The Marchant Building (Now Foundry31) - 3100 San Pablo Ave
The northernmost part of The Emeryville Greenway, referred to by some locals as “Three Corners,” is the intersection of the cities of Emeryville, Berkeley, and Oakland. A marker designates the spot where all three cities abut.The property to the East, known today as “Foundry 31,” stretches a full block of San Pablo Avenue and spans 800 feet to the west into Emeryville. The building is so large it has three addresses including 3100 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, 1000 Folger Street (also in Berkeley), and 1222 67th Street in Oakland.Precisely, 55% of the building is in Berkeley, 44% in Oakland, and just 1% in Emeryville.
The Geo. M. Martin Company - 1250 67th Street
The Geo. M. Martin Company is among the longest-running family-owned businesses in Emeryville spanning three generations. Current CEO George R. Martin is the grandson of founder George M. Martin who started the company amid the Great Depression in 1929.George M. Martin was born in 1899 in San Francisco surviving the 1906 earthquake.In 1929 at the age of 30, he lost his job as a mechanic with the Shand & Jurs Company in Berkeley following the “Black Tuesday” stock market crash.Martin turned to his hobby shop lathe in the basement of his home for income satisfying a variety of odd jobs for neighbors. Demand and recommendations for his precision work surged and he soon founded the Martin Machine and Iron Works company, hiring an assistant and seeking a larger space to operate.The business initially specialized in precision machine shop work for the shipping industry with a focus on gear cutting and marine engine repairs. They also manufactured diamond-drilling equipment for the mining industry assisting in construcion of the Shasta Dam.
Doughnut Corporation of America - 1255 67th St.
This unassuming brick warehouse at the southwest corner of 67th St. and The Greenway was once home to a juggernaut in Doughnut mix manufacturing.For over 30 years, the plant operated as the Western division headquarters for The Doughnut Corporation of America churning out as much as 6 million pounds of prepared doughnut mixture per year.The Doughnut Corporation of America, or DCA, grew out of a small baking business in New York City owned by Adolph Levitt. Levitt, a refugee from Bulgaria, came to America with his family when he was 8 years old. He made his way to New York City from Milwaukee in 1916 where he opened his first bakery in Harlem that grew into the Mayflower Coffee Shop chain.Levitt’s doughnut’s became very popular and he sought to scale his operation. A labor intensive process, he worked to develop an automatic doughnut machine and formulated a mixture of ingredients in a research laboratory in pursuit of the “perfect” doughnut. In 1920, he debuted his machine at his bakery churning out 80 dozen perfectly cut doughnuts per hour while occupying only three square feet of floor space.
Liquid Sugar Inc.
The Liquid Sugar Lofts are a 6-building, 55-unit housing complex completed in 2002 by the Pulte Group. Before this, it was home to Liquid Sugar Incorporated who were a family-run business that spanned four generations.Charles D. Mooney originally founded the California Syrup and Pickle Company along with his first wife Anna in 1910. Mooney, a New York native, migrated westward initially residing in the St. Helena area. He moved to South Berkeley when he was 49.California Syrup’s original plant was located at 461 31st Street in Oakland. The company produced a line of pickles and syrups as well as flavoring extracts that were used in soda fountains.Their pickle line included sweet, sour, and dill pickles as well as a variety of relishes and chow-chow.
Oliver Tire & Rubber Co.
The site of what is now the Oliver Lofts on 65th street was once the Oliver Tire & Rubber Company.Oliver Tire was founded in Oakland in 1912 by Marion F. Oliver. Oliver was among the founders of American Rubber in 1907 who operated a factory in Emeryville at the corner of Watts & Park Avenue. American Rubber manufactured rubber conveyor belts and fire hoses employing a workforce of 150 men.The original location for Oliver Tire was at 2135 Broadway in Oakland. The facility was engaged in the repairing, recapping, and retreading of automotive tires. Oliver is credited with inventing and developing the modern vulcanization process that involved the hardening of natural rubber.
