Emeryville, California
Encyclopedia
Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California
, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley
and Oakland
, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay
. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley
, and Silicon Valley
has been a catalyst for recent economic growth. It is home to Pixar Animation Studios and Jamba Juice
. In addition, several well known biotech and software companies have made their home in Emeryville: Electronic Arts
' Maxis Software division, LeapFrog
, Sendmail
, MobiTV
, and Bayer
, Novartis
(formerly Chiron
before April 2006). Emeryville is also home to several non-profit organizations including the open source archaeology non-profit INSIGHT
. The population was 10,080 as of 2010.
trees provided a rich and easily exploited food source for the residents, who disposed of their clam
and oyster
shells in a single place, over time creating a huge mound, the Emeryville Shellmound
.
During the Spanish and Mexican eras, Emeryville was the site of a small wharf near the mouth of Temescal Creek adjacent to the shellmound. The wharf served the Peralta family's Rancho San Antonio, and was used for loading the principal produce of the ranch—cattle hides—onto lighters
, and subsequently transferring them to ships, including New England-bound schooners.
The handling of cattle continued into the American era with the establishment of numerous meat packing plants along the bayshore in Emeryville between 67th and 63rd Streets in an area called "Butchertown". The cattle processed here were raised in nearby ranches and farms, and brought in by rail or barge. The odors emanating from this district were notorious and often mentioned in local newspapers of the 19th and early 20th century.
Emeryville's first post office opened in 1884.
The Town of Emeryville was incorporated December 2, 1896. It was named after Joseph Stickney Emery who came during the Gold Rush and acquired large tracts of land in what became known as "Emery's". In 1884, Emery was president of a narrow-gauge railroad called the California and Nevada Railroad
. The railroad originally intended to extend from Oakland, through Emery's (at the time, just an unincorporated settlement along the bayshore) and then east across the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the gold mining town of Bodie, California
. From Bodie the railroad would extend east through Nevada to a connection with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Despite its grandiose intentions, the railroad only built from Oakland to Orinda
and its right-of-way was sold to the Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe then constructed a rail yard and passenger depot below San Pablo between 41st Street and Yerba Buena Avenue. Although located in Emeryville, the depot, which opened in 1902, was called "Oakland".
The Key System
, a local transit company, acquired the general offices of the California and Nevada as well as their nascent pier into San Francisco Bay, which was quickly transformed into a long pier reaching nearly to Yerba Buena Island
. The Key System established its main rail yard adjacent to the yard of the Santa Fe in a large tract west of San Pablo Avenue in the vicinity of Yerba Buena Avenue (so named because the island was visible in line with the thoroughfare). The Key System's main power plant, used to energize its streetcars and commuter trains, was constructed adjacent to the city limits with Oakland. The immense smokestack was a local landmark for decades, surviving right through the Loma Prieta earthquake
of 1989. It was demolished for safety reasons shortly thereafter. The old Key System mainline to the pier, and later, to the Bay Bridge, ran in a subway below Beach Street and the Southern Pacific mainline near the power plant. That subway survives and is today used as a private entrance to the main sewage treatment plant of East Bay Municipal Utility District
(EBMUD, the water utility serving Oakland and many surrounding cities). The rail yards and shops of the Key System and Santa Fe were acquired by Santa Fe's real estate development arm, later known as the Catellus Development Corporation
, and this firm proceeded with the development which is today, a sprawling shopping center and multiunit residential district.
In the late 19th century, a large park was built around the shellmound. The park included two dance pavilions, one of which stood atop the shellmound. A trotting park (the Oakland Trotting Park) was built nearby at the junction of the Berkeley Branch line
with the mainline of the Southern Pacific. On February 22, 1920 the first dog race track to employ an imitation rabbit opened in Emeryville.
Emeryville used to be as well known for its gambling houses and bordellos as it was for its booming industrial sector; then Alameda County district attorney, later California governor and then Chief Justice of the United States
Earl Warren
once famously called it "the rottenest city on the Pacific Coast". During the Depression, Emeryville was jammed with speakeasies, racetracks and brothels and became known as a somewhat lawless center for entertainment. The popular local restaurant The Townhouse is one such trace, a location that once was a speakeasy during Prohibition. Today, this tradition is carried on to a degree by the Oaks Room Card Club, a legal gambling establishment on San Pablo Avenue.
Emeryville was the site of Oaks Park
, the home turf of the Pacific Coast League
's Oakland Oaks
. The ballpark was located on the block bounded by San Pablo, 45th Street and Park Street (the fourth side was Watts Street). The site is now partly an empty, fenced-off lot, and overlapped by Pixar
Studios. Pixar's main gate (on Park Street) lies directly on the old segment of Watts Street. The stadium did not front directly on San Pablo where a strip of various small commercial buildings stood, now replaced by a single one-story commercial building with several chain businesses.
During World War II, Emeryville was the southern terminus of the Shipyard Railway
, a specially constructed electric rail line operated by the Key System to transport workers to the Kaiser Shipyards
in Richmond
. The station was located on the west side of San Pablo Avenue on the Key's yard property. The tracks led out to San Pablo Avenue where they were merged into existing streetcar tracks.
From the late 19th into the early 20th century, Emeryville's development as an industrial city grew. Besides the meat-packing plants, other industries were added. Among these were the Judson Iron Works and the Sherwin-Williams paint company. From 1939 until the 1970s, a massive animated neon sign showing a can of red paint tilting, spilling, and covering a globe of the earth, with the slogan "We Cover the Earth" sat on the roof of the plant's main building, a familiar sight to eastbound motorists on the Bay Bridge. It was also once the location of Shell Development, the research arm of Shell Oil Company
, which relocated in 1972 to Houston, Texas. A large scrap metal yard (part of the Judson Iron Works) was visible from the Eastshore Freeway for decades until the early 1970s. Also visible, a large facility of the Pacific Intermountain Express (PIE) trucking firm. A heavy truck manufacturing division of what was formerly IH (International-Harvester Company, later Navistar) was located in Emeryville. One of its more popular models in the late 1950s and early 1960s became commonly and affectionately known as "Emeryvilles".
