In 1912, San Jose dammed the Guadalupe River to create Lake Monahan, an ambitious urban experiment that backed water up to the San Fernando Street bridges, allowing residents to swim and boat through downtown; however, water levels dropped too low just two summers later, forcing the city to drain the lake and return the area to its natural river state.
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San Jose's lost downtown lakeAdded:
Downtown San Jose used to have a lake right in the middle of the city. In 1912, the city dammed the Guadalupe River. They called it Lake Monahan.
Water backed up all the way to the San Fernando Street bridges. People were swimming and boating through downtown.
Now, it didn't last long because two summers later, water levels dropped too low to keep it alive. They literally pulled the plug. And just like that, San Jose's most ambitious urban experiment vanished. No lake, no legend, just a river that kept moving. Was this the coolest idea San Jose ever had or a beautiful disaster waiting to happen?
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