Janson Iron Works / Baker Metal Building
The Baker Metal building at 1265 65th St. is a relic of Emeryville’s industrial past that has remained relatively unchanged for the nearly 100 years of its existence. This is expected to change in 2025 when construction on a long planned adaptive reuse housing project begins, just a year shy of its centennial.The structure was originally built for Janson Iron Works, a company established in 1906 by German immigrant Carl Janson. Janson and his wife Anna arrived in the U.S. in 1886. By 1888, they were living in Oakland together.Janson Iron Works’ first plant was located at 6420 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland’s Golden Gate District. The factory opened in 1906, the year of the great San Francisco earthquake. Oakland was experiencing a rapid population increase and a large number of houses and commercial buildings were being constructed.Janson originally specialized in the manufacturing of iron fences but later expanded its production to include ornamental iron work and structural steel work. The firm also made fire escapes, stairs, vault linings, jail cells, and smaller items such as rods, bolts, plates and washers. Carl Janson held patents for many of his designs and inventions.Carl and Anna had two children including a son, Otto, who initially became involved in the business as an estimator later moving into a sales role.Carl Janson became an big Oakland booster and an active member of the Masonic Lodge. During this time, he lived in a house at 1094 Alcatraz Avenue just a half block from his factory.The Bay Area had a large German community at this time with many German militias and fraternal organizations regularly gathering at Shell Mound Park for picnics and marksmanship events.The sentiment toward people of German descent changed during World War I forcing many to hide their ancestry.In 1918, Otto Janson was accused of expressing sympathy for the efforts of the German side of the war effort as well as malevolence toward then President Woodrow Wilson and the participation of American soldiers in the war. He was charged and found guilty of sedition and sentenced to 5 years at McNeil’s Island penitentiary in the State of Washington. This sentence was later reduced to 2 years.
Peabody Lane
You’re standing near where one of Emeryville’s original streets now terminates. The private property between the Baker Metal building and the small stucco condominiums to the right leads to Peabody Lane.Originally known as “Peabody’s Lane,” this narrow street is among the most obscure, and oldest in Emeryville and North Oakland.The narrow alleyway that dates back to 1856 is named after Jonathan Allen Peabody, a sailor born circa 1830 who arrived in California in 1851.In the early gold rush era, there were only a few trails leading to and from the sparsely scattered homesteads across the land once owned by José Vicente Peralta.In an age when most transport and travel was by horse-drawn wagon over roads that were dusty in summer and muddy during winter, shorter and more direct routes were needed.In 1852, newly-constituted Alameda County hired civil engineer Julius Kellersberger to lay out a new road from 14th Street and Broadway in downtown Oakland, all the way to the city of San Pablo. This road, today’s San Pablo Avenue, passed through what is now Emeryville.A number of wharves were built along the shoreline near the mouth of Temescal Creek to accommodate freight and travel from the bay to San Pablo Road. During this time, San Pablo Road developed into a major travel corridor.One of these wharves built by Jonathan Peabody was “Peabody’s Landing” that connected to San Pablo Road via a simple dirt path. By 1857, Peabody maintained at least one warehouse along what would become Peabody’s Lane.
J.T. Thorpe & Son, Inc.
This building at 1351 Ocean Avenue on the corner of Doyle Street was built for the J. T. Thorpe & Son Company in 1945.J. T. Thorpe & Son was established in 1906 by John T. Thorpe and his son John Leon Thorpe in the wake of the Great Quake when San Francisco lay in rubble.Members of the J. T. Thorpe family worked in brick and masonry and they quickly formed a company around helping rebuild San Francisco.
Pioneer Laundry
The two-story Emeryville Glen housing complex on the southeastern corner of 63rd and Doyle streets was once home to one of the largest, most modern laundry facilities in The East Bay.Pioneer Laundry, originally named Pioneer Wet Wash Laundry, was established in 1906 by Gottfred “Fred” Weiss and Frank F. Turner. Born in 1881, Weiss was a native of Switzerland who moved to California as a young man. Weiss served as Vice President with Turner serving as President.Pioneer was originally founded in what is described as ‘a small shed located in a vacant lot in the outskirts of Oakland.’ By 1910, they’re business address was listed at 1341 63rd Street.Their humble beginnings included four employees, including Weiss, and a single horse drawn wagon. They had no dryers and would deliver sacks of clothing still damp for their customers to line dry.