By the late 1960s, industries were beginning to move away from Emeryville and the appearance of the city seriously declined. This began to change in the mid 1970s starting with the development of the marina section of Emeryville. By the 1980s, a large shopping area began to take shape north and south of the Powell Street corridor. Additionally, the Chiron Corporation
(now Novartis), a major biotechnology company, established its headquarters just south of the old junction of the SP mainline tracks and the old Berkeley branchline
(Shellmound Junction) at the end of Stanford Avenue, the site of the old Shellmound trotting course.
Following the Loma Prieta Earthquake
in 1989, a new Amtrak
depot was built in Emeryville to replace the old 16th Street Station
in West Oakland, which had been deteriorating even before it was seriously damaged by the quake. The Emeryville station serves Amtrak's California Zephyr
, Coast Starlight
, San Joaquin
, and Capitol Corridor
trains. The California Zephyr originates here with service daily to Chicago, Illinois
via Salt Lake City, Utah and Denver, Colorado. Buses link the station with San Francisco.
By the 1990s, the old Santa Fe and Key System yards tracts were transformed into a large shopping and residential area, as was the Shellmound corridor. Development of these areas included major roadwork, with the extension of 40th Street, including the construction of a large overpass across the Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific) railroad tracks which connected 40th Street to an extension of Shellmound Street, creating a single thoroughfare linking two sections of the new Emeryville. On the northern stretch of Shellmound Street, the Emery Marketplace and a movie multiplex were built. In 2007, the western end of Yerba Buena Avenue was linked with the northern end of the Mandela Parkway, creating a new through route between Emeryville and West Oakland.
In 2001, the city contracted developer Madison Marquette to build a new shopping center, the Bay Street Shopping Center
, on the former site of an Ohlone
village and burial ground
, which by that point was occupied by a defunct paint factory. Madison Marquette developers worked with archaeologists and Ohlone tribe representatives in order to leave the human remains undisturbed. Some remains were reburied at an undisclosed location on the site. At the mall, there are pictures of the Shellmound, but no mention of the burial grounds. According to an Ohlone rep, the knowledge would make people uncomfortable shopping there.
, the city has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (38.02%) is water.
In the 1970s, one of the last man-made marinas in the San Francisco East Bay was built in Emeryville; named Watergate, the Emeryville marina is home to a mixed use development including two marinas (one public, the other private), a park, a residential condominium community known as Watergate, a business park with several office buildings, and several restaurants, including Hong Kong East Ocean and the historic Trader Vic's.
, and 643 (6.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 927 persons (9.2%).
The Census reported that 10,007 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 73 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 5,694 households, out of which 692 (12.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,240 (21.8%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 435 (7.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 160 (2.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 481 (8.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 119 (2.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,871 households (50.4%) were made up of individuals and 530 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.76. There were 1,835 families
(32.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.61.
The population was spread out with 1,031 people (10.2%) under the age of 18, 1,064 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 4,675 people (46.4%) aged 25 to 44, 2,304 people (22.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,006 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
There were 6,646 housing units at an average density of 3,306.7 per square mile (1,276.7/km²), of which 2,013 (35.4%) were owner-occupied, and 3,681 (64.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 9.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%. 3,365 people (33.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 6,642 people (65.9%) lived in rental housing units.
, 27.3% Asian
, 17.2% non-Hispanic Black
or African American
, 0.2% Native American
, 0.2% Pacific Islander
, 5.2% from two or more races, and 0.4% from other races
. 9.2% of the population are Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
There were 3,975 households out of which 10.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 18.0% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 70.7% were non-families. 55.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.71 and the average family size was 2.69.
In the city the population was spread out with 11.4% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 42.2% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,359, and the median income for a family was $57,063. Males had a median income of $49,333 versus $39,527 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,260. About 6.3% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
It is very important to note that these numbers are 9 years old. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 Population Estimates, 9,866 people resided in Emeryville in 2009.
At one time, the Emeryville Mudflats were famous for their stench. In the 19th and early 20th century, this was caused by the effluent from the several meat-packing plants along the bayshore called "Butchertown". Stripped carcasses were also dumped in the bay here. Later on, untreated sewage from Emeryville, Oakland, and Berkeley flowed directly into the bay over the mudflats producing hydrogen sulfide gas, particularly noticeable on warm days. In the 1950s the East Bay Municipal Utility District
constructed a regional sewage treatment plant near the eastern terminus of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, which, for the most part, cured the noxious problem.
The Emeryville Mudflats became famous in the 1960s and 1970s for public art, erected (with neither permission nor compensation) from driftwood
timbers and boards by professional and amateur artists and art students from local high schools, the UC Berkeley
, the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Free University of Berkeley. The mudflats were even featured in the 1971 film
Harold and Maude
. These unsanctioned works were admired by some drivers heading westbound on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge from Interstate 80.
In the late 1990s, the sculptures and materials were removed in the interest of establishing a more natural and undisturbed marshland for the nurturing of wildlife. This process continues around the bay in many other wetlands, former diked grazing fields, and salt production evaporation ponds.
Historically, Emeryville had been the location of a number of heavy industrial uses such as P.I.E, whose properties were developed by bringing in waste and construction debris fill from San Francisco in the early 1900s. Correspondingly much of the underlying soil contained heavy metals
, hydrocarbons and other soil contaminants. Much of this contamination was removed in the 1980s when the considerable wave of redevelopment occurred. The population had increased to almost 7,000 by the year 2000. Since then, the population has continued to grow and is estimated by General Plan projects a population of 16,600 by 2030. In addition, the city is home to about 20,000 current jobs; this number is projected to increase to about 30,000 by 2030.
