With Expedition 67, I started a series on Veteran’s Memorial Buildings. It could be a long series since almost every city seems to have one! For this expedition, I visited the buildings in Richmond, Albany, El Cerrito and Berkeley.
The Richmond building is the plainest and oddest architecturally. It looks abandoned now. Someone held a fundraiser there in October. In 2021 it hosted a vaccine walk in clinic. In 2019, the hall was hosting numerous private, community and non-profit events. Perhaps it’s a casualty of the pandemic?
A Richmond Standard article says the original hall was built in 1946 at a different location but nothing about the current building. Most halls were built in the late 20’s and early 30’s to honor WWI vets. There’s an interesting detail at the roof level, but otherwise it’s kind of sad looking, particularly the bunched and torn American flag clinging to its post.
But there’s this: inside is a plaque that “commemorates the 761st Tank Battalion, nicknamed “Black Panthers,” which was the first majority-African American tank battalion to fight in WWII and proved highly successful in combat.” This group was active in getting the building built.
The 1932 El Cerrito building is pretty despite the peeling paint and crumbling plaster. In 1937, WPA employees painted and did other small projects at the building. Could be the last time it was cared for.
Earlier this year, Supervisor John Gioia announced that funds had been raised to repair and repaint it. It currently hosts American Legion and community meetings. The vision is to promote it for bigger events. It has a cute Moderne style bar area and a pretty fireplace in the front room, along with a big auditorium with a nice looking wood floor.
The Albany Veterans Memorial Building is in City Memorial Park, which dates from the mid-20’s. Couldn’t find any more information about the park but I suppose it’s also a WWI memorial. A bond measure to buy land for the building failed, but the park welcomed it.
This building is Spanish style and is in great condition. Rent it for a party! I swiped this gorgeous interior ballroom photo from the Alameda county website. Outside there’s a memorial for the two Albany men (or boys, perhaps) who died in the war. The text reads “Dedicated by the Citizens of Albany to its World War Veterans 1926.” No number 1 needed.
Nearby in the park is this massive stone fireplace. People ask me where I get expedition ideas from. Researching this fireplace lead me to the topic of “parkitecture,” a building style used by the National Park service starting in the early 1900’s. It emphasizes natural looking forms using local stone and logs. Of course, I’ve seen it many times, but didn’t know this term. The Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite National Park is a grand example.
I’ve seen numerous giant stone fireplaces here in the East Bay, so expect an expedition devoted to those and other rustic park features. Would love to see photos of them in use!
My last stop was the classical 1928 Berkeley Veterans Memorial Building which houses the Berkeley Historical Society. It commemorates the Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I with bas relief portraits on the facade. The lobby has impressive decorative metal radiator housings and pretty tile on the floor.
I popped into the Historical Society to get a photo of this lovely fireplace. I love the festive hats on dedication ceremony attendees! The building probably has an ornate auditorium upstairs but it’s off limits for seismic considerations.