Forni Mfg./Doyle Hollis Park
The popular and well-trafficked Doyle Hollis Park in the center of Northern Emeryville is an anchor of this original section of Emeryville’s Greenway.The site, straddled by 61st & 62nd streets along Doyle, is documented as first being used by the Forni Corporation (also referred to as Forni Manufacturing) who were first established in 1922.Founded by George Peter Forni, the Forni Corporation is considered a pioneering precast concrete firm in the Bay Area.Precast concrete involves pouring concrete into a mould at a factory instead of pouring it directly at the construction site. Precast offers many advantages over traditional “cast-in-place” concrete including cost, speed and consistency.
International Harvester Co.
Located between 59th & 60th streets facing Hollis was a dynamo of American Manufacturing that spanned nearly a century. The International Harvester Company Emeryville Works plant manufactured trucks including the iconic D-400 “Emeryville” that is still highly regarded today by trucking enthusiasts.International Harvester was founded in 1902 through a merger of several agricultural equipment firms. The newly formed company manufactured tractors for agricultural use including the Farmall tractor which became a popular choice for farmers. They began manufacturing trucks in 1907. Originally marketed toward farmers, they were later sold to industry and eventually worldwide.During WWII, they were contracted by the military to build military vehicles and bulldozers. At this time they operated plants in Illinois, Louisville and Kentucky.In 1945 IH established its first West Coast plant located at 1360 59th Street here in Emeryville. The company signed a 10 year lease for five acres of property owned by the Tidewater Associated Oil company.The property was bounded by 59th Street, Green (now Hollis) and 61st Street. The lot contained two buildings totalling 47,000 square feet which were utilized for assembly.IH also leased an additional 60,000 square feet of land both north and south of the Tidewater Associated property to be used for outside truck storage and employee parking.Building alterations and construction of their assembly line took only two months and vehicle production began in February 1946. Adolph W. Engtrom held the position of Manager of the Emeryville plant at the time. He had many years of experience in motor-truck manufacturing.IH engineers had made exhaustive studies of the needs of West Coast truck drivers. The new trucks were designed for the particular requirements of coastal and mountainous regions, capable of crossing the high elevations of the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains. The models helped make IH the largest selling heavy-duty trucks in the world at the time.Six truck models were produced at the Emeryville plant, ranging in size between 30,000 pounds (15 tons) and 45,000 pounds (22.5 tons) gross vehicle weight. Six models of motors were available including both gasoline and Diesel. They offered heavy duty and tandem-axle trucks.The trucks were especially designed for fast highway freight handling and for heavy off-the road work in lumbering and mining. The new trucks were sold and serviced in eleven western states, including Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and California. The Emeryville plant employed a workforce of 250 and a building capacity of 125 trucks per month.In 1948, IH opened a headquarters building at 2855 Cypress Street in Oakland, providing a sales and service facility for the distribution of IH motor trucks manufactured in Emeryville. At the same time, IH built a warehouse in Richmond that stocked a complete array of parts needed to build IH trucks.In 1961, they unveiled their D-400 model, dubbed "The Emeryville," that was the first model produced with a tilting hood.After 17 years of production, the IH plant in Emeryville closed in 1963. The operation moved to a 750,000 foot building located in San Leandro, formerly a Dodge assembly plant, on a site that encompassed 31 acres. This plant was five times the size of the Emeryville operation.The plant persisted as a manufacturing facility and by 1964 it was home to the Thorsen Manufacturing Company who made hand tools including sockets and wrenches. Thorsen moved from a smaller location in Emeryville at 5325 Horton. They employed 170 workers.By 1977, the building was the home to the PEMKO Products Company who designed and manufactured door hardware for commercial use.In the early 1990s, the building was home to a restaurant called Colors Café as well as an art gallery space called the Hollis Street Project.In 1994, it became a billiard club called “Chalker’s” which was the predecessor to The Broken Rack.The building was renovated for office space by local architect Philip Banta in the late 1990s.Since its renovation, it's mostly been occupied by a variety of technology-focused companies including Aspera who were acquired in 2014 by IBM.
Emeryville Community Organic Garden
The original Emeryville Community Organic Garden, or “ECOG,” located at 59th and Doyle Streets was originally established in 1992. It was the first of what are now four community gardens scattered across the city.The once-fallow piece of land was along a rail spur serviced by the Southern Pacific Railroad.Then-resident Elaine Drukman solicited neighbors via a posted flyer and gathered a small team of volunteers. This team was able to obtain a small grant, establish a nonprofit and advocate for the city of Emeryville to step in and help legitimize it. The original gardeners included Drukman as well as Elisabeth Montgomery, James Morris, Katharine Ashbey & Rudolph Russell.The city obliged by leasing the garden site from the railroad. James Morris stepped in to help Drukman form a non-profit to govern and to raise funds for the gardenIn 1997, as Drukman’s health declined, fellow gardener Sam Foushee agreed to assist her, eventually taking over as garden coordinator. Drukman died in 1998 at the age of 66. Since her passing, the gardening community has continued to nurture the space and to run the garden according to the Bylaws that were written at the founding.As industry slowly left Northeastern Emeryville, use of the rail spur faded with it. In 1998 following the closure of Liquid Sugar Inc., rail service ceased completely. Following the discontinuation of rail service, the city moved to acquire the land and rezone it for permanent park space.In 2004, after years of planning, construction on the Doyle Street Greenway project kicked off. The original Community Garden was removed to accommodate construction. Following completion of the Greenway project in 2005, the garden was rebuilt on the same site through a joint effort by the city, volunteers and local donors. The popularity of the renovated garden has created a waiting list for a plot that often stretches for years. Membership is limited to those living in the 94608 zip code. Turnover for the 31 plots is low with members volunteering their time toward upkeep of the space.The success of the garden helped create a replicable model that was used by the other groups to create more community gardens, including Big Daddy’s Community Garden, built in 2002 on the site of a former gas station at Peralta and West MacArthur Blvd; and Temescal Creek Community Garden, at 1042 48th Street, built in 2014. The nonprofit formed for this original community garden helps manage all four gardens in the city including the most recent community garden at the former Sherwin-Williams property.A marker is located within the garden acknowledging Drukman’s contributions.ECOG Co-founder James Morris remains involved to this day, currently serving as coordinator and Board President.
Liberty Iron Works
This building on the corner of 59th & Doyle with the distinct art deco facade was originally built for Sacramento-founded Liberty Iron Works circa 1932.Liberty was the first of many businesses that have occupied the 30,000 square foot building over its history.Liberty manufactured a wide range of steel and iron products. This facility had a department that built large aluminum truck tanks and trailers.In 1936, A.M Castle & Company (named after founder Alfred M. Castle) acquired the property from Liberty. A.M. Castle distributed and manufactured steel products including plates, rivets, beams, and similar structural materials.In 1941, A. M. Castle began construction on a larger plant in West Oakland and sold their Emeryville factory to the Industrial Equipment Company.Industrial Equipment Company was involved in construction, mining and industrial equipment. They were formed through a partnership with Bechtel and The Henry J. Kaiser Company for construction of the Boulder Dam.Kaiser sold their interests of the Industrial Equipment Company to Bechtel who in 1945 moved their operations to Bechtel’s San Leandro plant.Kaiser acquired the 59th street plant for unnamed “postwar operations” as they looked to pivot from the production of military to civilian products.These postwar operations turned out to be a production automobile in partnership with fellow industrialist Joseph W. Frazer. They hoped their combined ingenuity would challenge the lock the “Big Three” Detroit automakers had on auto manufacturing and satiate a pent up demand for new cars.It was here under the watchful eye of Henry Kaiser himself that Kaiser engineers designed and mocked up the first fenderless car designs of the postwar era. These clean-lined cars were initially a tremendous hit with the public leaving Detroit scrambling to catch up. Production of the model was done at an idle B-24 bomber factory in Willow Run, Michigan that Kaiser acquired and refitted with a modern assembly line.By 1949, Detroit was in fact able to catch up and surpass Kaiser’s designs at a substantially lower price. Kaiser continued to focus on safety features and styling while Detroit focused on power which it turns out, consumers preferred.Sales continued to dwindle until the Kaiser was discontinued in 1955. The plant was dismantled and reconstructed in Argentina where the very same car was produced as the Kaiser