Historical Markers and War Memorials in Richmond, California
Martinez is the county seat for Contra Costa County
Richmond is in Contra Costa County
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Dedicated
October 20, 1984
Mayor Thomas J. Corcoran
City of Richmond, California
History of the Indian Statue
The first Indian statue was commissioned and dedicated at this site in 1909 by the Women's Westside Improvement Club. . . . — — Map (db m94712) HM
The S.S. Red Oak Victory is an example of the enormous scale of work completed by ordinary men and women to help the war effort. Constructed in eight-seven days, the S.S. Red Oak Victory was one of ten Victory ships commissioned by the United . . . — — Map (db m94840) HM
You are standing in Shipyard No. 3, which represents one of the many industrial complexes which operated to support America in World War II. Over 90,000 skilled and unskilled workers from across the country relocated to Richmond, California to find . . . — — Map (db m94832) HM
Whirley cranes were an essential part of Richmond Shipyard's manufacturing capabilities during World War II. Named for the turret's ability to rotate (whirl) 360 degrees, the cranes could handle massive amounts of steel - lifting and moving large . . . — — Map (db m94830) HM
Alvarado Park (Grand Canyon Park) was established
in 1909 and soon became a popular destination for
visitors from throughout the Bay Area. From the mid-1930s to 1943 Richmond installed the park's rock and
concrete walls, barbecue pits, and stone . . . — — Map (db m146005) HM
A Popular Gathering Place for 200 Years
Alvarado Park has long been a popular spot to gather.
Native Americans lived here and ground acorns on the
site. Later, Spanish settlers came to picnic at what they
called Arroyo Cañada (stream . . . — — Map (db m146445) HM
In 1902 the Bank of Richmond occupied the main floor. The upstairs offices housed the early phone exchange. Richmond's first paper, 'The Point Richmond Record' was published by Lyman Naugle in the basement. In 1910 the building was remodeled and the . . . — — Map (db m94710) HM
San Francisco Bay is known for more than its great beauty. Its large estuary, where sea water mixes with huge river flows, is also a major port.
Richmond's deep natural waterfront lent itself to early industrial development. Augustin Macdonald . . . — — Map (db m94738) HM
For decades, Macdonald Avenue has been the vibrant heartof Richmond; a place where you'd catch the latest movie, get
your first job or visit with neighbors on the sidewalk. As the
nation prepared for World War II, Richmond's elite and . . . — — Map (db m152693) HM
This tablet is dedicated
to the memory of personnel of
the City of Richmond
who died in the service
of their country in
World War II.
John J. Kenny · Councilman
William J. Finnegan · Engineer
James F. Fitzgibbons · Street Dept. . . . — — Map (db m144412) WM
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 . . . — — Map (db m94739) HM
This plaque commemorates the original site of Contra Costa College
at the former Kaiser Shipyards, Port of Richmond,
Richmond, California.
Presented by the Contra Costa College Foundation
on the occasion of the celebration of
30 Years of . . . — — Map (db m152984) HM
"They were from all over the country... all these people came to work here in Richmond at the shipyards...The shipyards, the cannery, there was a lot of industry here...They had three yards, and they were sending out ships every day... and I . . . — — Map (db m94755) HM
Constructed in 1873-74, East Brothers Light Station is the older of only two remaining light stations of San Francisco Bay that have remained substantially unchanged. The original 5th order classical (Fresnel) lens was replaced with the present . . . — — Map (db m164491) HM
What is this?
This little boat is called an El Toro. The design was
developed in 1940 by several amateur boat builders so
that anyone who was the least bit handy could cut the
boat out of 2 pieces of plywood and put it together. . . . — — Map (db m188807) HM
Before bridges spanned the Bay, ferries and trains once linked
San Francisco with the rest of the nation. At that time, the Bay
Area boasted the world's largest ferry system.
