History

Rosie the Riveter park’s most famous ranger retires at age 100

America’s oldest active park ranger, Richmond’s Betty Reid Soskin, who weaved her real-life experiences in the 1940s into programs at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, retired quietly Thursday, six months after celebrating her 100th birthday. Soskin spent her last day on the job doing the work she has enjoyed for more than a decade — educating the public at the park, the National Park Service said in a news release. Soskin has been involved with the…

Richmond renames South Street to honor environmental activist Ethel Dotson

On Friday, South Street will be renamed in honor of late environmental justice advocate and community warrior Ethel Dotson, who also was known for her dedication to Richmond’s Black cultural history.  The effort to rename the street, which runs from Carlson Boulevard to Wall Avenue, was spearheaded by Pullman Neighborhood Council President Naomi Williams, who says she wanted to pay tribute to Dotson on the street Dotson lived on and invested in.  By all accounts, Dotson was a force to…

The East Bay in myths and memorials

On an ordinary Monday, we sent the reporters of Oakland North and Richmond Confidential out into our cities with a goal: Capture the spaces that are famous for their legends, their myths, their memorials to the people who made the Bay Area great and to the moments in history that still haunt us. Each reporter took a camera, notebook and pen–and one or two took their audio equipment as well. Their goal was to sit quietly in the space for…

Las Deltas

The Las Deltas Housing Project in North Richmond was built in the 1940s and 1950s, as part of the country’s low-rent housing program. Due to a lack of government funding, the Contra Costa Housing Authority was forced to close down Las Deltas and begin the process of relocating residents. Additional reporting by Barbara Harvey and Ravleen Kaur.

Oakland Hills Fire Memorial

Built in memory of the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, which claimed the lives of 25 people and destroyed over 37 hundred homes, the memorial features a fire-gutted home next to a rocky garden to educate the public about the importance of emergency preparedness in case of disasters. But signs of visitors over the years are visible. Both the exhibit and garden have been graffitied, and cigarette butts along with other common trash are strewn about. Click the audio piece to…

Mausoleum of the Cathedral of Christ the Light

The Cathedral of Christ the Light stands on a big plaza in Oakland where people are sitting on benches and lawns, talking to each other, or drinking coffee between meetings. Students come to study under the sun. Children are running along the lake and near Children’s Fairyland on the other bank. The Cathedral of Christ the Light stands on a big plaza in Oakland where people are sitting on benches and lawns, talking to each other, or drinking coffee between…

Point Richmond fairy houses

Washington Avenue in Point Richmond is an uphill road with a view to the Golden Gate. At a first glance, it seems to contain only big houses, but when looking closer, almost everywhere there is a tiny magical neighbour—a fairy house! Those little magical inhabitants not only bring happiness to the locals, but also attract visitors to the neighborhood. When you are fairy house hunting, you constantly listen to short stories and advice about where to look next from those…

The Evergreen Cemetery

The Evergreen Cemetery has nothing of the dark, morbid and ghostly atmosphere people tend to associate with graveyards or see in the movies. It is a sunlit, open space with tall palm trees and mountains in the background. It feels paradoxically full of life. At 11 am on a Monday, there are not a lot of people there. Other than me and a gardener, only one woman with bright pink neon shoes can be seen from a distance. She seems…