..Grizzly versus Bull. In 1869 a grizzly bear
..versus bull fight was conducted in the old
..Laddsville cattle pen on Junction Avenue,
..No report on its legality or wagering that
..might have taken place among spectators.
..Might spice up rodeo weekenci nowa-
..days ....

..Telephones Arrive. The first town tele-
..phone exchange opened in 1884 with Min-
..nie Crumb the first operator. Remember
..that Alexander Graham Bell had invented
..the telephone only eight years before in
..1876. Much later, on May 5, 1956, Pacific
..Telephone converted the town over to dial
..telephones. Livermore's first prefix was
..HI lltop.

..Railroads Lay Lines. In August 1869 the
..Southern Pacific (later called the Western

..Pacific and later still file Central Pacific)
..opened its Livermore station along its new
..tracks. Western Pacific didn't lay its tracks
..through the valley until 40 years later, in
..May 1909 with its first train running
..through town Aug. 22, 1910.

..First Theaters. The first movie theater (a
..nickelodeon) was established in the Bernal
..Building, 2152 Second St., in August 1908
..but burned down that November. The Bell
..Theatre opened in January 1909 at Second
..and J streets. It burned in 1919. The State
..Theatre was next on the scene and showed
..its first talking pictures in 1929.

..First Oil Well. The first Livermore area
..well was drilled about four miles north
..of Livermore in the summer of 1900. The
..well was abandoned at a depth of 1,175