Point Richmond
Encyclopedia
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA, near the eastern end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end...
, between Interstate 580
Interstate 580
Interstate 580 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to Interstate 80:*Interstate 580 , a connector in the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5...
and the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. Its compact size and many historic buildings give it a quaint "small town" feel that has also been described as "highbrow".
History
Originally a tiny village known as East Yards surrounded by abandoned farm lands Point Richmond was Richmond's central downtown area from the late 19th century until the early 20th century, when the present downtown superseded it as the busiest part of town. Since then, its trademark "mom-and-pop" shops have survived. The Point Richmond Historic DistrictPoint Richmond Historic District
The Point Richmond Historic District is the downtown area of Point Richmond in Richmond, California and is on the National Register of Historic Places .-History:...
has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.
The neighborhood is dominated to the north by several industrial operations, including a large Chevron refinery, several smaller chemical manufacturing facilities and an active Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight yard. Long distance freight trains are put together in this yard, largely consisting of container cars and automobile transports loaded from the nearby Port of Richmond. The 24 hour operations of the switch engines are a constant feature of life in the Point. Residents have a love-hate relationship with the trains, pushing the railroad to modify operations to make them quieter and less disruptive to traffic but also fighting to save the wig wag signals
Wigwag (railroad)
Wigwag is the nickname given to a type of railroad grade crossing signal once common in North America, named for the pendulum-like motion it used to signal the approach of a train...
when BNSF made plans to remove them. The wig wag signals, while no longer operating, are one of only a handful still in existence nationwide.
The neighborhood is divided by a ridge, which separates it into a "Bay side" and a "town side." Many houses, which include historic Victorians
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, offer a view of the bay. Many of the area businesses are housed in century-old buildings dating back to before the founding or incorporation of the town. Most of the commercial buildings are owned by Josh Gensner and his business partners.
Attractions
The PlungeThe Plunge
The Richmond Municipal Natatorium, affectionately known as The Plunge, is a historic swim center in the Point Richmond neighborhood of Richmond, California. It was closed in August 2001 for seismic retrofitting and reopened in August 2010 ....
is a local landmark swim center, reopened in August 2010 after a seismic upgrade and remodeling. The nearby hill is Nicholl Knob, which is part of the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline is a park in the Point Richmond neighborhood of Richmond, California. It offers panoramic views of the Bay Area especially San Francisco and the North Bay mountains, especially from its high point, Nicholls Knob. The park includes Keller Beach on San Pablo Bay and a...
. There is a tunnel through this hill named the Ferry Point tunnel, since trains used to drop passengers off here to continue on to San Francisco by ferry. Part of the area on the bay side of the tunnel is known as Brickyard Cove
Brickyard Cove
Brickyard Cove is a body of water in the Brickyard Cove neighborhood of the Point Richmond area of Richmond, California. The cove is situated between the Harbor Channel, a deepwater shipping channel that connects the San Francisco Bay with the Port of Richmond and the mainland. The cove is located...
owing to the brickyard which used to operate in the area. Point Richmond is home to Keller Beach
Keller Beach
Kellar Beach is a public beach on the San Francisco Bay in Richmond, California.-Overview:The beach is located in the Point Richmond District at Miller/Knox Regional Park in southwestern Richmond. It is accessible by car and by a 66 feet walk from an AC Transit line 72M bus stop. The beach's...
, one of the several publicly accessible beaches in Richmond, and nearby is a picnic area and parking lot. Across from the picnic area is the Golden State Model Railroad Museum. Continuing along the road is Brickyard Cove a housing development in the area of a former brickyard. Nearby, at the end of Dornan Drive is the S.S. Red Oak Victory ship
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
in former WWII Kaiser Shipyard 3, which is part of the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park; it is a restored Victory ship built in the city during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Waterfront
Further along lies Brickyard Cove and the Richmond Yacht Club, one of many marinas in the city. There are condominiums and brand new luxury tract homesTract housing
Tract housing is a style of housing development in which multiple similar homes are built on a tract of land which is subdivided into individual small lots...
terraced into the hills as well as homes built over the water on piles along two spits.
Point Richmond's shoreline was the location of a 20 feet (6.1 m) beached
Beached whale
A beached whale is a whale that has stranded itself on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, the body collapsing under its own weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole.-Species:...
grey whale calf in May 2007, the source of considerable odor in the area. After a delay in obtaining permits and disputes over who would pay, the carcass was towed out to sea.
One of the last remaining portions of the channel and marshlands that once separated the island of Point Richmond with the mainland is the Herman Slough Creek
Herman Slough
Herman Slough is a fork of Castro Creek in Richmond, California.-Overview:The stream is largely culverted and picks up water from storm drams throughout the Iron Triangle District. The creek once was fed by rainwaters. A portion remains in its original state alongside the Chevron Richmond Refinery....
in the north end of the neighborhood along with the Santa Rita Channel where the marinas are now located.
Transportation
It is served by AC TransitAC Transit
AC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...
line 72M, which terminates in Point Richmond, and by Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It mainly serves Marin and Sonoma Counties, and also provides limited service to San Francisco and Contra Costa County.Golden Gate Transit is one of three...
's commuter route 42 and express route 40 to San Rafael Transit Center
San Rafael Transit Center
The San Rafael Transportation Center , in San Rafael, California, is the main transit center for Marin County. From San Rafael, passengers can travel throughout Marin County, to San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Sonoma Counties...
in Marin County
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
. There was previously shuttle service on line 374 to the Richmond Ferry Terminal until it ceased operations in 2001. In addition to express transbay bus service to the San Francisco Transbay Terminal along route LD, there was also service directly to El Cerrito del Norte BART from Point Richmond and Brickyard Cove on line 79, but these routes were removed due to funding cuts.
Controversies
There was controversyControversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
in 2002 over a proposed and eventually built Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
coffeehouse in the neighborhood. Some residents feared that the opening of a corporate chain store
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
would dampen a much loved way of life and cherished independent "mom and pop" commercial sector. Nevertheless an Extreme Pizza
Extreme Pizza
Extreme Pizza is a privately-held restaurant franchise chain specializing in conventional and California-style pizza, founded by Todd Parent and Michael Pastor in 1994 in San Francisco, California. The chain currently includes over 30 locations in the United States, and one in Ireland...
also operates in the commercial strip, but in 2011 the community lobbied for a moratorium or ban on chains when Subway attempted to open a franchise.
There was considerable neighborhood opposition to the relocation of the Point Richmond library in 2007 when it was to be remodeled and reopened (it had been closed since 2004 due to budget issues). Instead, the city's planning commission wanted to tear it down and move it to nearby rental space so that the surrounding empty lot could be turned into a Marin County-style town square. The public vehemently rejected this at a neighborhood meeting and the committee dropped its plans.
There was also controversy over a T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
cellular
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
tower that was installed on Water Street atop an apartment building. A group of Point Richmond residents claimed the property owners did this without proper public notice. In December 2009, the First District Court of Appeal rejected the protesters' challenge and upheld the legality of the antenna installation.
