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    Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center

    3.4 (25 reviews)
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    American L.

    Hello, old friend Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center, I've come to visit with you again. Feel the old familiar feelings of patriotism. What!? It's now a library. Where is Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center? New location of here we discovered. Very different from the original Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building I was far more familiar with. Now nestled into a hillside on a narrow strip of land, the new, then $7.8 million, 9,000 square foot Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building was dedicated on 30 May 2005. Here there are flags from all the US Armed Forces, some military memorabilia, some military and Veterans plaques, a Blue Star Memorial plaque from the Lafayette Garden Club, and a Viet Nam Memorial plaque. It is far less of a Veterans Memorial and far more of a place for private events --albeit events that fund the mortgage, maintenance and upkeep of the building and grounds. After WWI and II, America's Veterans were often honored by their communities with buildings whose purpose was to host meetings of Veterans organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and social gatherings for returning Veterans. Scattered throughout the nation, these Veterans' halls were often centrally located. "Financed by State bond money the original Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building was first located at the SE corner of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and First Street and constructed during the period 1938-1939 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. Much of the interior finish labor was provided by Lafayette American Legion Post 517 members. The building was dedicated by that Post in mid-1939." Lafayette and Walnut Creek, located next to each other in Contra Costa County, both had old Veterans' halls located on prime parcels in their down-towns. The buildings were dilapidated and in disrepair, with uneven floors, leaky roofs and seismic hazards. For many years, Veterans in both communities complained, unsuccessfully, often and loudly about these deficiencies and sought financial assistance from Contra Costa County, which owned the buildings. The old Veterans halls sat on parcels that were critically important to both cities' long-term redevelopment efforts. Negotiators worked for months to work out a cost-splitting arrangement for a new facility. In January 2004, Contra Costa County and the cities of Lafayette and Walnut Creek announced plans to construct a new Veterans' Memorial Building in Lafayette. The original Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center and the Walnut Creek Veterans Hall were demolished. Once the new location was complete Contra Costa County vested title of original property to City of Lafayette. The old Veterans building was immediately razed. Construction of a new library building was completed in 2006 on the old site A Historical Marker identifies the original Veterans Memorial Building location at 1201 Locust Street, Walnut Creek, CA. Walnut Creek now has its Veterans Memorial Plaza. On this day in history 30 January 1945 - occurred the largest rescue in American history, The Raid at Cabanatuan, also known as The Great Raid US Army Rangers, Scouts and Filipino guerrillas executed a flawless rescue of 489 prisoners of war and 33 civilians, while suffering four Americans killed in action (two commandos and two prisoners) and four wounded, from notorious Camp Cabanatuan north of Manila, Philippines. A group of over a hundred US Rangers, US Philippine Army Scouts and several hundred guerrillas traveled 30 miles (48 km) behind Japanese lines to reach the camp. The Philippine Scouts was a military organization of the United States Army from 1901 until after the end of World War II 2 September 1945. In a nighttime raid, under the cover of darkness and a distraction by a P-61 Black Widow, the first US aircraft designed to locate and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in bad weather, the group surprised the Japanese forces in and around the camp. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in the 30-minute coordinated attack. The GIs escorted the POWs back to American lines. The rescue allowed the prisoners to tell of the death march and prison camp atrocities, which sparked a new rush of resolve for the war against Japan. The rescuers were awarded commendations by General MacArthur, and were also recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A memorial now sits on the site of the former camp, and the events of the raid have been depicted in several films and documentaries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAHhua04AAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HKJIO40R6g

    Main corridor - plenty of seating

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    16 days ago

    Pretty Location on a busy boulevard, easy parking with lots of handicapped spaces. There's also a pleasant hiking trail close by.

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    Review Highlights - Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center

    Eileen and Linda did all the rest, working around our timing when it flexed a bit due to some late comer's.

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    The Gardens At Heather Farm - photographer: Honey and Light Studio

    The Gardens At Heather Farm

    (105 reviews)

    The Gardens are absolutely beautiful! I like that it's a free/public area most of the time. The…read morehighlight may be the roses or the gazebo! I can definitely see why it's such a popular venue for weddings. Parking is very easy with a relatively spacious lot. It's handicap friendly. The GPS instructions were accurate. Be sure to check out their social media or call their number to stay up to date on weekend closures for private events before visiting. The wedding season is around March to November. Communication for event space rentals is by email only. During the wedding season they may a little slower to reply but they always did reply eventually. For weddings they tend to book out about two years in advance for weekends. If you ask about Fridays there may be some same year availability. As a non-profit they are a relatively affordable venue. Weddings require almost full day rentals. But something else like a baby shower or memorial can be rented out by the hour with a minimum time. They require a permit to be purchased for professional photos. But it's a modest price and goes to a good cause. It's $75/hour for the photo permit and for a garden use permit like a small gathering it's $300. Walnut Creek is lucky to have such a beautiful gem. I highly recommend checking them out!

    Let's reward yourself with this meticulously manicured rose garden and more. Free and beautiful and…read morerelaxing. Thanks and kudos to the management. Recommended you try it yourself. Magnificent colors and fragrances.

    Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center - venues - Updated July 2026

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