Dublin (California)

Dublin is a city of 65,000 people (2019) on the northern side of Alameda County, in California's East Bay region. It's an expanding city, constantly making its way into the golden-colored foothills of the Diablo Range on its eastern and western sides. While it doesn't have a historic district or any particularly notable tourist destinations, it's a pleasant place to visit, with some important positives that it shares with its neighbors.

Understand
Dublin is in the Tri-Valley and is 35 miles from San Francisco, but nonetheless has a surprisingly different climate than that city. Summers are hot, dry and windy. Dublin is on 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 is 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.

History
In 1835, José María Amador received over 16,000 acres for his service as a Mexican soldier and in Mission San Jose where he was administrator. The valley where Dublin can be found, the Amador Valley, was named after him. Irish settlers bought land from Amador and founded a town fifteen years later.

The formerly rural community that Irish settlers had founded was transformed into a suburb when, in 1960, the first housing tracts were built in West Dublin. The city grew steadily from the early 1960s onward, and developed as both a residential and retail center. Dublin was incorporated in February 1982.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Dublin was the second fastest-growing city in California, behind only Santa Clarita. The population was about 46,000 at the time of the 2010 census.

Dublin is home to the headquarters for the companies CallidusCloud, Ross Stores, Tria Beauty, Medley Health, Challenge Dairy, and Arlen Ness. It was also formerly home to the headquarters of Sybase, which is now part of SAP SE. There are some historical sites at the junction of Dublin Boulevard and Donlan Way. This was in the past 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 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

Climate
The region's climate is Mediterranean, similar to that of its neighbors Pleasanton and San Ramon.

By car
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, like San Ramon, to the north.

By BART
There are two BART stations: and. BART connects Dublin with the cities of Hayward, Fremont, Oakland, and San Francisco, along with several smaller cities as well.

By car
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. It leads west to Dublin Hills Regional Park and the Shaefer Ranch housing development.

Traveling around the city by car is the most practical method of getting around.

By bus
WHEELS is the local bus service, and it serves Dublin, Pleasanton, and Livermore.

Countryside
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 Mount Diablo.

City
Because it grew little until the 1960s, Dublin 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.

Parks
There is one major regional park in Dublin and several city parks.

Buy


Since Dublin 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.

Go next

 * Livermore is to the southeast and has a very different culture from Pleasanton, but one that is just as nice in its own way, with many hiking opportunities and wineries.
 * Oakland is a much larger city than Pleasanton and Livermore and is the main city in Alameda County.
 * Pleasanton is just south of Dublin and can be accessed on 680 South and several other local roads. It's only short drive away (on the other side of I-580) and is an interesting place to visit, with a colorful history and downtown.
 * San Ramon and Danville are north of Dublin, and like their neighbors to the south, are separated from Oakland by a range of hills.