Emeryville Center for Community Life is a joint project of the City of Emeryville and the Emery Unified School District developed by the Nexus Partners. The new center will be constructed at the site of the existing Emery Secondary School, which along with Anna Yates School will be closed once the center is completed. The center will consist of a new 3 story multi-use campus, incorporating an elementary school, secondary school, community center, and space for social service providers, plus pre school and day care facilities, multi-use sports fields and community theater and would house 1,200 students. The center will break ground in summer of 2014 and take two years to complete with new opening set for August 2016.
has two schools, Anna Yates Elementary School for grades K-7 and Emery Secondary School
for grades 8–12.
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
is a private, for-profit university located in Emeryville.
Companies based in Emeryville include:
As part of an urban renewal
project, several shopping centers opened in the late 1990s next to the intersection of Interstate highways 80 and 580, capitalizing on Emeryville's unique access to San Francisco as well as to East Bay customers. Among these centers' anchor tenants is IKEA
and Home Depot. A new retail and residential development named Bay Street Emeryville
now sits along Highway 80 and is home to such merchants as Banana Republic, GAP
, Coach
and the Apple Store, and restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen
and Pasta Pomodoro
. The complex is anchored by AMC Theaters and is located next to IKEA.
Prior to the company's dissolution, Pets.com
was headquartered in Emeryville.
Emeryville has an Amtrak
station
, and also sits about two miles (3 km) west of the MacArthur BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Station
in Oakland. To supplement the bus service provided by AC Transit
, the regional transit agency, the city runs a free shuttle service called Emery Go Round
that serves MacArthur BART, the Bay Street shops, the Marina and other places.
As for freeway access, it sits on a key section of Interstate 80, just north of where that freeway meets Interstate 880 and Interstate 580
in a large interchange known as the MacArthur Maze
. Highway 24 is also accessible from Emeryville, which connects southbound to Interstate 880 via Highway 980 and continues eastward to Highway 680, towards Walnut Creek and Concord.
Emeryville also maintains a small marina
with limited services. There is a standing citizen Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, extending to the shore of 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 proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
has been a catalyst for recent economic growth. It is home to Pixar Animation Studios and Jamba Juice
Jamba Juice
Jamba Juice is a chain of smoothie restaurants, headquartered in Emeryville, California, with over 700 locations operating in 30 states, the Bahamas, Canada, Korea, and the Philippines. Over 500 locations are company-owned, with the remainder being franchised...
. In addition, several well known biotech and software companies have made their home in Emeryville: Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
' Maxis Software division, LeapFrog
Leapfrog Enterprises
LeapFrog Enterprises Inc is an educational entertainment company based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog designs, develops and markets technology-based learning products and related content for the education of infant through grade school children at home and in schools internationally.- History...
, Sendmail
Sendmail
Sendmail is a general purpose internetwork email routing facility that supports many kinds of mail-transfer and -delivery methods, including the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol used for email transport over the Internet....
, MobiTV
MobiTV
MobiTV, Inc. claims to be a leading provider of "end-to-end mobile media solutions". The MobiTV converged media platform delivers live TV, video on-demand and the ability to download and store content for offline viewing to millions of users on all major wireless networks and major mobile...
, and Bayer
Bayer
Bayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
, Novartis
Novartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
(formerly Chiron
Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas:...
before April 2006). Emeryville is also home to several non-profit organizations including the open source archaeology non-profit INSIGHT
INSIGHT
The Institute for the Study and Integration of Graphical Heritage Techniques , is an American computer laboratory for archaeological visualization based in Emeryville, California. INSIGHT's principle work consists of archaeological documentation projects for academics, universities and...
. The population was 10,080 as of 2010.
History
Before the colonization of the area by Spain in 1776, this area was the site of extensive native American settlements. Mudflats rich with clams and rocky areas with oysters, plus fishing, hunting, and acorns from the local oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees provided a rich and easily exploited food source for the residents, who disposed of their clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
and oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
shells in a single place, over time creating a huge mound, the Emeryville Shellmound
Emeryville Shellmound
The Emeryville Shellmound, in Emeryville, California, is a once-massive archaeological shell midden deposit...
.
During the Spanish and Mexican eras, Emeryville was the site of a small wharf near the mouth of Temescal Creek adjacent to the shellmound. The wharf served the Peralta family's Rancho San Antonio, and was used for loading the principal produce of the ranch—cattle hides—onto lighters
Lighter (barge)
A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...
, and subsequently transferring them to ships, including New England-bound schooners.
Emeryville's first post office opened in 1884.
The Town of Emeryville was incorporated December 2, 1896. It was named after Joseph Stickney Emery who came during the Gold Rush and acquired large tracts of land in what became known as "Emery's". In 1884, Emery was president of a narrow-gauge railroad called the California and Nevada Railroad
California and Nevada Railroad
The California and Nevada Railroad was a steam narrow gauge railroad which ran in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 19th century. It was incorporated on March 25, 1884. J.S. Emery was listed as the railroad's president, for which present day Emeryville is named. On March 1,...
. The railroad originally intended to extend from Oakland, through Emery's (at the time, just an unincorporated settlement along the bayshore) and then east across the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the gold mining town of Bodie, California
Bodie, California
Bodie is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States, about 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. It is located east-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 8379 feet . As Bodie Historic District, the U.S. Department of the...
. From Bodie the railroad would extend east through Nevada to a connection with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Despite its grandiose intentions, the railroad only built from Oakland to Orinda
Orinda, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Orinda had a population of 17,643. The population density was 1,389.5 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Orinda was 14,533 White, 149 African American, 22 Native American, 2,016 Asian, 24 Pacific Islander, 122 from other races, and...
and its right-of-way was sold to the Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe then constructed a rail yard and passenger depot below San Pablo between 41st Street and Yerba Buena Avenue. Although located in Emeryville, the depot, which opened in 1902, was called "Oakland".
The Key System
Key System
The Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...
, a local transit company, acquired the general offices of the California and Nevada as well as their nascent pier into San Francisco Bay, which was quickly transformed into a long pier reaching nearly to Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island sits in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland, California. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It has had several other names over the decades: Sea Bird Island, Wood...
