Pulgas Water Temple

The story of Pulgas Water Temple

Pulgas Water Temple is a stone monument in Redwood City, California, designed by architect William G. Merchant and set at the terminus of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct. It was erected by the San Francisco Water Department to commemorate the 1934 completion of the aqueduct, and water originally flowed through a vault under the temple itself before being diverted to a nearby treatment plant.

The structure is listed as a sculpture and takes the form of Greek Revival architecture, so its classical look is part of the point. The temple name comes from Rancho de las Pulgas, an early Spanish land grant. Pulgas is the Spanish word for “fleas,” and the grant name reflects the earlier village name of the Lamchin, the Ohlone tribe living in the San Carlos area before Spanish settlers arrived.

Pulgas Water Temple also stands at California Historical Landmark No. 92, which marks the camping place of the Spanish Portola expedition on November 11, 1769 somewhere in this immediate area. That expedition was the first European party to explore inland California and the first to see San Francisco Bay. The day before, while camped at San Francisquito Creek, its leaders decided to turn back and begin the return journey to San Diego, retracing their route north to the point where they had crossed Sweeney Ridge from the coast.

The site later took on a second life in film. It appeared in Kate Kline May’s 1983 adaptation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice Underground, where the pool became the croquet scene, and it was also used in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film The Doors for an outdoor concert scene. An additional stage with pillars was built for filming.

When you visit, the key things to notice are the stone temple itself, the aqueduct connection at this end point, and the layered significance of a place that links a 1934 water project with a much older travel route in California.