Carabela until 1962.1945 was also the year that Kaiser founded their Healthcare division, Kaiser Permanente. This facility continued to operate as an administrative office for Kaiser’s new Healthcare system.Part of the space was leased to International Harvester who operated a manufacturing plant across 59th street.In 1963, the building was leased to The Banding Corporation who manufactured steel strapping for lumber companies and steel mills.In 1966, The Charles M. Bailey Company acquired the building from Kaiser moving their offices from Folsom Street in San Francisco.By this time, Charles Bailey had passed and his wife Maude Bailey had inherited the company assuming the title of President.With a workforce of 55 employees, the company manufactured automatic control valves for water, oil, natural gas, and other uses.Maude Bailey died in 1976 at the age of 98. The Charles M. Bailey Co. survived her death and continued to operate their office in Emeryville until about 1985.The building was next acquired by Fordham Properties and remediated, renovated and partitioned for office space.For a period in the 1990s it was home to a print and online publication known as the East Bay Monthly (formerly The Berkeley Monthly).It is currently occupied by a variety of architecture firms and design studios.
Vernetti’s Town House
You’d be hard pressed to find a place in Emeryville with more history packed into it as The Townhouse. The restaurant and bar has lived a storied life over its nearly 100 years of existence.Originally built in 1926 by Emeryville fireman Frank Mesnickow, the history of the building began as a bootlegging joint during prohibition run by a man named ‘Blackie’. The property, which includes four other structures, is also known to have operated as a brothel during this time.
Great Western Meter Company
The first record of this property at 1290 Powell Street is for the Great Western Meter Company in 1923.Established in 1920 at 5701 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, R. J. Lyman presided as President. Great Western Meter manufactured irrigation meters to measure and conserve water. These meters were highly regarded and demand for them both domestically and internationally grew quickly. They were also preparing to enter another market with a meter used to measure the amount of gasoline used in motorcars.In 1922, they began work on their new Emeryville facility. The 50,000 square foot plant would cost $125,000 to build.It was expected to employ 200 men when fully operational.
Powell & Doyle Street Water Tower
The metal water tower here at the corner of Powell and Doyle streets might be considered a “landmark” within the city as Emeryville’s only standing water tower. The 50,000 gallon steel frame tank stands 65 feet high and was originally built for the Pacific Manifolding Book Company. The steel tank has a capacity of 50,000 gallons and when filled, weighs an estimated 200 tons.Originally founded in 1882, the Pacific Manifolding Book Company became Moore Business Forms around 1945. Moore sold books of sales slips with flip-over carbon paper. They went on to become a major supplier of business forms and printing services throughout North America.Pacific Manifolding had previously had water towers constructed on their properties, but these were wood framed. Part of the purpose of these towers was to provide fire protection, especially after the 1906 quake when so much of San Francisco was ravaged by fire. The infrastructure was simply not in place for fire departments to fight massive fires in the aftermath of major catastrophes like this.Consequently, fire insurance was expensive and often prohibitive. Having a dedicated water tower was an asset that could ensure a company’s survival in the event of a disaster.The tower is of course no longer filled with water nor serves its original purpose of helping extinguishing fires. In recent decades, it’s been used to advertise whatever company resided on the property.Moore also used the surrounding lot for their trucking division who delivered their forms to customers. They shut their trucking division down in 1982. Property records indicate the adjacent building at 1255 Powell was built in 1983. Since, the building has been occupied by a series of legal firms including Becherer, Kannett & Schweitzer and Brown & Caldwell (an engineering and construction firm that helps clients overcome environmental challenges).In the mid to late 1990s. It was used by the Sierra Designs outdoor sportswear brand who adorned the tower with their logo.As of 2024, this building has been occupied by the legal firm Gibson, Robb & Lindh LLP.Recent use of the water tower has been relegated to a structure for mounting cellular antennas and boosters.Water Towers in many cities have been preserved as directional beacons and incorporated into their identity (Campbell in the South Bay is one local example).Former Planning Commissioner Brad Gunkel publicly pitched adorning the tower with “Emeryville” in 2014 but this failed to gain traction with any leaders at the time.Additional history regarding the Pacific Manifolding Book Company will be explained on the next stop of this tour.