Here, at Ferry Point ship and rail met in 1900 when Santa Fe
tunneled . . . — — Map (db m152761) HM
Often referred to as Nicholl City Hall, John
Nicholl located his offices upstairs, leasing
the ground floor to the city for $50 a month from 1909
to 1915. The building, was purchased in 1922 by the Point
Masonic Lodge, and remained under its . . . — — Map (db m152760) HM
On this site a school was founded in 1944 to serve
Richmond students. The school was named after
Harry Leander Ells, who served on the Stege
School Board and served the 22nd District of the
State Assembly in 1903-1905 representing Contra
Costa . . . — — Map (db m144416) HM
Before the coming of Europeans, the land we now call California
supported hundreds of tribal groups. The East Bay had about 25
independent tribal groups with well-defined territories. The people
of these tribes spake dialects of three distinct . . . — — Map (db m146034) HM
Presented
by the
N.S.G.W. No. 217
and
N.D.G.W. No. 147
of Richmond
In memory of those who served the United States in time of war — — Map (db m144414) WM
During the World War II Home Front effort, the Richmond Shipyards were an immense facility
covering 880 acres. Constructed for the Henry J. Kaiser Company in 1941 and 1942, these shipyards
became the largest in the world. New methods of ship . . . — — Map (db m146451) HM
The area where you are now standing was alive with activity during World War II, when it was known as Kaiser Shipyard #2. It was one of four shipyards carved from Richmond's coastline to serve the war effort. The Rosie the Riveter Memorial . . . — — Map (db m94433) HM WM
Pt. Pinole is the last site of the Giant Powder Company, the first company in America to produce dynamite. Following devastating explosions at their San Francisco and Berkeley sites, the business moved to this isolated location in 1892. . . . — — Map (db m143396) HM
The SS Red Oak Victory is the last remaining ship of the 747 vessels built at the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, Ca, during World War II. Commissioned by the U.S. Navy as the USS Red Oak Victory (AK-235), on December 5, 1944, she served as an . . . — — Map (db m131188) HM
160 Washington Avenue
site of
The Critchett Hotel
Built in 1900 - 25 rooms
Often called "Mechanics Hotel"
This was a first class hotel with a splendid dining hall built and owned by Frank Critchett. The land was donated by John Nicholl to . . . — — Map (db m50483) HM
Four panels, in two sets of two, describe the pre- and post-war history and uses of the Ford Assembly Building:
1930-1939 Ford Model A
"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking." -- Henry Ford
The Ford . . . — — Map (db m94768) HM
"The war shed light on America's promise. It created an explosion that accelerated change all the way into the 1960s." -- Betty Reid Suskin
With World War II officially ended, Richmond filled with celebration in September, 1945. Years . . . — — Map (db m94765) HM
This building was built in 1903 at 139 West Richmond Avenue by J.Q. Black who supplied the area with coal, wood, hay, and grain. Robert Dornan Sr. bought the building in 1909 and added the service of moving goods.
In 1911 he bought a truck and . . . — — Map (db m49804) HM
"All these ships were being built (in Richmond) and it provided a lot of employment... But looking back, it was really a boon to their economy. The stores were just really bustling...it was full of people..." -- Stella Faria, shipyard office . . . — — Map (db m94753) HM
" I think that during World War II...there was a tremendous amount of patriotism. I think that was the important thing. It was a real job and you did something for the war effort. -- Maggie Gee, Army pilot
People moved to Richmond from . . . — — Map (db m94740) HM
"We didn't think
the streets were paved with gold or anything,
but we thought in California we could mix and mingle and get along."
Wilbur Wheat
The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot – Richmond's historic gateway -
greeted . . . — — Map (db m153482) HM
In 1968, Richmond was shocked when its premiere furniture store,
Travalini's, was burned to the ground near here. The arson was fueled by larger tensions: Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, civil rights protests, and closer to home, the . . . — — Map (db m153913) HM
In 1775 and 1776, Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza, Father
Pedro Font, along with 240 settlers, soldiers, and others traveled
1,800 miles from Sonora, Mexico to Monterey, California. Anza
and Font, with a small group passed through by horseback . . . — — Map (db m145988) HM
The Willie Mays
Junior Giants Fields
are dedicated with affection and appreciation
on this day of May 21st in the year 2022
Willie Howard Mays Jr., nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid"
is a former New York and San Francisco Giants
"Hall of . . . — — Map (db m211935) HM
Established July 7, 1908, for the purpose of improving the quality of life in Point Richmond, the Women's Westside Improvement Club is responsible for the original Indian statue fountain, a reading room that became the Westside Branch Library, this . . . — — Map (db m94711) HM
Mass has been offered in Point Richmond since 1900. Our Lady of Mercy became a parish in the summer of 1902, and Father Martin P. Scanlan was the first pastor. The contract for both the church and rectory was awarded to architect Etienne A. Garin in . . . — — Map (db m226280) HM
