Laguna Honda Reservoir

Laguna Honda Reservoir sits on the southwest shoulder of Mount Sutro, a deep basin that once served as a natural lake before it was dammed and expanded to store the city's drinking water. In eighteen sixty-five, the Spring Valley Water Works completed a thirteen-mile-long pipeline made entirely of redwood to carry fresh water from Pilarcitos Canyon to this site. This infrastructure was essential for the city’s growth in the late nineteenth century, and the reservoir required a resident keeper to manage the grounds from a cottage nearby.