. The Key System established its main rail yard adjacent to the yard of the Santa Fe in a large tract west of San Pablo Avenue in the vicinity of Yerba Buena Avenue (so named because the island was visible in line with the thoroughfare). The Key System's main power plant, used to energize its streetcars and commuter trains, was constructed adjacent to the city limits with Oakland. The immense smokestack was a local landmark for decades, surviving right through the Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
of 1989. It was demolished for safety reasons shortly thereafter. The old Key System mainline to the pier, and later, to the Bay Bridge, ran in a subway below Beach Street and the Southern Pacific mainline near the power plant. That subway survives and is today used as a private entrance to the main sewage treatment plant of East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Municipal Utility District , colloquially referred to as "East Bay Mud", provides water and sewage treatment for customers in portions of Alameda County and Contra Costa County in California, on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay, including the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Hercules,...
(EBMUD, the water utility serving Oakland and many surrounding cities). The rail yards and shops of the Key System and Santa Fe were acquired by Santa Fe's real estate development arm, later known as the Catellus Development Corporation
Catellus Development Corporation
Catellus Development Corporation is a real estate landowner that was spun off from the real estate holdings of the Santa Fe Pacific Corporation. They were one of the largest landowners in California, having owned the Los Angeles Union Station...
, and this firm proceeded with the development which is today, a sprawling shopping center and multiunit residential district.
In the late 19th century, a large park was built around the shellmound. The park included two dance pavilions, one of which stood atop the shellmound. A trotting park (the Oakland Trotting Park) was built nearby at the junction of the Berkeley Branch line
Berkeley Branch Railroad
The Berkeley Branch Railroad was a long branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad from a junction in what later became Emeryville called "Shellmound" to what soon became downtown Berkeley, adjacent to the new University of California campus. The line opened on August 16, 1876. The initial...
with the mainline of the Southern Pacific. On February 22, 1920 the first dog race track to employ an imitation rabbit opened in Emeryville.
Emeryville used to be as well known for its gambling houses and bordellos as it was for its booming industrial sector; then Alameda County district attorney, later California governor and then Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
once famously called it "the rottenest city on the Pacific Coast". During the Depression, Emeryville was jammed with speakeasies, racetracks and brothels and became known as a somewhat lawless center for entertainment. The popular local restaurant The Townhouse is one such trace, a location that once was a speakeasy during Prohibition. Today, this tradition is carried on to a degree by the Oaks Room Card Club, a legal gambling establishment on San Pablo Avenue.
Emeryville was the site of Oaks Park
Oaks Park (stadium)
Oaks Park, formally known as the Oakland Baseball Park, and at times nicknamed Emeryville Park, was a baseball stadium in Emeryville, California. It was primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Oakland Oaks Pacific Coast League baseball team. It opened in 1913 and held 7,000...
, the home turf of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
's Oakland Oaks
Oakland Oaks (PCL)
The Oakland Oaks were a minor league baseball team in Oakland, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1955, after which the club transferred to Vancouver, British Columbia...
. The ballpark was located on the block bounded by San Pablo, 45th Street and Park Street (the fourth side was Watts Street). The site is now partly an empty, fenced-off lot, and overlapped by Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
Studios. Pixar's main gate (on Park Street) lies directly on the old segment of Watts Street. The stadium did not front directly on San Pablo where a strip of various small commercial buildings stood, now replaced by a single one-story commercial building with several chain businesses.
During World War II, Emeryville was the southern terminus of the Shipyard Railway
Shipyard Railway
The Shipyard Railway was an electric railroad line, rapidly constructed during World War II to transport workers to and from the Kaiser Shipyards located in the city of Richmond, California....
, a specially constructed electric rail line operated by the Key System to transport workers to the Kaiser Shipyards
Kaiser Shipyards
The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located mostly on the U.S. west coast during World War II. They were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, a creation of American industrialist Henry J...
in Richmond
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...
. The station was located on the west side of San Pablo Avenue on the Key's yard property. The tracks led out to San Pablo Avenue where they were merged into existing streetcar tracks.
From the late 19th into the early 20th century, Emeryville's development as an industrial city grew. Besides the meat-packing plants, other industries were added. Among these were the Judson Iron Works and the Sherwin-Williams paint company. From 1939 until the 1970s, a massive animated neon sign showing a can of red paint tilting, spilling, and covering a globe of the earth, with the slogan "We Cover the Earth" sat on the roof of the plant's main building, a familiar sight to eastbound motorists on the Bay Bridge. It was also once the location of Shell Development, the research arm of Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...
, which relocated in 1972 to Houston, Texas. A large scrap metal yard (part of the Judson Iron Works) was visible from the Eastshore Freeway for decades until the early 1970s. Also visible, a large facility of the Pacific Intermountain Express (PIE) trucking firm. A heavy truck manufacturing division of what was formerly IH (International-Harvester Company, later Navistar) was located in Emeryville. One of its more popular models in the late 1950s and early 1960s became commonly and affectionately known as "Emeryvilles".
By the late 1960s, industries were beginning to move away from Emeryville and the appearance of the city seriously declined. This began to change in the mid 1970s starting with the development of the marina section of Emeryville. By the 1980s, a large shopping area began to take shape north and south of the Powell Street corridor. Additionally, the Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation
Chiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas:...
(now Novartis), a major biotechnology company, established its headquarters just south of the old junction of the SP mainline tracks and the old Berkeley branchline
Berkeley Branch Railroad
The Berkeley Branch Railroad was a long branch line of the Central Pacific Railroad from a junction in what later became Emeryville called "Shellmound" to what soon became downtown Berkeley, adjacent to the new University of California campus. The line opened on August 16, 1876. The initial...
(Shellmound Junction) at the end of Stanford Avenue, the site of the old Shellmound trotting course.
Following the Loma Prieta Earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
in 1989, a new Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
depot was built in Emeryville to replace the old 16th Street Station
16th Street Station
The 16th Street Station is one of three original train stations that served Oakland, California at the start of the 20th century. The building was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt who was a preeminent train station architect at that time and the facility opened in 1912...
in West Oakland, which had been deteriorating even before it was seriously damaged by the quake. The Emeryville station serves Amtrak's California Zephyr
California Zephyr
The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...
