All About The History of Orinda, California

Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, USA. The population was 17,643 in the 2010 census and was estimated to have risen to 19,926 in 2019. In 2012, Orinda was ranked the second most friendly town in America by Forbes. It is located just east of the city of Berkeley and is home to many affluent suburban professionals who travel to larger Bay Area cities such as Oakland, San Francisco and Walnut Creek. Its location provides a more rustic landscape, and Orinda's many parks and trails make it a destination for many Bay Area hikers and naturalists.

The 12.8 square miles that became Orinda were part of four massive land grants in the days when Alta California was part of Mexico. Each of them bore melodic Spanish names: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados, Rancho Acalances, Rancho El Sobrante, and Boca de la Candad Del Pinole. Orinda, however, was named after an Englishwoman.

In 1876 William Walker Camron was married to Alice Mars Camron, a County sheriff and landowner. Alice enjoyed the poetry of Katherine Fowler Philips, an English woman of the 17th century known as "The Matchless Orinda." In her honor, the Camrons named their home Orinda Park.

In the 1920s, Edward Ignacio de Laveaga established the town as Orinda. He was the son of San Franciscan Miguel de Laveaga, who, together with his brother Jose, had bought some 1,200 acres in the area in 1897. Having survived the '06 Quake and Fire in San Francisco, it's no wonder that de Laveaga preferred life in Orinda.

Following more than 100 years of progressive growth, Orinda was incorporated as a city in 1985. Orinda continues to mark a region of the beach, with the beautifully restored art deco Orinda Theatre, the Shakespeare theater in the California area and a prominent community center and public library in the city's center. Orinda is a family-focused village with an idyllic atmosphere. Orinda continues to make a mark on the world.

Orinda is a great place to stay and visit and shop because of its beauty, outstanding colleges, the atmosphere, and its proximity to San Francisco and the Bay Area.

A heavy contract is a climate alone. Berkeley Hills, a height of 1,758 feet, is separating the city and sunshine. Once you get out of the Tunnel of Caldecott in Orinda, it can be sunny, 85, the perfect night to barbecue in the backyard while driving home over the Bay Bridge.

The patio possibly provides a pleasant panorama of the rolling hills with old oaks. Located in the heart of San Pablo Reservoir north of the town the potable water supplying some of East Bay MUD 's requirements is pristine kayaking, fishing, and even small motorboating. It is also supplied by the reservoir of Briones, but most of the water is supplied through the aqueduct of Mokelumne which starts from the foothills of Sierra.

Starting in 2002, Orinda started to host the Orinda Film Festival at the historical Orinda Theater owned by Randy Holleschau. An annual regional film festival was organized. The film The Blue Butterfly, in which he has been a leading role, took place in 2005 at the festival. In 2005, the last festival took place. The theater's bright lights are visible in the night for miles.