Pacific Manifolding Book Co.
The brick facing you see here on the corner of Doyle and Powell streets is a portion of the original Pacific Manifolding Book Company that existed here from 1907 until the early 1980s.British-Canadian founder Samuel J. Moore, considered the “godfather” of the business forms industry, helped grow Pacific Manifolding into the largest, most dominant business form printer in the country in the 20th century.Throughout their early history, Pacific Manifolding manufactured business stationery, sales & order books, delivery receipts and other products related to documenting business and commerce transactions. Many of their products utilized flip-over carbon paper that created multiple copies of transactions from a single slip saving businesses from tediously creating duplicates for all parties.Pacific Manifolding’s original location was in Oakland at the corner of Second and Oak Street. In 1906 the firm bought a full square block of property here in Emeryville bordered by Powell, Doyle, Stanford and Green (now Hollis).They built a new, modern factory with modern machinery on the site that was completed the following year. The comfort of their workers was a major focus in the design of the facility, providing a clean, well lighted, well ventilated and spacious interior.The single-story building was constructed of concrete and brick and was equipped with a large water tower to ensure a steady, properly pressurized water supply. The Berkeley Branch Line and the Southern Pacific Red Trains, both commuter railroads, ran next to the plant on the south side providing convenient transit options to their employees.For commercial purposes, the building was serviced by a spur track connected to the Southern Pacific main line ensuring rapid delivery of their orders. The products manufactured at their plant were shipped to thousands of stores and businesses across the entire west.Jobs at Pacific Manifolding were continually advertised in the local classifieds offering paid health care, retirement and regularly scheduled pay increases.Young women were recruited to work at the plant that did not come without risks. The fast moving machinery could ensnare long hair and loose clothing and there are records of injuries at the facility. Acoustics at the facility from the constant whirl of machinery were presumed to be a nuisance.Women were also hired to work as typists and bookkeepers. “Errand boys” were hired to send messages and packages, and a team of mechanics serviced and oiled the machinery.The firm quickly grew to a workforce of 250 employees.Harry Brown held the position of manager of the facility for 25 years until his death in 1932.Pacific Manifolding and their employees were active in the community and sponsored several sports teams including a baseball, volleyball and basketball teams. They also organized a Mutual Aid Association that cared for workers in need of financial assistance.The company experienced rapid growth, and the facility was expanded to take on the increased volume of business. By 1925 the operation had a workforce of 300.Also In 1925, Pacific Manifolding forged ahead of competition by developing a single-use, disposable carbon paper.During WWII, Pacific Manifolding assisted allied efforts by increasing production at the factory by operating two shifts.In 1945, Pacific Manifolding officially changed their name to Moore Business Forms Inc. unifying nine companies under a single corporation.Moore continued to grow, expand, and innovate throughout the decades.In the 1970s, they built a state of the art facility in Grand Island, NY turning the company toward ink jet and direct printing technologies.Moore began slowly phasing out their Emeryville operations and were gone by the early 1980s.The company celebrated 100 years in 1982 and boasted over 1200 employees.In 2003, Moore merged with rival Wallace Computer Systems, forming the Moore Wallace Corporation. Moore-Wallace was in turn acquired by R. R. Donnelley & Sons the same year.5749 Doyle was home to a variety of businesses over the next few decades including a wine tasting store, a holiday decoration store and a crossfit studio. The portion of the plant facing Hollis was occupied by BelAire Displays, Banziger Systems, Basis and pharmaceutical giant Roche.in 2012, the facility was demolished to make way for The Parc on Powell Apartment complex.Additional history regarding the Moore Business Forms Water Tower at the corner of Doyle and Powell is explained on the previous stop of this tour.
