Eureka is a historic port city in Northern California and the
capital of Humboldt County. The location is on Humboldt Bay and
close to
Redwood National Park to the north and Humboldt Redwoods
State Park to the south. Redwood forests are in the immediate
vicinity of the city and are one of the main attractions along
with the Old Town.
The town was founded in 1850 as a
supply post for gold miners and lumberjacks. The original
indigenous population was made up of the Yurok, Hupa and Karuk
tribes. Their way of life and culture was irrevocably changed
with the settlers.
By plane
Arcata-Eureka Regional Airport (IATA: ACV). Approximately
22 miles north of downtown McKinleyville with regular service to
Seattle, Washington, D.C., Portland (Oregon), Redding (California) and
Los Angeles International Airport. The connections are offered by United
and Horizon.
Murray Field (IATA: EKA), northeast toward Arcata.
Eureka Municipal Airport, on the Bay Island of Samoa in western
wikipedia.
By train
There is an AMTRAK station in Eureka, but
it is only one stop. You cannot buy tickets and there is no other
service. The stop is at 1200 5th Street.
In the street
the us
Route 101 (El Camino Real or Coast Highway) runs through the city. The
California State Route 299 connects the 101 via Arcata with the
northeast of the state (including Redding (California).
Landslides with road closures can occur in autumn and winter, so be sure
to check the current road conditions before driving.
By boat
The city has about 400 berths in marinas.
Eureka is a relatively small town that is easy to explore on foot (especially downtown).
Old Town Eureka
This old town center consists of 154 buildings,
mostly from the Victorian era. The heart of this district is on First,
Second and Third Streets between C and M Streets (between the seafront
and 101). The district is considered the cultural heart of the city with
a vibrant arts scene. Numerous pubs, cafes, restaurants, museums and
galleries, art and antique shops can be found here. Threatened with
decay in the 1960s, this district was saved by prudent decisions by the
city fathers, renovating and restoring houses and reconstructing others
that could not be saved.
Museums
Eureka offers the museum
lover a wide range of museums ranging from indigenous art and lifestyle
to seafaring and the 19th century white settlers.
Clark Memorial
Museum. The museum is housed in a former bank on the corner of Third and
E streets in the Old Town. The museum has a large collection of art and
cultural objects from the Yurok, Hupa and Karuk, who originally settled
here.
Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum. McFarlan House, a replica of
Eureka's first home, is home to the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum. The
museum operates the oldest passenger ship in the United States, the
vMadaket. The former ferry celebrated its 90th birthday in 2000 and is
now used for harbor tours. As a side curiosity, it has the smallest
licensed bar in the state of California.
Fort Humboldt Museum. The
Fort Humboldt Museum and State Historical Park is located on Fort Avenue
at the south end of town. General Ulysses Grant, who became famous
during the civil war, was one of the commanders of what was then the
northernmost fort on the Pacific coast. Items from the period of white
settlement in the 19th century are on display here. There are also
several working steam engines.
Parks
Cooper Gulch Park, in the
North Borough.
Sequoia Park. Approx. 1-2 km south of the above
Highland Park, west end near Bayshore Mall.
Humboldt State Historic
Park, adjacent to Highland Park.
Zoo
Sequoia Park Zoo. The zoo
is located in the southwest of the city in Seqoia Park. Open: The zoo is
closed on Mondays. Price: Admission is free, but a donation is
requested.
Galleries, art and antique shops are mainly found in the Old Town.
Shamus T Bones Steakhouse, 1911 Truesdale St, Eureka. Phone: +1
707-407-3550. Open: Sat + Sun 9 a.m. – 9.30 p.m., Mon – Wed 2.30 p.m. –
9.30 p.m., Thu + Fri 11 a.m. – 9.30 p.m.; Happy Hours 2.30pm – 6pm.
Smug's Pizza, 626 2nd St, Eureka. Phone: +1 707-268-8082. Open: Mon –
Thu 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Fri 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sat 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sun
closed.
The Banana Hut, 621 5th St, Eureka. Phone: +1 707-444-3447.
Hawaiian restaurant. Open: Mon – Fri 11.30 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sat 12 noon –
9 p.m., Sun 12 noon – 8 p.m.
The Greene Lily, 307 2nd St, Eureka.
Phone: +1 707-798-6083. breakfast place. Open: Mon – Fri 8 a.m. – 3
p.m., Sat + Sun 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Pearl Lounge, 507 2nd St, Eureka. Phone: +1 707-444-2017. cocktail
bar. Open: Tue – Sat 5 p.m. – 2 a.m., closed Sun + Mon.