, Coast Starlight
Coast Starlight
The Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...
, San Joaquin
San Joaquín
San Joaquín is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region.The alcalde's office and municipal building is located at Ave...
, and Capitol Corridor
Capitol Corridor
The Capitol Corridor is a 168-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in California. Because it is fully supported by the state, the Capitol Corridor operates under Amtrak California. It runs from the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento, roughly parallel to Interstate 80...
trains. The California Zephyr originates here with service daily to Chicago, Illinois
Union Station (Chicago)
Union Station is a major train station that opened in 1925 in Chicago, replacing an earlier 1881 station. It is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago, as well as being the city's primary terminal for commuter trains. The station stands on the west side of the Chicago River between Adams...
via Salt Lake City, Utah and Denver, Colorado. Buses link the station with San Francisco.
By the 1990s, the old Santa Fe and Key System yards tracts were transformed into a large shopping and residential area, as was the Shellmound corridor. Development of these areas included major roadwork, with the extension of 40th Street, including the construction of a large overpass across the Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific) railroad tracks which connected 40th Street to an extension of Shellmound Street, creating a single thoroughfare linking two sections of the new Emeryville. On the northern stretch of Shellmound Street, the Emery Marketplace and a movie multiplex were built. In 2007, the western end of Yerba Buena Avenue was linked with the northern end of the Mandela Parkway, creating a new through route between Emeryville and West Oakland.
In 2001, the city contracted developer Madison Marquette to build a new shopping center, the Bay Street Shopping Center
Bay Street Emeryville
Bay Street Emeryville is a large shopping mall in Emeryville, California which currently has 65 stores, ten restaurants, a sixteen-screen movie theater, 230 room hotel, and 400 residential units with 1,000 residents.-Surroundings:...
, on the former site of an Ohlone
Ohlone
The Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
village and burial ground
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, which by that point was occupied by a defunct paint factory. Madison Marquette developers worked with archaeologists and Ohlone tribe representatives in order to leave the human remains undisturbed. Some remains were reburied at an undisclosed location on the site. At the mall, there are pictures of the Shellmound, but no mention of the burial grounds. According to an Ohlone rep, the knowledge would make people uncomfortable shopping there.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (38.02%) is water.
In the 1970s, one of the last man-made marinas in the San Francisco East Bay was built in Emeryville; named Watergate, the Emeryville marina is home to a mixed use development including two marinas (one public, the other private), a park, a residential condominium community known as Watergate, a business park with several office buildings, and several restaurants, including Hong Kong East Ocean and the historic Trader Vic's.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Emeryville had a population of 10,080. The population density was 5,015.2 people per square mile (1,936.4/km²). The racial makeup of Emeryville was 4,490 (44.5%) White, 1,764 (17.5%) African American, 44 (0.4%) Native American, 2,775 (27.5%) Asian, 16 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 348 (3.5%) from other racesRace (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 643 (6.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 927 persons (9.2%).
The Census reported that 10,007 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 73 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 5,694 households, out of which 692 (12.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,240 (21.8%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 435 (7.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 160 (2.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 481 (8.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 119 (2.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,871 households (50.4%) were made up of individuals and 530 (9.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.76. There were 1,835 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(32.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.61.
The population was spread out with 1,031 people (10.2%) under the age of 18, 1,064 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 4,675 people (46.4%) aged 25 to 44, 2,304 people (22.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,006 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
There were 6,646 housing units at an average density of 3,306.7 per square mile (1,276.7/km²), of which 2,013 (35.4%) were owner-occupied, and 3,681 (64.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 9.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%. 3,365 people (33.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 6,642 people (65.9%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,882 people, 3,975 households, and 1,164 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,646.2 people per square mile (2,178.0/km²). There were 4,274 housing units at an average density of 3,506.5 per square mile (1,352.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city as of 2010 is 40.2% non-Hispanic WhiteRace (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 27.3% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 17.2% non-Hispanic Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.2% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.2% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 5.2% from two or more races, and 0.4% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
. 9.2% of the population are Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
There were 3,975 households out of which 10.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 18.0% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 70.7% were non-families. 55.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.71 and the average family size was 2.69.
In the city the population was spread out with 11.4% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 42.2% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,359, and the median income for a family was $57,063. Males had a median income of $49,333 versus $39,527 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,260. About 6.3% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.
It is very important to note that these numbers are 9 years old. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 Population Estimates, 9,866 people resided in Emeryville in 2009.
Mudflats and other environmental features
East Bay Municipal Utility District
East Bay Municipal Utility District , colloquially referred to as "East Bay Mud", provides water and sewage treatment for customers in portions of Alameda County and Contra Costa County in California, on the eastern side of San Francisco Bay, including the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Hercules,...
constructed a regional sewage treatment plant near the eastern terminus of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, which, for the most part, cured the noxious problem.
The Emeryville Mudflats became famous in the 1960s and 1970s for public art, erected (with neither permission nor compensation) from driftwood
Driftwood
Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea or river by the action of winds, tides, waves or man. It is a form of marine debris or tidewrack....
timbers and boards by professional and amateur artists and art students from local high schools, the UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, the California College of Arts and Crafts and the Free University of Berkeley. The mudflats were even featured in the 1971 film
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude
Harold and Maude is a 1971 American dark comedy film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama, with a plot that revolves around the exploits of a young man intrigued with death, Harold...
. These unsanctioned works were admired by some drivers heading westbound on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge from Interstate 80.
In the late 1990s, the sculptures and materials were removed in the interest of establishing a more natural and undisturbed marshland for the nurturing of wildlife. This process continues around the bay in many other wetlands, former diked grazing fields, and salt production evaporation ponds.