1409/1411 Powell St. (Now Honor Kitchen & Cocktails)
According to county assessor data, the concrete, brick and timber-framed split-level structure at 1409 & 1411 Powell street was built in the 1920s amid the country’s prohibition years and listed in early Sanborn maps as a “restaurant.”The earliest news record of the address is from 1924 where the location is cited among nine known locations within Emeryville that were hosting illegal Chinese gambling operations.The site was targeted for “abatement” by then District Attorney Ezra Decoto (Earl Warren’s predecessor) with the headline “Emeryville War Started on Gambling.”The owner at the time was listed as Pete Molino. Molino was an Italian immigrant who came to Oakland about 1912. He married the following year.Following his arrest, Molino was fined $100 but released from custody. The proprietor of the gambling operation, Lee Hing, appears in news archives throughout this period of prohibition.Rumors of a bordello operating at the space in its early years have persisted but have never been substantiated.By 1937 it was occupied by Geo. E. Dynan Co., who by today’s standards appear to be a predatory loan company.The restaurant officially obtained a license to sell beer in 1945. Records show it operated as the Powell Street Café by 1951 and was owned by Pete Molino Jr. (The son of the original 1924 owner).Molino Jr. was a 1939 graduate of Emery High and a member of the nearby Fratellanza Club.The elder Molino died in 1962 at the age of 75. Molino Jr. died in 1988 at the age of 62.In 1960, it became Bavarian Village who advertised themselves as a restaurant and cocktail lounge.The space was the creation of Ted Duro, a decorator who had a reputation for designing exotic night clubs. The exterior of the building consisted of stucco with exposed wood beams, suggesting a medieval German hunting lodge. Bavarian Village opened at a time when Hofbrau style restaurants, with hearty portions and ample beer selection at reasonable prices, were growing in popularity across the Bay Area.In the interior, thousands of knick-knacks were on display including artifacts of German culture. They also had a Piano Bar, a cascading fountain and 101 “foreign beers.”By the time of their closure in the early 1990s, they were serving Chinese food and featuring live Reggae in an effort to evolve with the times.For a short period in 1996, 1411 Powell Street functioned as a nightclub named “Formula,” which featured local punk and heavy metal music including bands like Tilt, Earplay Boy, Creeps in Exile, White Trash Debutantes and The Ravens.The restaurant next became a Korean owned sushi restaurant named Sushi Village who served sushi on a boat conveyor. They survived for about a decade. In 2011, the space was reactivated as Honor Bar & Grill operated by the Chalet Restaurant group who also operate the Lake Chalet and Beach Chalet restaurants.When they initially opened, they offered a nod to the unfortunate missing comma in Sushi Village’s marquee advertising “vegetarian drinks.” They used the marquee to post other cryptic messages including “The Dude Abides,” a reference to the 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski.They left the original pink Sushi Village neon sign intact until about 2016 when they restored it retaining the distinct ornate shape.By 2013 they were forced to change their name to Honor Kitchen & Cocktails at the request of an identically named establishment in Southern California.Honor quickly became a destination with its dark, speakeasy vibe and craft cocktails. Patrons were greeted with an ice bucket full of bottled beers that they were trusted with adding to their tab.The interior featured a long, curved red bar with ample seating and TVs replaying cult film classics.During the 2020 pandemic, Honor added a temporary outdoor patio space that allowed them to remain open when indoor capacity restrictions were imposed.Honor closed for renovations at the end of 2022 building an adjoining atrium structure and patio in their front parking lot. This renovation dramatically increased their capacity.They officially reopened in August 2024.
Industrial Hard Chrome Plating Co.
This 11,000 square feet concrete block structure at 5701 Hollis with the pyramid topped columns and ornate entryway was built in 1946 according to Alameda County assessor records.The first record of its occupancy is in 1951, when an industrialist named James F. Tompkins opened a metal plating plant here named The Industrial Hard Chrome Plating Company.Tompkins, born in North Dakota in 1912, moved to California as a young man attending high school in San Diego and later graduating from Stanford University.During WWII, he served in the army. After he was discharged, he moved to Hillsborough in San Mateo County.
