G
ilroy’s first overhaul to
improve Monterey Street
came about not long after the town’s founding. Back then, the
main street was but a dirt road passing through several dusty
blocks lined with ramshackle stores and saloons. The era’s
sidewalks were merely boardwalks, with each merchant along
the thoroughfare responsible for maintaining his own sec-
tion. This sometimes resulted in unevenly sized and roughly
constructed walkways with a potential for accidents. It was
with some pleasure, in 1868, when an editorial in the Gilroy
Advocate addressed the issue, along with the city’s inadequate
drainage system. “We are pleased to learn that our town au-
thorities are about to enter upon the improvement of Monterey
Street by constructing proper drains on each side leading to
the slough south of the depot. We also learn that the sidewalk
on the west side of Monterey St. will be laid down evenly for a
good passageway and a promenade for pedestrians through the
wet season.”
Monterey Street was graded in 1869. Now no longer a
rough dirt road, this made crossing the street a little easier
when it rained. Large mud puddles had been a constant
threat to the hems of ladies’ skirts, not to mention making
splash traps for passing carriage wheels.
By 1870, Gilroy’s main street finally had drainage gutters,
dug on either side of the street. Unfortunately these didn’t
lessen the smells, especially when a large corral holding 200
hogs was built across from the train station, offering an unwel-
come greeting to travelers.
However, there was one big improvement in 1870 when
a cistern was sunk at Monterey and Fifth Streets. The new
source provided adequate water storage for locals, as well
as more convenient hydrant access for the Vigilant Engine
Company. The firemen needed an adequate supply to put
out the frequent fires that sprung up and quickly leveled the
downtown’s wooden buildings.
Still, the town’s sewage disposal remained a problem for
over two decades. In 1897 the Board of Health received com-
plaints about the Monterey Street trenches causing ”odors and
other ill-effects of water running in the gutters.” The sewage
was called “a public nuisance and a menace to the health and
well-being of that part of the community.”
For decades, the town had no regular garbage collection
and blowing trash, along with sewage, gathered at the south
end of town. By 1899 the Advocate's editor remarked, “The
open run of slops on the west side of Monterey Street between
Sixth and Seventh is to the property owners unsightly and
offensive. A petition is being signed to correct this situation.”
By 1897, it was also time to address the dilapidated state
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
of downtown buildings. A scolding editorial addressed “the
shabby old tenements on Monterey St. which have stood from
the infancy of this town to date without change, except that
given by a coat of paint about once every 10 years....It is not
necessary for the town to wear the garb of poverty. Property
owners here are as able to put their shops and dwellings in as
good shape as the citizens of other towns.”
Finally in 1908 Monterey Street got a city sewer line, at
first extending from Sixth St. north, hardly addressing the
problems near the depot. Trash collection was still a problem.
Merchants were only required to sweep streets to the middle
of the road, ensuring that the store next door wouldn’t find
the trash swept in front its entrance.
Truly modern times arrived in 1913 when Monterey Street
was finally paved, at first only between Second and Ninth
Streets. By 1916 electric lighting arrived. Fifty-four classic
style poles with glass globes, purchased at the close of the
1915 San Francisco International Exposition, were installed
along the sidewalks. For the first lighting ceremony, crowds
estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000 showed up for a
street party and dance.
By the early 1930s Monterey Street became part of the
state highway system, at first known as State Route Number
2, later forming part of US Highway 101. During this period,
the state took over Monterey Street improvements and main-
tenance.
By 1954, locals protested when the state announced a
major renovation to the by-now very busy Highway 101
passing through Gilroy’s downtown. Besides widening the
highway itself, plans called for a center strip with over-
arching mercury vapor lights. The 36 lights were to replace
the original 1916 sidewalk electrolier lampposts that had
enhanced the downtown for four decades. Citizens signed
a petition and filed suit to stop the removal and action was
briefly stopped.
But not for long. Intended to enhance public safety with
brighter, albeit orange-colored beams, the new strip lights
were soon installed and functioning along Monterey Street.
Only 1500 people attended the first lighting, versus the 8,000
to 10,000 that showed up in 1916. Besides removing the
original city street lamps, four feet of sidewalk on either side
of Monterey Street were torn out, to widen the road.
A half-century later, the center strip and modern-style
lights came out. Once more, classical style pole lamp-
posts with decorative globes appeared on Monterey Street’s
old sidewalks, occupying nearly the same spots they had
in 1916. It was a pleasing reminder of how, once again,
the old becomes new.
FALL/HOLIDAY 2019
gmhtoday.com
55