South Berkeley in Alameda County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Site of Reid's Records
Berkeley History
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 3, 2020
1. Site of Reid's Records Marker
Inscription.
Site of Reid's Records. Berkeley History. Founded in 1945 by local sports hero Melvin Reid and his wife Betty Reid, Reid’s Records was one of the first Black-owned record shops in California and one of the few shops of any kind where African-American music could be purchased before the 1960s. Operating out of the record store, Mel and his uncle Paul (Cud) Reid also started and hosted the widely popular Religious Gems Radio Broadcast, which was the first of its kind in the Bay Area. Together they became two of the most successful African-American gospel promoters on the west coast during the 1950s and 60s. Generations of Reid cousins grew up behind of the counter of Reid’s. The Reid family were descendants of the pioneering Black families who first began arriving in the Bay Area before the Civil War.
www.berkeleyplaques.org
2019
Berkeley Historical Plaque Project ,
Founded in 1945 by local sports hero Melvin Reid and his wife Betty Reid, Reid’s Records was one of the first Black-owned record shops in California and one of the few shops of any kind where African-American music could be purchased before the 1960s. Operating out of the record store, Mel and his uncle Paul (Cud) Reid also started and hosted the widely popular Religious Gems Radio Broadcast, which was the first of its kind in the Bay Area. Together they became two of the most successful African-American gospel promoters on the west coast during the 1950s & 60s. Generations of Reid cousins grew up behind of the counter of Reid’s. The Reid family were descendants of the pioneering Black families who first began arriving in the Bay Area before the Civil War.
www.berkeleyplaques.org
2019
Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
Erected 2019 by Berkeley Historical Plaque Project.
Location. 37° 51.081′ N, 122° 16.701′ W. Marker is in Berkeley, California, in Alameda County. It is in South Berkeley. Marker is at the intersection of Sacramento
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Street and Prince Street, on the right when traveling north on Sacramento Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3101 Sacramento Street, Berkeley CA 94702, United States of America. Touch for directions.
The southwest Berkeley store, reportedly the state's oldest record shop, opened on Sacramento Street in 1945 to serve the East Bay's swelling black community. Diara Reid, daughter of the founders Mel and Betty, blamed gentrification and black depopulation for Reid's diminishing clientele, adding "no one buys CDs anymore." (Submitted on July 14, 2020.)
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, May 3, 2020
2. Site of Reid's Records Marker - wide view
Photo courtesy of Diara Reid, May 3, 2020
3. Marker inset photo: Melvin Reid and Aretha Franklin
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 14, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 228 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on July 14, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
