Martinez

Where can you find a beautiful marina, a charming downtown, an Amtrak station, John Muir's former home, Joe DiMaggio's birthplace and the county seat of Contra Costa County? In historic Martinez, that's where. 

On Saturday afternoon the hazy winter skies and unseasonably warm temperatures greeted me as I arrived in downtown Martinez to explore and shoot off some photos of this colorful locale. Come take a look...

Like so many other small towns, Martinez has its welcome banners, too...

From the marina you can see views of three bridges: 

the old Benicia-Martinez Bridge, 

the new one, and the old railroad bridge...

Stop in at the museum to learn more about the city's colorful history...

The majestic Finance Building and County Courthouse line Court Street...

The old clock tower - unfortunately, not keeping correct time...

There's lots of interesting architecture in this town...

As well as lots of public defenders...

Hopefully you never need to set foot in this place...

Late afternoons and sunny skies create interesting shadows...

Like antiques? Martinez has plenty...

More colorful buildings...

Creative "No Parking" signs...

The office of the local paper...

Lovely tall grass near Alhambra Creek...

The old city hall building...

Ornately decorated buildings...

Another cute boutique...

And charming architecture...

Trees awaiting the arrival of spring...

Time to take down the holiday wreath?

The old hot dog and hamburger joint...

The historic train station...

Martinez has it all!