Clay, Kilns & Brick

Clay, Kilns and Brick. Brickyard Cove . Ferry Point Loop . San Francisco Bay Trail. , Only expansive brown mudflats, backed by rolling hills ablaze with orange poppies in the spring, were found here at Brickyard Cove until the Santa Fe Railway came to Ferry Point in the early 1900s, three brick manufacturing companies arrived. The largest, Los Angeles Pressed Brick Company operated seven kilns turning out 40,000 bricks a day. The Los Angeles Brick Company became the Richmond Brick Company around 1915. , Richmond Reds . , Richmond Reds were bricks made of clay dug from nearby hill and turned red baking in the kilns. , Shipped by railroad, or barged from a small wharf built in the cove, "reds" were used to construct may Bay area buildings, including San Francisco's Palace Hotel and parts of Standard Oil's first California refinery. , Development of modern building materials, eventually rendered local brickyards obsolete. This one, the last, ceased operation in 1965. , Recreation and Residential. , The Richmond Yacht Club bought Brickyard Cove in 1961. , Dredging and development followed, leading to the waterfront mix of recreational, residential and commercial use today. , A glimpse to the past is preserved in the two original "beehive" kilns. .