SP East Bay Electric Lines
This stop on the tour recognizes what was once a major junction of the Southern Pacific electric railway that ultimately carved out the walkable path in Emeryville’s street grid that you are currently navigating.Rail transportation in Emeryville began in 1876 when the Northern Railway was completed along the East Bay shoreline connecting Oakland to Port Costa and Martinez. This line bisected the tracts of land owned by Joseph Emery, Edward Wiard, L. M. Beaudry, J. T. Doyle, A Miller & J. Landregan that preceded Emeryville’s incorporation.
Marchant Calculating Machine Company
The once vast factory that was the Marchant Calculating Machine Company has been whittled down to being nearly nonexistent over the decades.The pioneering machinery company reached the pinnacle of its industry only to be reduced to near irrelevancy by the rapid progression of technology.Brothers Rodney and Alfred Marchant, originally from Mississippi, moved to Northern California in the early 1870s. Rodney moved to San Francisco in the 1890s studying business and commerce. He found work in an office and soon invented a system for determining bookkeeping errors.
Chiron Legorreta Building /PCR Park
The striking Legorreta architects-designed campus your standing before, is the youngest on the City of Emeryville’s “significant structures” list. This list provides a layer of protection from any proposed demolition. The structure was initially built as the headquarters for pioneering Biotech firm Chiron who occupied it from 1998-2006.In the wake of the closure of Shell’s Emeryville Research Center who departed for Houston in 1972, the massive footprint lay fallow and needed to be put back to active use. The nascent “Biotech” industry proved to be transformative for Emeryville … and humanity.Shell sold their 22.5 acre property in 1973 to East Bay industrial developer W. K. Van Bokkelen and two associates. Their plans were to build a small industrial park and office complex on the site. The site contained a whopping 200,000 square feet of warehouse space and 300,000 square feet of office space.
Shell Development Research Center (Now Grifols)
This laboratory on Horton & 53rd streets, currently operated by Spanish Pharmaceutical giant Grifols, has been an influential site for scientific research for nearly a century. At its peak, the campus anchored by this building spanned 24 acres, included 90 buildings and employed 1500 workers.Shell Oil, founded in 1907 through a merger between Royal Dutch Petroleum and The Shell Transport & Trading Company, was the largest producer of oil in the world by 1920.In 1928, Shell entered the chemicals industry and settled on this site previously occupied by the California Jockey Club horse racing track.The site was near the Southern Pacific Red Line tracks that connected Emeryville to the University of California campus and Downtown Berkeley.It was also within close proximity to Shell’s refinery operations in Martinez and their chemical manufacturing plant in Pittsburg, CA.
Rheem Manufacturing Corp.
The elevated parking garage on the western side of Horton street was the birthplace of Rheem Manufacturing Co. founded nearly a century ago.Because of prohibition and the banning of horse racing across the state, Emeryville was looking to pivot from recreation to manufacturing. This site was optimal because of its proximity to both rail transit and the bay.The first plant at 4535 Horton Street was built in 1925 for the Pacific Galvanizing Company. The initial 15,000 square foot facility was built at a cost of $75,000.The factory, which manufactured galvanized steel drums, began as a partnership with brothers Richard and Donald Rheem. Richard and Donald were the sons of William S. Rheem, the former president of Standard Oil Company.
Oakland Trotting Park
It’s hard to overstate the influence of Oakland Trotting Park in Emeryville's founding, growth and independence that still reverberates today.Built by Captain Edward Wiard 25 years before “Emeryville” existed as a town, the race track might be the biggest reason Emeryville resisted annexation by Oakland and incorporated as its own city in 1896.
Emeryville Postoffice & Emery’s Station
Here on the corner of Halleck Street near Park Avenue is where Emeryville’s first post office was built. The site is considered pivotal in the city’s founding and naming.It’s widely accepted that Emeryville was named after Joseph S. Emery who of course owned the 185 acre tract of land that became part of the city. While this is true, the story is a bit more nuanced than commonly understood.
