When it still rained in Palo Alto (ha!), there was regular, almost annual flooding near some of the local creeks. St. Mark’s was built on the Matadero Creek flood basin, and the flat land around the creek regularly flooded. It wasn’t until Palo Alto began construction of the Palo Alto Flood Basin in 1956 (after the devastating Christmas flood of 1955), that flooding became less of an annual problem. Floods still happened, but not the kind of regular flooding that plagued the Colorado Avenue area before that.
Although St. Mark’s has struggled at times with water in the basement, it has never been severely impacted by any of the big Palo Alto floods (although our parishioners most certainly have!).
These incredible pictures from the Palo Alto the flood of 1941 show just how serious the flooding from Matadero Creek could be. Even better, they give us a peek at the land the church stands on and the surrounding neighborhood seven years before the church was built. It reminds us just how really rural the area was 80 years ago. Note: These photos have been gently colorized to better show the extent of the flooding and the surrounding area.
For more on some historic Palo Alto floods:
