1.
Richmond, California
–
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7,1905, under the McLaughlin Administration, Richmond was the largest city in the United States served by a Green Party mayor. As of the 2010 U. S. Census, the population is at 103,710. The largest, Richmond, Virginia, is the namesake of the California city, the Ohlone Indians were the first inhabitants of the Richmond area, settling an estimated 5,000 years ago. The name Richmond appears to predate actual incorporation by more than fifty years, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad had its terminus at Richmond. The first post office opened in 1900, Richmond was founded and incorporated in 1905, carved out of Rancho San Pablo, from which the nearby town of San Pablo inherited its name. Until the enactment of prohibition in 1919, the city had the largest winery in the world, in the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan was active in the city. In 1930 the Ford Motor Company opened a plant called Richmond Assembly Plant which moved to Milpitas in the 1960s. The old Ford plant has been a National Historic Place since 1988, the city was a small town at that time, until the onset of World War II which brought on a rush of migrants and a boom in the industrial sector. Standard Oil set up here in 1901, including a what is now the Chevron Richmond Refinery and tank farm. There is a pier into San Francisco Bay south of Point Molate for oil tankers, the western terminus of the Santa Fe Railroad was established in Richmond with ferry connections at Ferry Point in the Brickyard Cove area of Point Richmond to San Francisco. Many of these lived in specially constructed houses scattered throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Richmond, Berkeley. A specially built rail line, the Shipyard Railway, transported workers to the shipyards, kaisers Richmond shipyards built 747 Victory and Liberty ships for the war effort, more than any other site in the U. S. The city broke many records and even built one Liberty ship in a five days. On average the yards could build a ship in thirty days, the medical system established for the shipyard workers at the Richmond Field Hospital eventually became todays Kaiser Permanente HMO. It remained in operation until 1993 when it was replaced by the modern Richmond Medical Center hospital, Point Richmond was originally the commercial hub of the city, but a new downtown arose in the center of the city. It was populated by many department stores such as Kress, J. C. Penney, Sears, Macys, during the war the population increased dramatically and peaked at around 120,000 by the end of the war. Once the war ended the workers were no longer needed
2.
Winehaven, California
–
Winehaven was a winery and town in Richmond, California, that held the title of worlds largest winery for 12 years. It later became a depot for the United States Navy. The winery was shut down by Prohibition in 1919, and the company sold off its assets to avoid bankruptcy, Winehaven went mostly unused from about 1920 until the late 1930s. A post office operated at Winehaven from 1910 to 1925, the Navy bought the 412 acres site in 1941, moved into the winery buildings, and constructed 20 large concrete tanks on the hillsides above for a fuel depot. Thousands of drums of fuel were stored in buildings, pipelines were laid, a new pier was built. The old Winehaven Hotel was pressed into service for a period as barracks and mess hall, the Commanding Officer of the Naval Fuel Depot was assigned the largest house on the bluff overlooking the others, which previously had been the home of the winery superintendent. Despite the switch from wine to fuel, the district remains virtually unaltered from its days as a winery. The Navy continued to operate the fuel depot during the Korean War, cA-2658, Winehaven, Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot, Richmond, Contra Costa County, CA HABS No. CA-2658-A, Winehaven, Storage Cellar HABS No, cA-2658-B, Winehaven, Storage Cellar & Fermentation Room HABS No. CA-2658-G, Winehaven, Two-Bedroom Cottage HABS No, cA-2658-H, Winehaven, Rectangular Three-Bedroom-Plan Residence HABS No. CA-2658-I, Winehaven, Elongated Three-Bedroom-Plan Residence HABS No
3.
