Not to be confused with the city in Ireland.
Dublin is a city in California's East Bay region.
Located in the Tri-Valley and only 35 miles from San Francisco, it nonetheless has a vastly different climate. Summers are hot, dry and windy. Dublin is located along the Calaveras Fault, which is a minor fault line in the Bay Area that begins near Calaveras Reservoir to the south and travels north through Pleasanton and western Dublin.
The City of Dublin itself is located at the northern end of Alameda County. Its northern boundary is also the boundary with Contra Costa County and is San Ramon's southern boundary.
In 1835, José María Amador was granted 16,500 acres for his service as a Mexican soldier and in Mission San Jose where he was administrator in the valley which was named Amador Valley after him. In 1850, Irish settlers bought land from Amador and founded a town.
There are several historical sites at the crossroads of Dublin Boulevard and Donlan Way, formerly the northernmost segment of the main road to Sunol and Niles Canyon (present-day Foothill Road):
- The Murray Schoolhouse (established in 1856 with 50 pupils)
- Green's Store (opened in 1860), current home of the Dublin Church of Christ.
- The old cemetery was formally established in 1859, although people had been buried in the churchyard for years before 1859.
- Old St. Raymond's Church (built 1859), is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
In 1960, the first housing tracts were built in West Dublin, transforming the formerly rural community into a suburb. It grew steadily from the early 1960s onward as both a residential and retail center. The City became incorporated in February 1982.
By the 1990s and 2000s, Dublin was the second fastest-growing city in the state of California, behind only Santa Clarita. The population was 46,063 at the time of the 2010 census. Dublin was formerly home to the headquarters of Sybase, Inc (now part of SAP SE), and was home to the headquarters CallidusCloud, Ross Stores, Tria Beauty, Medley Health, Challenge Dairy and Arlen Ness in the 2010s.
I-580 goes along the southern boundary of the City of Dublin, while I-680 goes through the western section. There are also some major boulevards that go around the city; these boulevards mostly connect with Pleasanton roads to the south and with other towns to the north.
There are two BART stations: Dublin/Pleasanton and West Dublin/Pleasanton.
Dublin Boulevard, a generally east–west road running just north of Interstate 580, was a part of the Lincoln Highway and later U.S. Route 50. The street formerly curved southward near today's Hansen Drive to follow present-day Dublin Canyon Road toward Hayward.
WHEELS, the local bus service, also serves Pleasanton and Livermore.
Large oak-dotted and grass-covered hills surround Dublin. These hills look green in winter and spring and appear golden in summer and fall. The higher hills in the area are covered with chaparral in places, while parts of the hills are considered to be a desert climate.
There is a lush, wooded canyon near Dublin Hills Regional Park, but most of the hills west and northeast of Dublin are quite dry. To the northeast of Dublin, however, there are some chaparral-covered slopes and, of course, Mount Diablo.
Dublin is a recently-built city compared to Pleasanton or Livermore, so it does not have a historic downtown. Most of the amenities are in the numerous shopping malls around the city, and interesting sights are generally in the hills around the city.
There is one major regional park in Dublin and several city parks.
- 1 Dublin Hills Regional Park. Dublin Hills Regional Park is on the west side of Dublin, close to Shaefer ranch development. Trails at Dublin Hills Regional Park generally are in grassland regions, with scattered oak forests in the canyons. The main trail follows Calaveras Ridge for 2.5 miles. A network of short trails (the Donlon Loop Trail) leads to a housing development along Dublin Boulevard. Hikers are not allowed to park in this housing development. A loop can be made with this network of short trails, although this route is too narrow for cyclists and equestrians. A further Martin Canyon Creek Trail, which connects to both the Donlon Loop Trail and the Calaveras Ridge Trail, goes in the direction of the Martin Canyon Creek Trail open space. Other minor trails come to dead-ends at the edges of the park.
- 2 Emerald Glen Park, 4201 Central Pkwy. This is a city park between Central Parkway and Gleason Drive. It has everything you would expect in a city park, including several fields and playgrounds.
- 1 St. Patrick's Day Celebration, 100 Civic Plaza. The annual Saint Patrick's Day celebration includes a 5K Fun Run and Walk, a pancake breakfast, a two-day festival, and a parade. The parade is popular with residents and visitors from outside Dublin alike and has been growing in popularity each year. It is sponsored by the Dublin Host Lions Club and features bands and colorful floats. The Dublin firefighters sponsor the pancake breakfast, and tours of the firehouse are popular with children. The festival continues all weekend and features food, games, kiddie rides, arts & crafts, and information about local organizations. The festival had been held near the end of the parade route in Shamrock Village on Amador Valley Blvd. but was relocated to the Civic Center on Dublin Blvd., in 2007, moving it closer to the growing population in the eastern part of Dublin.
Since Dublin first started to expand significantly, several shopping malls have appeared in the city. These include The Shops at Waterford, The Shops at Tralee Village, Grafton Station, Fallon Gateway, Persimmon Place, and Hacienda Crossings. Hacienda Crossings has several large stores. Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom Rack, Dick's Sporting Goods, HomeGoods, and a second Target location (in East Dublin), have all opened for business since the 1990s.
- 1 Hacienda Crossings Shopping Center, 4820 - 4980 Dublin Boulevard. The mall is probably the largest mall in the City of Dublin. It includes a Barnes & Noble store, along with Pier 1 Imports and a Best Buy store. Located near the I-580 at the southwestern end of Hacienda Crossings is a large cinema.
- 2 The Shops at Waterford, Tassajara Road (Near the intersection of Dublin Boulevard and Tassajara Road near I-580). This is a shopping mall in the recently-built eastern section of Dublin. Named after the city in Ireland, much of the shopping mall includes stores on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors. The Waterford shopping mall on Tassajara Road includes a Safeway, along with Coca Cabana and other restaurants.
Eat and drink
- 1 Brevino Italian Restaurant, 4590 Dublin Boulevard (A few hundred yards west of the Waterford shopping center).
- Casa Orozco. There is another Casa Orozco Mexican restaurant in Livermore.
- 2 Coco Cabana, 4500-C Tassajara Road (In the Waterford shopping development of Tassajara Road.). This is a Latin-American fusion restaurant.
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 6275 Dublin Blvd, ☎ .
- San Francisco/Dublin AmeriSuites, 4950 Hacienda Dr, ☎ , fax: . Located 35 miles southeast of San Francisco at the junction of Interstates 580 and 680.
Pleasanton- 680 South. About 5 minutes away.
Livermore- 580 East. About 10 minutes away.
Oakland- 580 West. About 25 to 40 minutes away.
|Routes through Dublin|
|Oakland ← Castro Valley ←||W E||→ Livermore → Tracy|
|Concord ← San Ramon ←||N S||→ Pleasanton → San Jose|