Historically, Emeryville had been the location of a number of heavy industrial uses such as P.I.E, whose properties were developed by bringing in waste and construction debris fill from San Francisco in the early 1900s. Correspondingly much of the underlying soil contained heavy metals
Heavy metals
A heavy metal is a member of a loosely-defined subset of elements that exhibit metallic properties. It mainly includes the transition metals, some metalloids, lanthanides, and actinides. Many different definitions have been proposed—some based on density, some on atomic number or atomic weight,...
, hydrocarbons and other soil contaminants. Much of this contamination was removed in the 1980s when the considerable wave of redevelopment occurred. The population had increased to almost 7,000 by the year 2000. Since then, the population has continued to grow and is estimated by General Plan projects a population of 16,600 by 2030. In addition, the city is home to about 20,000 current jobs; this number is projected to increase to about 30,000 by 2030.
Current development
Wareham Development is proposing a “Transit Center” to improve bus access to the train station, provide additional parking, and offer space for medical offices and/or research laboratories. In the North Bayfront area, TMG Partners (successors to The Martin Group and David Martin) received approval in August 2008 for a Planned Unit Development called the Marketplace Redevelopment Project; it will include 674 residential units, retail, office uses, and structured parking in a number of buildings that will replace the existing surface parking lots. The first phases of construction are expected to begin within the next few years. A new Arts and Cultural Center is being planned for a brick former industrial building behind Old Town Hall, which will be the permanent home of the Celebration of the Arts and their annual art show, as well as the archives of the Emeryville Historical Society.Emeryville Center for Community Life is a joint project of the City of Emeryville and the Emery Unified School District developed by the Nexus Partners. The new center will be constructed at the site of the existing Emery Secondary School, which along with Anna Yates School will be closed once the center is completed. The center will consist of a new 3 story multi-use campus, incorporating an elementary school, secondary school, community center, and space for social service providers, plus pre school and day care facilities, multi-use sports fields and community theater and would house 1,200 students. The center will break ground in summer of 2014 and take two years to complete with new opening set for August 2016.
Schools
Emery Unified School DistrictEmery Unified School District
Emery Unified School District is a small public school district in Emeryville, California. The district operates two schools, Anna Yates Elementary school with about 350 students for grades K-6 and Emery Secondary School for grades 7-12 with about 420 student.Emery Unified School District and ...
has two schools, Anna Yates Elementary School for grades K-7 and Emery Secondary School
Emery Secondary School
Emery Secondary School is a high school in Emeryville, California, USA for 7th through 12th grades. It is part of the Emery Unified School District. The school has an enrollment of around 400 students...
for grades 8–12.
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts is a private, for-profit college located in Emeryville, California, geared toward the entertainment industry and known for its around-the-clock schedule and five week classes...
is a private, for-profit university located in Emeryville.
Economy
Emeryville has a reputation for being business friendly relative to its neighbors.Companies based in Emeryville include:
- Alibris Inc.AlibrisAlibris is an online store that sells new books, used books, out-of-print books, rare books, and other media through an online network of independent booksellers....
, an online supplier and retailer of used and rare books founded in 1997 by Martin Manley and Richard Weatherford. - Alternative Tentacles Records, a long-running independent record label, specializing in punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and alternativeAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
music, founded and run by former Dead KennedysDead KennedysDead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
singer/songwriter Jello BiafraJello BiafraJello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
. Home to the music of Biafra, Wesley WillisWesley WillisWesley Willis was a musician and artist from Chicago. A diagnosed chronic schizophrenic, he gained an enormous cult following in the 1990s after releasing several hundred songs of simple but unique music, with emphasis on his humorous, bizarre, and frequently obscene lyrics...
, The DicksThe DicksThe Dicks are an American punk rock band from Austin, Texas, originally formed in 1980. They initially disbanded in 1986 before reforming in 2004...
, D.O.A.D.O.A. (band)D.O.A. is a hardcore punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are often referred to as the "founders" of hardcore punk, along with Black Flag, Bad Brains, Teen Idles, and Minor Threat. Their second album Hardcore '81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to...
, and many other acts. Although founded in San Francisco (where a post office box mailing address is maintained), the label's actual office and warehouse space are in Emeryville. - Art.com, an Internet company selling art and framing products & services.
- Aspera, a networking software company.
- BayerBayerBayer AG is a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen , Germany in 1863. It is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and well known for its original brand of aspirin.-History:...
, formerly Novartis Biopharma divisionNovartisNovartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
(Chiron CorporationChiron CorporationChiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas:...
prior to April 2006): a global biotech leader and research company and manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals. - BigFixBigFixBigFix, Inc., is an American company focusing on reducing the cost and complexity of managing networked desktop, mobile, and server computers. From its origins as a PC self-help application, the company’s products have expanded to enable delivery of a wide variety of on-demand endpoint management...
, an enterprise software company which provides a endpoint management services, including asset inventory/discovery, security vulnerability detection and remediation, software distribution, IT compliance reporting, patch management, software license management, security policy enforcement, and endpoint device power consumption management. - BionovoBionovoBionovo is an American biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of botanically derived treatments for women's health and cancer based in Emeryville, California. The company currently has two drug candidates in U.S...
, a biotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
company focused on the discovery and development of drugs to treat cancer and women's health issues such as hot flashes and vaginal atrophy associated with menopauseMenopauseMenopause is a term used to describe the permanent cessation of the primary functions of the human ovaries: the ripening and release of ova and the release of hormones that cause both the creation of the uterine lining and the subsequent shedding of the uterine lining...
. - Cartridge WorldCartridge WorldCartridge World claims to be the world’s fastest growing ink and toner refilling retailer and franchisor in the printer cartridge industry. The company refills and remanufactures inkjet and toner printer cartridges...
, ink-jet refill retailer and franchiser. - Cetus CorporationCetus CorporationCetus Corporation was one of the first biotechnology companies. It was established in Berkeley, California in 1971, but conducted most of its operations in nearby Emeryville. Before merging with another company in 1991, it developed several significant pharmaceutical drugs as well as a...