Potrero Hills (Richmond, California)
–
The steep hills crest from Point Richmond in the south to Point San Pablo in the north. They were formed by pressure created by the San Pablo Fault a sub-fault of the Hayward Fault, part of the hills once were cultivated as a vineyard for the Winehaven Winery, worlds largest winery at the time. The range hosts two peaks the largest is a 494-feet and the second largest a 328 feet peak, both are unnamed. The hills once formed the backbone of an island the existed off the coast of what is now central Richmond and has been landfilled, the hills are made of shale, sandstone, and chert. The hills provide a barrier protecting the Point Molate area from ammonia. A pass is carved into it at its southern end for Interstate 580, some of the ridge was also formerly used for goat grazing and quarrying at the Blake Brothers Quarry. A weather station sits atop a peak overlooking Point San Pablo, Point Potrero Pond is a small lake near the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge toll plaza near the south of the hills. The hills are dotted with farms and polluted sites from the former Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot. The hills vegetation is composed of eucalyptus woodlands, chaparral
4.
Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor
–
Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor is an isolated marina and small community at the far end of Point San Pablo in San Pablo Bay, within Richmond, in Contra Costa County, California. The village is home to a few individuals living in hundreds of boats. The area also features the Point San Pablo Marina and Yacht Club, the village is also the starting point for visitors to East Brother Light Station a historic landmark. The hills surrounding the town are completely undeveloped and feature chaparral landscaping, the area is near the Chevron Richmond Refinery and some tank farm containers are visible in addition to the Richmond Landfill across the waters of Castro Cove, a contaminated estuarine habitat. Point San Pablo Beach is also located here, the village has panoramic views of the undeveloped coastlines of southern Napa, Sonoma, and Solano counties and eastern central Marin County. The hills surrounding the village are completely undeveloped and feature Eucalyptus trees, the isolation of the area and undeveloped lands make deer sightings commonplace. Other animals in the include the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. The areas around the marina and breakwaters have many egrets, herons, the Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor is privately owned. Both the San Pablo Sportsmens Club and the Point San Pablo Preservation Society are non-profit organizations located at the harbor, the societys goal is to preserve the harbor and surrounding lands and waterways for public use and enjoyment. San Pablo Peninsula San Pablo Bay topics Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor website Google maps aerial view
5.
East Bay Regional Park District
–
The East Bay Regional Park District is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of parks which is the largest urban regional park district in the United States. The administrative office is located in Oakland, as of 2015, EBRPD spans 120,000 acres with 65 parks and over 1,200 miles of trails. Some of these parks are areas, others include a variety of visitor attractions. The trails are used for non-motorized transportation such as biking, hiking. Nearly 150 miles of paved trails through urban areas link the parks together, a destructive grass fire that broke out in Wildcat Canyon blew west into Berkeley on September 27,1923 and burned down 640 structures homes. The East Bay Water Company was harshly criticized for its failure to deliver water to successfully fight the fire. A state law was passed that enabled citizens of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties to create a district that could obtain water from the Mokelumne River. The East Bay Municipal District was formed and approved by the electorate, the EBRPD was founded in 1934, and acquired its first land two years later, when the East Bay Municipal Utility District sold 2,166 acres of its surplus land. The founders of the district included Robert Sibley, a hiking enthusiast, Hollis Thompson, then Berkeley City Manager, and Charles Lee Tilden, among others. William Penn Mott, Jr. served as director of the agency from 1962 to 1967, in June 2013, EBRPD purchased a 1,900 acres tract of land formerly known as Roddy Ranch in east Contra Costa County. The tract lies south of Antioch and west of Brentwood. The cost was reported as $14.24 million, funding will also be provided by California Wildlife Conservation Board and an unidentified private foundation. The acquisition does not include Roddy Ranch Golf Club or about 240 acres of privately owned land inside the project boundary, the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy will install gates, fencing and signs around the tract in the coming year, while the sale is in escrow. The new area will likely be named Deer Valley Regional Park, in 2016, Vargas Plateau Regional Park in Fremont was the first park ever to have been shut down as the result of legal action in the more than 80-year history of EBRPD. During 2014, EBRPD cut park hours on a temporary and interim basis to reduce access to Mission Peak in Fremont. The parks administered by the EBRPD vary greatly in size and character, there are also bay shore parks such as the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline north of Richmond, the Coyote Hills Regional Park near Fremont, the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline on San Leandro Bay, and the Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline south of the Oakland International Airport, the district also includes a former farm, a former coal mine, an extinct volcano, and one of the biggest dog-walking parks in the country. Redwood Regional Park contains the largest remaining stand of coast redwood in the East Bay
6.
