A month ago I wrote about some of the public art that has been used to accompany the five buildings that (currently) make up the ELCO Yards project, but it seems that the pieces that I highlighted back then were just a start. Since then, there have been some notable additions. Most visible, the stand-alone restaurant building along Chestnut Street very near to Main Street has been receiving a mural on the end facing Main Street. When I last walked by with my camera, the artists responsible for that mural were already well underway:

I’ve driven by since then and the mural is now much farther along — and may in fact be complete, although the cherry picker used to provide access to the upper portions of the building is still there, so there may yet be some work to be done.

Also not done at the time I took the above photo, but seemingly completed since then are the words “Perry Feeds and Fuel” on the side of the building facing Chestnut Street, as a reminder of the (larger, simpler, and more decrepit) metal shed that stood on that spot before ELCO Yards construction got underway. I’ll be going by early next week and taking more pictures that I’ll likely include in a future post.

The last time I included pictures of the restaurant building, I noted that some large, heavy picnic tables and benches had been placed on the plaza between the building and Main Street. Oddly, those tables and benches have disappeared; they are no longer on the plaza, and are not inside the building (I looked). So whether they’ve been moved into one of the other buildings, or have been deemed inappropriate or defective or something, we’ll just have to wait and see if they reappear. In any case, the spot where I’m guessing a free-standing piece of public art will soon be installed remains, still protected by a simple wooden framework and some orange plastic netting:

In that earlier post I expressed my great delight at the presence of the “skate” sign that has been installed at the end of the road separating the two office buildings sandwiched between Main Street and the Caltrain tracks, a sign that appears to have been constructed from one that previously adorned the Redwood Roller Rink building. Next to that former roller rink was another local business — the Main Street Coin-Op Car Wash — and it, too, had an iconic sign:

As you can see from the above picture I captured back in 2018, over the years the sign — whose principal elements were three circles of varying sizes and colors, one emblazoned with the words “Main Street,” one proclaiming “Coin Op,” and the final one stating “Car Wash” — was eventually almost entirely blocked by a large palm tree. In any case, to honor that long-time Redwood City business (it opened in 1965, and operated until 2021), the car wash sign, too, was refurbished (with the words changed somewhat) and installed in the Main Street Dog Agility Park, which is located along Main Street about a block from where the car wash once stood:

This is a fantastic piece of public art. Not only does it look great on its own, like the “skate” sign it, too, honors one of the many small independent businesses that helped make Redwood City great.

Incidentally, for those who haven’t noticed, the dog park is once again open to the public. I was there just over a week ago to get the above photograph, and was able to go in and freely explore the park (there weren’t any dogs present). A lot (all?) of the agility elements that were there prior to ELCO Yards getting underway remain, and lighting, water fountains, and other new amenities have been added. Plus, a separately fenced area for small dogs has been added, keeping the smaller of our furry friends safe from their larger, more aggressive friends. Those of you who want to train dogs — or who just want a nearby fenced area where your dogs can run free — would be well advised to check out this lovely specialty park.

In front of the small dog park — which is up against the large glass office building you can see in the above photo — there is yet another interesting piece of public art:

I need to go back and see if there is a plaque giving some background on this blue metal sculpture. When I was there, as you can probably see, work was still underway on the concrete slab beneath the sculpture, so I couldn’t get too close. But it looks to be made up of a set of large, interlocking steel discs, atop which a metal bird is perched. While this almost looks as if it could be used as a sign listing the tenants that will soon occupy the adjacent building, I doubt that is its purpose: most likely this really is just an interesting piece of public art.

Although there may be more to come, those are the newest additions to the ELCO Yards “outdoor art gallery.” Thanks to the wide variety of architectural styles used to create the five buildings that make up the ELCO Yards development thus far, it already was an interesting place through which to walk. But these bits of artistic whimsy give the area even more interest, and will undoubtedly enliven the experience for those soon to be strolling by. Bravo!

Twice now I’ve alluded to the fact that the four office buildings plus the stand-alone restaurant building are not the entirety of the ELCO Yards project. Once the five buildings that comprise the project so far (plus the “Miramontes” affordable housing project on the west side of El Camino Real and Jackson Street; that was finished back in 2023) are done, the plan was — and still is, as far as I know — to start work on the two residential buildings that will grace the project along its north end: the seven-story, 252-unit apartment building to be built at the corner of El Camino Real and Maple Street, and the seven-story, 249-unit apartment building planned for the corner of Lathrop and Beech Streets (occupying most of the block where the Main & Elm restaurant once stood). Building permits have yet to be issued for either of these buildings, but they have been applied for. The parcel where the first apartment building is to be constructed has now been cleared, having been used up until recently as a place to store materials and equipment during the construction of the office buildings:

The other parcel was still being used to store materials and equipment when I went by last week. Now it seems to house two office trailers that I don’t think were there before:

We’ll see. Given that the first apartment building will be located right along El Camino Real, any real signs of activity will be hard to miss. I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes open…

Elsewhere in Redwood City, the Taube Family Carriage House and Automobile Gallery has emerged from beneath its protective wraps, and is looking really great:

This museum, which will showcase some of the classic carriages entrusted to the San Mateo County History Museum by Mrs. Lurline Matson Roth (who owned Filoli), will also display other historic vehicles, including classic cars. It of course is the latest addition to the county’s “museum block,” which includes the historic courthouse (inside of which is the county’s history museum) and the Lathrop House, which is one of the Peninsula’s oldest mansions. All three are intended not only to serve as a reminder of our local history, but as event spaces that can be rented for a variety of functions.

That’s all for this week. Having been in Austin, Texas over the past week or so for a family wedding, I’m really looking forward to walking Redwood City’s streets this week and seeing what has transpired since I left (and since I took the photos used in this week’s post). I did do a tiny bit of research while I was gone: being in Austin, I took advantage of an opportunity to take my first ride in Waymo autonomous vehicle. As you may have noticed, although Waymo is not yet serving Redwood City, it likely will be, very soon: every day I’m seeing Waymo’s white Jaguars driving the streets of Redwood City, testing and mapping those streets in preparation for an extension of their current service, which today extends from San Francisco all the way to Burlingame, and should very soon be serving Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Mountain View.