Gallagher's
Irish Pub, 139 2nd St, Eureka. Phone: +1 707-442-1177. Open: Mon – Fri
11 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sat + Sun 11.30 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Shanty, 213
3rd St, Eureka. Phone: +1 707-444-2053. Bar. Open: Mon – Sat 12pm – 2am,
Sun 10am – 2am.
Carter House Inns, 301 L St, Eureka. Phone: +1 800-404-1390. Feature:
★★★.
Red Lion Hotel, 1929 4th St, Eureka. Phone: +1 707-445-0844.
Feature: ★★★.
Hydrangea Inn, 2419 F St, Eureka. Phone: +1
707-442-0415. Feature: ★★★★★.
The Humboldt State University Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center has been
located at Humboldt Bay in Old Town since spring 2007. It is planned to
move the campus completely to Eureka. In the First Gallery in the Old
Town, art students and artists from the university can exhibit and learn
how to organize and present an exhibition.
The College of the
Redwoods also maintains a campus and teaching building in Eureka.
There is little variation in temperature throughout the year in Eureka. The thermometer usually shows temperatures between 9 and 16°C. Even in summer it doesn't get very warm due to the location on the Pacific.
About an hour's drive north on Highway 101 is Redwood National Park. Here are the oldest trees in California, some are up to 2000 years old. Here it is advisable to stop at the Visitor Center first. You get some information, can watch a film about the park and buy a number of souvenirs. Then continue on Highway 101 to the Newton B. Drury Scenic Pkwy. This is a particularly beautiful route that runs through the middle of the redwoods. The parkway is about 17 miles long and finally ends in the 101 again. There are always hiking routes and walking paths to the left and right of the parkway, on which you can delve even deeper into the forests. It is advisable to invest some time and immerse yourself in these forests on foot.
Long before the arrival of the first European settlers, the territory
where the city is located today was inhabited by representatives of the
Wiyot Indian tribe, they called this place Wiyot. Jaroujiji. The coast
of modern northern California was explored by Europeans as early as
1579, who repeatedly missed the narrow passage to the harbor of Humboldt
Bay, which remained unnoticed for almost 300 years. This was due to the
geographical features of the area, often bad weather simply hid it from
view. In 1806, Russian explorers passed through here, having
sufficiently detailed maps, but they did not find the bay either. In
1849 Humboldt Bay was discovered by an overland expedition. On May 13,
1850, the settlement of Yurika was founded here.
The name of the
city comes from the Greek word "Eureka!" (Greek εὕρηκα), meaning
literally "Found!". This is how gold diggers reacted during the gold
rush when they discovered the precious metal. This exclamation is also
the state motto of California.
In the early years, the economy of
the settlement developed at the expense of forest resources. By 1854,
seven of the nine timber mills located on Humboldt Bay were in Eureka.
By 1855 there were 140 lumber schooners operating in the bay. The
booming timber industry and technological advances have led to the
development of rail transport in the region. In 1853, a branch of the
postal service opened in Eureka.
On February 26, 1860, a bloody
tragedy occurred, staged by Eureka entrepreneurs to crack down on the
indigenous population, which "prevented" them from doing business.
In the 1870s and 1880s, a wave of immigration from China swept the
city, which eventually led to clashes with the local white population,
caused by fierce competition for jobs. In February 1885, city councilman
David Kendall was caught in the crossfire of two rival Chinese gangs and
killed. This was the last straw and led to the expulsion of all 480
Chinese who had already created their "Chinatown" in Eureka. By this
time, the discriminatory Chinese Exclusion Act passed by the US Congress
was in force in the country.
In 1914, the Northwestern Pacific
Railroad was completed, making it possible to ship lumber by rail to San
Francisco and out of state. In addition, there is a safe land route for
the citizens of Eureka. Within a few years, the population of the city
doubled from 7.3 thousand people to 15 thousand. By 1922, the
construction of the Redwood Highway, which later became part of the
US-101 Highway, was completed. Good transport links have led to the
emergence of the tourism industry.
Throughout the 20th century,
the timber industry and fishing remained the most important sectors of
the city's economy. Eureka provided half of California's fish and
shellfish supply.
There is a very balanced climate with only very small temperature
fluctuations between summer and winter. This has to do with the cool
California current, whose water temperature is between 12 and 16 °C all
year round. According to the Köppen and Geiger climate classification,
Eureka has a cool-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb).
Average
summer temperatures in Eureka are much cooler than New York City and
Istanbul, which are on the same latitude. Summer temperatures are
unusually cool for the 40th parallel and are similar to those of
southern Alaska, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Tierra del Fuego in far
south Chile and Argentina, well north and south of the 50th parallel.
Average winter temperatures are also significantly milder than New York
and Istanbul, and unlike those two cities, frost and snow do not occur
every year. Snow is particularly rare, falling once or twice a decade at
most.