the city s Office of Cultural Affairs and its Arts Commission Entrepreneur and arts promoter Chris Esparza who died last August was honored with the Creative Impact Award which was accepted by his daughter Olivia Esparza Kevin Hauge who retired this past summer as artistic director of Children s Musical Theater San Jose received the prestigious Cornerstone of the Arts award and the ceremony was bookended by musical numbers featuring CMT San Jose performers CELEBRATE SAN JOSE The rich cultural heritage of San Jose s -year history will be in the spotlight Saturday at the annual San Jose Roots celebration on Saturday History San Jose hosts the free event at the Gonzales Peralta Adobe and Carmela and Thomas Fallon House sites near San Pedro Square Arena showcasing the city s indigenous inhabitants its Spanish and Mexican pioneers and its modern residents There ll be engagements like lasso throwing lessons candle dipping and corn-husk doll making along with a diverse lineup of performances from Jeffery Fung Tai Chi Luna y Sol Folklorico Viet Approaches Xpressions Dances of India and Hui Ilima of Santa Clara County To accommodate the event which runs from to p m St John Street will be closed between Almaden Avenue and San Pedro Street