, (acquired by ChironChiron CorporationChiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas:...
in 1991) one of the first biotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
companies. Working from the old Shell Development buildings on Horton Street, they produced two significant pharmaceuticals, Betaseron and Proleukin. They also developed the PCRPolymerase chain reactionThe polymerase chain reaction is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence....
process, which won a Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
for its inventorKary MullisKary Banks Mullis is a Nobel Prize winning American biochemist, author, and lecturer. In recognition of his improvement of the polymerase chain reaction technique, he shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith and earned the Japan Prize in the same year. The process was first...
in 1993. - Clif BarClif BarClif Bar & Company is an American company that produces organic foods and drinks marketed towards active people. Their flagship product, CLIF BAR, was created in 1992 by owner Gary Erickson. The company's headquarters are in Emeryville, California....
, a natural foods maker - ConnectSolutions, a leading web collaboration company.
- Electronic ArtsElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, the world's largest video game maker has Will Wright's SporeSpore (2008 video game)Spore is a multi-genre single-player god game developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. The game was released for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems in September 2008 as Spore...
development team MaxisMaxisMaxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
based here. - GracenoteGracenoteGracenote, Inc., formerly called CDDB , is a company that maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs and vinyl records. It provides software and metadata to businesses that enable their customers to manage and search...
, a company that maintains and licenses an Internet-accessible database containing information about the contents of audio compact discs (acquired by Sony Corporation of AmericaSony Corporation of AmericaSony Corporation of America , based in New York, is the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. It is the umbrella company under which all Sony companies operate in the United States....
in 2008 for $256 million). - Innovative Interfaces, IncInnovative Interfaces, IncInnovative Interfaces, Inc. is a provider of integrated library system software that is used in 2896 libraries as of September 27, 2011.. The company's software is installed in various types of libraries including academic, public, consortia, school, special libraries, medical libraries and law...
, a leading supplier of integrated library systemIntegrated library systemAn integrated library system , also known as a library management system ,is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed....
software. - Kodak Gallery (formerly Ofoto.com), an Internet digital photoDigital photographyDigital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
service whose product offerings include photo prints and gifts. - LeapfrogLeapfrog EnterprisesLeapFrog Enterprises Inc is an educational entertainment company based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog designs, develops and markets technology-based learning products and related content for the education of infant through grade school children at home and in schools internationally.- History...
, an educational toy company best known for its LeapPadLeapPadLeapPad is an electronic interactive children's book platform for children aged 4–8 produced by LeapFrog Enterprises from 1999 to 2008. Various models of the toy were released up until 2008 when the Tag reading system superseded it.-Development history:...
, a paper-based electronic reading toy. - Mason Investigative Group, the well-known investigative services outfit has been based in Emeryville since its inception.
- Nextsport, an action sports company most recognized for the Fuzion scooter.
- Lithium TechnologiesLithium TechnologiesLithium Technologies provides Social CRM solutions for the enterprise. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Lithium has additional offices in San Francisco, London, and Zürich....
, a social customer relationship management (SCRM) company. - Novartis Vaccines & DiagnosticsNovartisNovartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
(Chiron CorporationChiron CorporationChiron Corporation was a multinational biotechnology firm based in Emeryville, California that was acquired by Novartis International AG on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. Chiron's business and research was in three main areas:...
prior to Apr 2006), a global biotech leader and research company and, vaccineVaccineA vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
s and blood testing kits, vaccines against meningitisMeningitisMeningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
, flu and rabiesRabiesRabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
, Immunodiagnostics testing kits for hepatitisHepatitisHepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
and HIV and NAT testing kits for West Nile virusWest Nile virusWest Nile virus is a virus of the family Flaviviridae. Part of the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of viruses, it is found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is known to infect humans, horses, dogs, cats, bats, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, domestic...
, hepatitisHepatitisHepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
and HIV. - Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company
- Peet's Coffee & TeaPeet's Coffee & TeaPeet's Coffee & Tea is a specialty coffee roaster and retailer. Founded in 1966 by Alfred Peet in Berkeley, California as "Peet's Coffee, Tea & Spices", Peet's is especially known for its strong, dark roasted coffee, including its Major Dickason blend.- Company history :Alfred Peet started Peet's...
, specialty coffee roaster and retailer. - Pixar Animation StudiosPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
, a major animation and computer graphicsComputer graphicsComputer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
firm known for award-winning shorts, and feature films including Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
, A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
, Toy Story 2Toy Story 2Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...
, Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
, Finding NemoFinding NemoFinding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...
, The IncrediblesThe IncrediblesThe Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
, CarsCars (film)Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
, RatatouilleRatatouille (film)Ratatouille is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the eighth film produced by Pixar, and was directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005...
, and WALL-EWALL-EWALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALL•E, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...
and UpUp (2009 film)Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
. In their movie The IncrediblesThe IncrediblesThe Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
, a map is shown on the dashboard of the hero's car, easily recognizable as part of Emeryville near Pixar'sPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
headquarters. Also, a "Welcome to Emeryville" sign is briefly seen in their 2006 film CarsCars (film)Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney...
. Pixar was bought by The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
in 2006 for $7.4 billion. - Quantitative Medical Systems, Inc., a software company providing billing and clinical systems for the dialysis industry.
- RelayHealth, A software company specializing in secure physician-patient communication, electronic health records, and health information exchanges.
- SeeqPodSeeqPodSeeqPod was a search and recommendation engine specifically for indexing and finding playable search results including audio, video, podcasts and Wikipedia articles that are publicly accessible on the World Wide Web. The site claimed to have indexed more than 13 million individual tracks and...
, a search and recommendation web site. - SomaTone ProductionsSomaTone ProductionsSomaTone Interactive Audio Productions is a business that provides original music, sound effects, and voice overs for video games, including casual games, console games, handheld games, MMO's and mobile games. The company has studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Canada, and Germany...
, audio production for computer and video games - Sendmail Inc., a software and services company that was founded by Eric AllmanEric AllmanEric Paul Allman is an American computer programmer who developed sendmail and its precursor delivermail in the late 1970s and early 1980s at UC Berkeley.-Education and training:...