Alvarado Park
–
Alvarado Park is a subsection of Wildcat Canyon Regional Park in Richmond, California and is a National Historic Place. It is located at the mouth of Wildcat Canyon is the Alvarado Park section, between 1909 and 1923, Alvarado Park was a private park that was owned and operated by local residents. In 1923, it was donated to the city of Richmond, later it was admitted into the East Bay Regional Park District. Then, in 1985, it was incorporated into Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, in its early years, Alvarado Park was served by its own streetcar line from the East Shore and Suburban Railway, a Key System precursor, which was later discontinued. The park district made certain improvements including a new play area, conversion of parking into meadows. It was also the home of the Grande Vista Sanitarium, later known as Belgum Sanitarium, though the associated buildings have since burned to the ground, their foundations and the surrounding grounds, including an orchard remain. The park also features distinctive and noted stone masonry, retaining walls, the lampposts are no longer lit. A stonework bridge spans Wildcat Creek in the main entrance. The park district is currently struggling to return the river to a natural state in hopes of restoring its fish population. The park also featured an open-air pavilion dance hall which was converted to a roller rink, National Register of Historic Places listings in Contra Costa County, California
7.
Anthony Chabot Regional Park
–
Anthony Chabot Regional Park is a regional park in Oakland, California in the United States. It covers 5,067 acres in the San Leandro Hills adjacent to Oakland and it is part of the East Bay Regional Park District system. The terrain of the park is steep, consisting of grasslands, chaparral. The park is adjacent to Lake Chabot Regional Park, Redwood Regional Park, Dunsmuir Ridge Open Space, there are trails for hiking, horseback riding, and cycling that connect to other regional parks. Trailheads are located along Redwood Road and Skyline Boulevard in Oakland, the park houses two equestrian centers for private horse boarding and lessons, Chabot Equestrian Center and Skyline Ranch Equestrian Center. A marksmanship range was operated within the park by the non-profit Chabot Gun Club, the range closed in 2016, after operating 53 years, due to pollution problems caused by shell casings. Redwood Canyon Public Golf Course, a marina with rental boats, camping is a major activity in the park with a 75 campsite family campground and seven group camps. Anthony Chabot Family Campground is open year-round and features 53 drive-to tent campsites,10 walk-to tent campsites, some campsites offer views overlooking Lake Chabot. The parks seven group campsites are for groups ranging in size from 11 to 300 campers, Bort Meadow Group Camp, with a capacity of 300, also allows equestrian camping. Anthony Chabot Regional Park opened in 1952 as Grass Valley Regional Park, originally named for the dominant geographic feature of the part of the park. In 1965 the park was renamed in honor of Anthony Chabot, the lands that make up the park were originally ancestral land of the Jalquin, an Ohlone and Bay Miwok speaking tribe. The lands were divided by the Mexican land grants in the 1840s, the portion of the park to Rancho San Lorenzo. In the 1860s American settlers ranched the area including the 525-acre Grass Valley Ranch located in the area that is today Bort Meadow, cattle grazing continues in Grass Valley in modern times. Extensive coast redwood logging occurred in Anthony Chabot Regional Park and neighboring Redwood Regional Park from the late 1800s to early 1900s, while all the coast redwoods in Anthony Chabot Regional Park were logged, many regrowth trees are over 100 years old. Various water companies, predecessors to the East Bay Municipal Utility District, beginning around 1910, the water companies were responsible for planting the large eucalyptus plantations that are still a dominant feature in the park. Some water company land was leased to ranchers in the 1900s, including the family of Manuel Maciel, the Maciel family, ranched the land in the area that is now the Anthony Chabot Family Campground and marksmanship range. The main access road to these facilities is named Marciel Road in the familys honor, in the area of Big Bear Staging Area along Redwood Road was the Big Bear Tavern. While no traces remain, this was the site began the traditional jazz revival