, the creator of sendmailSendmailSendmail is a general purpose internetwork email routing facility that supports many kinds of mail-transfer and -delivery methods, including the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol used for email transport over the Internet....
. - Wham-O ToysWham-OWham-O Inc. is a toy company currently located in California, USA. They are known for marketing many popular toys in the past 50 years, including the Hula Hoop, the Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, Silly String, Hacky Sack and the Boogie board....
, a toy company and an inventor's workshop, home of the original frisbeeFrisbeeA flying disc is a disc-shaped glider that is generally plastic and roughly in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating....
, hacky sackHacky Sackthumb|right|200px|A Hacky SackHacky Sack is the trademarked name of a type of footbag.-History:The name "hacky sack" came from the 1972 inventors of the Footbag, John Stalberger and Mike Marshall. Although Marshall suffered a fatal heart attack in 1975, Stalberger continued the business. At a...
and hula hoopHula hoopA hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck.Although the exact origins of hula hoops are unknown, children and adults around the world have played with hoops, twirling, rolling and throwing them throughout history...
. - ZipRealtyZipRealtyZipRealty, Inc. is a U.S. real estate company with licensed agents Founded in 1999, the company operates in 35 major markets in 22 states and the District of Columbia. It is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Emeryville, California. The company went public in 2004.-See also:*National...
, an internet-based realty company.
As part of an urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
project, several shopping centers opened in the late 1990s next to the intersection of Interstate highways 80 and 580, capitalizing on Emeryville's unique access to San Francisco as well as to East Bay customers. Among these centers' anchor tenants is IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
and Home Depot. A new retail and residential development named Bay Street Emeryville
Bay Street Emeryville
Bay Street Emeryville is a large shopping mall in Emeryville, California which currently has 65 stores, ten restaurants, a sixteen-screen movie theater, 230 room hotel, and 400 residential units with 1,000 residents.-Surroundings:...
now sits along Highway 80 and is home to such merchants as Banana Republic, GAP
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
, Coach
Coach (company)
Coach, Inc. is an upscale American leather goods company known for ladies' and men's handbags, as well as items such as luggage, briefcases, wallets and other accessories . Coach also offers watches and footwear.- History :Coach was founded in 1941, in a loft in New York...
and the Apple Store, and restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen
California Pizza Kitchen
California Pizza Kitchen , known within the food industry as CPK, is a casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza...
and Pasta Pomodoro
Pasta Pomodoro (restaurant)
One of California's most well-known and largest restaurant groups, Pasta Pomodoro is a collection of modern Italian restaurants built around three core concepts: the use of fresh and local ingredients, offering guests a great value and creating a neighborhood dining atmosphere...
. The complex is anchored by AMC Theaters and is located next to IKEA.
Prior to the company's dissolution, Pets.com
Pets.com
Pets.com is a former dot-com enterprise that sold pet supplies to retail customers. It began operations in February 1999 and closed in November 2000. A high profile marketing campaign gave it a widely recognized public presence, including an appearance in the 1999 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...
was headquartered in Emeryville.
Top employers
According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pixar Pixar Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide... |
1,200 |
| 2 | Novartis Novartis Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry... |
797 |
| 3 | AC Transit AC 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... |
475 |
| 4 | Oaks Card Club | 419 |
| 5 | LeapFrog Leapfrog Enterprises LeapFrog Enterprises Inc is an educational entertainment company based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog designs, develops and markets technology-based learning products and related content for the education of infant through grade school children at home and in schools internationally.- History... |
377 |
| 6 | IKEA IKEA IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer... |
332 |
| 7 | Ex'pression College for Digital Arts Ex'pression College for Digital Arts Ex'pression College for Digital Arts is a private, for-profit college located in Emeryville, California, geared toward the entertainment industry and known for its around-the-clock schedule and five week classes... |
256 |
| 8 | Amyris | 234 |
| 9 | MobiTV MobiTV MobiTV, Inc. claims to be a leading provider of "end-to-end mobile media solutions". The MobiTV converged media platform delivers live TV, video on-demand and the ability to download and store content for offline viewing to millions of users on all major wireless networks and major mobile... |
223 |
| 10 | City of Emeryville | 195 |
Transportation
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
station
Emeryville (Amtrak station)
The Emeryville Amtrak station is an Amtrak station in Emeryville, California that replaced the older Amtrak 16th Street Station in Oakland. The original Beaux-Arts Oakland 16th Street Station was declared unsafe due to unreinforced masonry after sustaining damage in the Loma Prieta Earthquake of...
, and also sits about two miles (3 km) west of the MacArthur BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Station
MacArthur (BART station)
MacArthur is a rapid transit station on three lines of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in Oakland, California. It is the largest station in the BART system, being the only one with four platform tracks in regular use.-Location:...
in Oakland. To supplement the bus service provided by AC Transit
AC 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...
, the regional transit agency, the city runs a free shuttle service called Emery Go Round
Emery Go Round
Emery Go-Round is a zero-fare bus service in Emeryville, California, near Oakland, California. It has three lines that run five days a week, with more limited service on weekends, and no or reduced service on holidays...
that serves MacArthur BART, the Bay Street shops, the Marina and other places.
As for freeway access, it sits on a key section of Interstate 80, just north of where that freeway meets Interstate 880 and Interstate 580
Interstate 580 (California)
Interstate 580 is an 80-mile east–west Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 runs from San Rafael in the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 near Tracy in the Central Valley...
in a large interchange known as the MacArthur Maze
MacArthur Maze
The MacArthur Maze refers to the large freeway interchange located near the eastern end of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in Oakland, California and is the largest freeway interchange in the world...
. Highway 24 is also accessible from Emeryville, which connects southbound to Interstate 880 via Highway 980 and continues eastward to Highway 680, towards Walnut Creek and Concord.
Emeryville also maintains a small marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
with limited services. There is a standing citizen Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee.