Richmond, California
Encyclopedia
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 undergoing a shift towards a service and commercial economy since the 1970s. Richmond almost completely surrounds the city of San Pablo
and the unincorporated area
s of North Richmond
, El Sobrante
and East Richmond Heights
. The city has a reputation for being crime-plagued, although this problem is centralized in the urban core, with many parts of Richmond having a low crime rate. The city's own police department
, however, has described the city as having a chronic violent crime problem for "decades" and in 2010, Richmond was ranked the 6th most dangerous city in the United States.
The city is headed by mayor Gayle McLaughlin
, making Richmond the largest city in the country with a Green Party
mayor. As of the 2010 U.S. Census
, the city's population is at 103,701. This makes Richmond the 61st largest city in the state.
The Ohlone Indians were the first inhabitants of the Richmond area, settling an estimated 5,000 years ago.
The name "Richmond" appears to predate actual incorporation by more than fifty years. Edmund Randolph, originally from Richmond, Virginia
, represented the city of San Francisco when California's first legislature met in San Jose in December 1849, and he became state assemblyman from San Francisco. His loyalty to the town of his birth caused him to persuade a federal surveying party mapping the San Francisco Bay to place the names "Point Richmond" and "Richmond" on an 1854 geodetic coast map, which was the geodetic map at the terminal selected by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad
; and by 1899 maps made by the railroad carried the name "Point Richmond Avenue," designating a county road that later became Barrett Avenue, a central street in Richmond.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad had its terminus at Richmond. The first post office opened in 1900.
Richmond was founded and incorporated in 1905, carved out of Rancho San Pablo
, from which the nearby town of San Pablo inherited its name. Until 1919, the city had the largest winery
in the world; the small abandoned village of Winehaven remains fenced off along Western Drive in the Point Molate Area. In the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan
was active in the city. In 1930 the Ford Motor Company
opened an assembly plant which moved to Milpitas in the 1960s. The old Ford plant has been a National Historic Place since 1988, and has recently been converted into an events center (Ford Point Building - The Craneway). The city was a small town at that time, until the onset of World War II
which brought on a rush of migrants and a boom in the industrial sector. Standard Oil
set up operations here in 1901, including a what is now the Chevron Richmond Refinery
and tank farm
, which are still operated by Chevron
. There is a pier into San Francisco Bay south of Point Molate
for oil tankers. The western terminus of the Santa Fe Railroad was established in Richmond with ferry connections at Ferry Point in the Brickyard Cove area of Point Richmond
to San Francisco.
At the outset of World War II
, the four Richmond Shipyards
were built along the Richmond waterfront, employing thousands of workers, many recruited from all over the United States, including many African-Americans and women entering the workforce for the first time. Many of these workers lived in specially-constructed houses scattered throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Richmond, Berkeley and Albany. A specially-built rail line, the Shipyard Railway
, transported workers to the shipyards. Kaiser's Richmond shipyards built 747 Victory
and Liberty ship
s for the war effort, more than any other site in the U.S. The city broke many records and even built one Liberty ship in a record five days. On average the yards could build a ship in thirty days. The medical system established for the shipyard workers at the Richmond Field Hospital eventually became today's Kaiser Permanente
HMO. It remained in operation until 1993 when it was replaced by the modern Richmond Medical Center
hospital, that has subsequently expanded to a large multiple building campus.
Point Richmond was originally the commercial hub of the city, but a new downtown arose in the center of the city. It was populated by many department stores such as Kress
, J.C. Penney
, Sears
, Macy's
, and Woolworth's. During the war the population increased dramatically and peaked at around 120,000 by the end of the war. Once the war ended the shipyard workers were no longer needed, beginning a decades-long population decline. The Census listed 99,545 residents in 1950. By 1960 much of the temporary housing built for the shipyard workers was torn down, and the population dropped to about 71,000. Many of the people who moved to Richmond were black and came from the Midwest and South. Most of the white men were overseas at war, and this opened up new opportunities for ethnic minorities and women. This era also brought with it the innovation of daycare for children, as a few women could care for several dozen women's children, while most of the mothers went off to work in the factories and shipyards.
In the 1970s the Hilltop area including a large shopping mall was developed in the northern suburbs of the city; this further depressed the downtown area as it drew away retail clients and tenants. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the Richmond Parkway
was built along the western industrial and northwestern parkland of the city connecting Interstates 80 and 580.
In the early 1900s, the Santa Fe railroad established a major rail yard adjacent to Point Richmond. The railroad constructed a tunnel through the Potrero San Pablo ridge to run a track from their yard to a ferry landing from which freight cars could be transshipped to San Francisco. Where this track crosses the main street in Point Richmond, there remain two of the last operational wigwag
grade crossing signals in the United States, and the only surviving examples of the "upside-down" type. The wigwag is an antiquated type of railroad crossing signal which was phased out in the 1970s and 80s across the country. There was controversy in 2005 when the State Transportation Authority ordered the BNSF railroad company to upgrade the railroad crossing signals. A compromise was achieved that included installing new modern crossing gates, red lights and bells while not removing, but simply shutting off the historic ones and preserving their functionality for special events.
The Pullman Company
also established a major facility in Richmond in the early 20th century. The facility connected with both the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific and serviced their passenger coach equipment. The Pullman Company was a large employer of African American
men, who worked mainly as porters
on the Pullman cars. Many of them settled in the East Bay, from Richmond to Oakland, prior to World War II.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
had planned to visit Richmond just prior to his assassination.
In 2006 the city celebrated its centennial. This coincided with the repaving and streetscaping project of Macdonald Avenue
. The city's old rundown commercial district along Macdonald has been designated the city's "Main Street District" by the state of California. This has led to funding of improvements in the form of state grants.
Richmond is located at 37°56′09"N 122°20′52"W.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 52.5 square miles (136 km²), of which 30.1 square miles (78 km²) is land and 22.4 square miles (58 km²) (42.71%) is water. The city sits on 32 miles (51.5 km) of waterfront, more than any other city in the Bay Area. The city borders San Francisco Bay
to the southwest and San Pablo Bay
to the northwest, and includes Brooks Island and the Brother Islands
entirely, and half of Red Rock Island
.
There are several cities and unincorporated communities surrounding or bordering Richmond. To the south is the city of Albany
which is in Alameda County
and the city of El Cerrito
. The unincorporated communities of East Richmond Heights
, Rollingwood
, Hasford Heights
, and El Sobrante
lie to the east. North Richmond
to the west and San Pablo
to the east are almost entirely surrounded by Richmond's city limits. To the north, Richmond borders the city of Pinole
and the unincorporated areas of Bayview, Montalvin Manor and Tara Hills
. Richmond borders Alameda
, San Francisco
, and Marin
counties in the Bay and Red Rock Island.
The city is within the 94801, 94803, 94804, 94805, and 94806 ZIP Code
s.
Richmond, like much of the coastal East Bay
, enjoys a very mild Mediterranean climate
year round. The climate is slightly warmer than the coastal areas of San Francisco, the Peninsula
, and Marin County; it is however more temperate than areas further inland. The average highs range from 57 °F (14 °C) to 73 °F (23 °C) and the lows between 43 °F (6 °C) to 56 °F (13 °C) year round. Richmond usually enjoys an "Indian summer
", and September is, on average, the warmest month. January is on average the coldest month.
The highest recorded temperature in Richmond was 107 °F/41.6 °C in September 1971 while the coldest was 24 °F/-4.4 °C in January 1990.
The rainy season begins in late October and ends in April with some showers in May. Most of the rain occurs during stronger storms which occur between November and March and drop 3.3 to 4.91 inches (124.7 mm) of rain per month. January and February are the rainiest months.
Like most of the Bay Area, Richmond is made up of several microclimate
s. Southern parts of the city and the ridges receive more fog
than northern areas. Summer temperatures are higher in inland areas, where the moderating influence of San Francisco Bay is lessened. The average wind speed is 6 to 9 miles per hour with stronger winds from March through August; the strongest winds are in June. The city also enjoys more than 80% sunshine 7 months out of the year and 10 with 60% or more. December and January are the darkest months with about 45% average brightness. The city experiences virtually no snowfall, and brief hail annually. The city is very humid in the morning with the lowest humidity being in the high 70% range. This may be due to San Francisco Bay's notorious fog and also the fact that a majority of Richmond lies on a flat coastal plain predominantly consisting of reclaimed tidal marshes, inter-tidal flats, and seep
. Morning humidity is 75% to 92% year round; afternoon humidity is more variable. This percentage is in the high 20s to mid 30s (%) May through October (the summer months) and climbs or descends through 40% to 70% during the winter.
Richmond is home to many species of animals. Canada Geese
visit the city on their annual migrations. Harbor Seal
s live in the Castro Rocks and pigeons and gull
s populate the sidewalks and parking lots. Tadpoles and frog
s can be found in the local creeks and vernal pools. Field mice
and lizard
s are also found. Heron
s and egret
s nest in protected areas on Brooks Island. Deer
, falcon
s, raccoon
s, duck
s, fox
es, owl
s, and mountain lions live in Wildcat Canyon and Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
.
A license is needed for fishing on the waterfront or city waters but not on the piers, where in addition to crab
s, sturgeon
are plentiful and manta rays may also be found. Striped Bass
, Bat Rays
, Leopard Sharks, surf perch
, jacksmelt, sturgeon
, kingfish
, and flounder
s are also found. Richmond is one of the few places where you can find the rare Olympia Oyster
on the west coast, in the polluted waters along the refinery's shoreline. Rainbow Trout
have recently returned to San Pablo and Wildcat creeks.
Red-tailed Hawk
s patrol the skies. Monarch Butterflies
migrate through the city on their journey between Mexico and Canada. Wildcat Marsh has two ponds where Canada Geese often rest, and is also the home of the endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
and California Clapper Rail
. Another endangered species in the city is the Santa Cruz Tarweed
which survives alongside Interstate 80. Wildcat Canyon also hosts falcons and vultures. Threatened Black Rails also live in the city's marshes.
After a baby Grey Whale was beached on the Point Richmond shore in May 2007, its rotting corpse became bothersome to neighbors. It took a while to remove it since various agencies argued over whom would have to pay for it.
Richmond is also home to one of the last pristine moist grassland habitats in the entire Bay Area at the former Campus Bay
UC Berkeley Field Station near Meeker Slough
.
In 2006 the city was sued by an environmental group for dumping raw sewage
into the Bay. Councilmember Tom Butt was very vocal on the accusing the city council of turning a blind eye to the problem.
Mayor McLaughlin has set a goal of installing 5 megawatts of solar photovoltaic generation in Richmond.
Richmond lies in the volatile California region that has a potential for devastating earthquakes. Many buildings were damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
. There was also minor damage in the Richmond earthquake in 1995. The city has also had at least one minor tornado. The Chevron Richmond Refinery often releases gases and had many highly noted chemical leaks in the 1990s. The company has been fined thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars. The chemicals most often released are chlorine and sulfur trioxide.
In a July 26, 1993, industrial accident, a General Chemical company rail tanker car containing oleum
overheated and exploded in the General Chemical railyard. This resulted in a 17 miles (27 km) area contaminated with the poisonous gas, and led to 25,000 people landing in the hospital. The incident led to lawsuits, and has been referred to as a mini-Bhopal.
In 2006 an explosion at the Chevron Richmond Refinery
left hundreds in hospitals and potentially scared Pixar
away from the city.
The city's shoreline and wildlife were seriously affected by the 2007 San Francisco Bay oil spill. Beaches and shoreline were closed, but later reopened. Keller Beach was closed to public access for swimmers.
On April 15, 2010, a sinkhole
(roughly 30 feet / 9 m deep) appeared at the intersection of El Portal and Via Verde. Although no one was hurt, a car fell into the sinkhole.
There are 17 emergency warning sirers in the city, they are tested every Wednesday and are usually used to warn of toxic chemical releases from the Chevron Richmond Refinery
.
On October 24, 2009, a 15-year old girl was gang-raped at Richmond High School for 2½ hours. The crime happened during the high school's home coming dance event.
In March 2010, #3 Most Dangerous City - Richmond, California
The second California city in the top ten list of most dangerous cities in the United States ranks as number 3 in terms of auto theft and terms of murders.
was 1,976.0 people per square mile (762.9/km²). The racial makeup of Richmond was 32,590 (31.4%) White, 27,542 (26.6%) African American, 662 (0.6%) Native American, 13,984 (13.5%) Asian (4.0% Chinese
, 3.5% Filipino
, 1.6% Laotian
, 1.2% Indian
, 0.7% Vietnamese
, 0.6% Japanese
, 0.4% Korean
, 0.2% Pakistani
, 0.1% Thai
), 537 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 22,573 (21.8%) from other races
, and 5,813 (5.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40,921 persons (39.5%). Among the Hispanic population, 27.3% are Mexican
, 4.7% Salvadoran
, 1.7% Guatemalan
, 1.2% Nicaraguan
, 0.5% Peruvian
, 0.5% Puerto Rican
, and 0.3% Honduran
.
The Census reported that 102,118 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 670 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 913 (0.9%) were institutionalized.
There were 36,093 households, out of which 13,487 (37.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,502 (40.2%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 6,931 (19.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,585 (7.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,538 (7.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 427 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 9,546 households (26.4%) were made up of individuals and 2,707 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83. There were 24,018 families
(66.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.43.
The population was spread out with 25,800 people (24.9%) under the age of 18, 10,364 people (10.0%) aged 18 to 24, 30,846 people (29.7%) aged 25 to 44, 26,109 people (25.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,582 people (10.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.8 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
There were 39,328 housing units at an average density of 749.4 per square mile (289.3/km²), of which 18,659 (51.7%) were owner-occupied, and 17,434 (48.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%. 52,683 people (50.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 49,435 people (47.7%) lived in rental housing units.
of 2000, there were 99,216 people, 34,625 households, and 23,025 families in the city. The population density
was 3,309.5 people per square mile (1,277.8/km²). There were 36,044 housing units at an average density of 1,202.3 per square mile (464.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.06% black
or African American
, 21.36% white
, 0.64% Native American
, 12.29% Asian
, 0.50% Pacific Islander
, 13.86% from other races
, and 5.27% from two or more races. 26.53% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
, of any race.
Of the 34,625 households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples
living together, 20.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,210, and the median income for a family was $46,659. Males had a median income of $37,389 versus $34,204 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,788. About 13.4% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
75.4% of inhabitants over the age of 25 were high school graduates, while 22.4% had bachelor's degrees, and 8.3% had a graduate or professional degree. 7.7% of the population was unemployed and those who were employed took, on average, 34.3 minutes to commute to their place of work.
33.2% of the population aged 15 and over has never married, while 46.3% is currently wed. 11.1% have already divorced, 3.1% is currently separated, and 6.4% has been widowed.
20.6% of the population was born outside the U.S., of which 15.4% were born in Latin America and 8.7% in Asia.
During the day the population shrinks by 6.2% due to commuting while 23.3% of the population works within the city limits. 20.5% of the jobs in the city are in the educational, health, and social service fields, while 10.9% are professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste disposal, and 10.4% are in retail.
7.0% of Richmonders are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces compared with 10.9% nationally. 33.2% are foreign born while 12.4% are nationwide. 48.1% of men and 43.2% of women are married conversely 55.9 and 51% of Americans are respectively. Nearly half (46.7%) speak a language other than the English language
at home. 65.3% are employed even with the national average. The average household income is US$52,794; $6,552 higher than the national average. The average family makes 57,931 dollars while the average American household makes 55,832 dollars. The per capita income is 22,326 compared with 25,035 federally.
Among Richmond residents, 64.56% residents speak English, 23.13% speak Spanish, 2.11% speak Tagalog
, 1.75% speak Chinese, 1.20% speak Miao–Mien, 1.12% speak Laotian, 0.72% speak Punjabi
, 0.54% speak Cantonese, 0.51% speak French, 0.5% speak Vietnamese
, 3.49% speak other languages none of which represents more than half of one percent of the population.
Many industries have been and are still sited in Richmond. It had a dynamite
and gunpowder
works (the Giant Powder Company, closed in 1960, now the site of Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
), the last active whaling
station in the country at Point Molate (closed in 1971), and one of the world's largest wineries (Winehaven), closed by Prohibition
in 1919.
During World War II
, Richmond developed rapidly as a heavy industrial town, chiefly devoted to shipbuilding
. Its major activity now is as a seaport, with 26 million ton
s of goods shipped through Port Richmond
in 1993, mostly oil and petroleum products. Chevron
USA has a major oil refinery
in the city, with a storage capacity of 15 million barrel
s (2,400 m³). The Social Security Administration
employs over 1,000 at its regional office and program service center in Downtown Richmond. Kaiser Permanente
's Richmond Medical Center
hospital in the Downtown Richmond is one of the largest employers in the city. Galaxy Desserts
is run and operated in the city. Vetrazzo, an award winning green business that manufactures Recycled Glass Countertops out of waste glass such as beer bottles and old traffic lights, is located in the refurbished Ford Assembly Plant. Treeskunk Productions a video game animation studio is based in the town. Bay View recording studios are located in the city, and have worked with artists such as Smash Mouth
. Photon Films, LLC, a video production and editing studio, is located in Harborfront area along the southeast shoreline.
The Hilltop District
includes Hilltop Mall
that features Sears
, J.C. Penney
, Macy's
, and Wal-Mart
department stores as anchors. Furthermore the area is home to Hilltop Auto Mall, a 16 screen Century Theaters alongside, Hilltop Plaza Shopping Center.
The 23rd Street business district
has evolved into a predominantly Latino neighborhood over the last twenty years as have the storefronts.
In the Downtown Richmond District
the Richmond Shopping Center was built as part of the city's "main street" revitalization efforts. It is anchored by a Foods Co. supermarket and a Walgreens
pharmacy.
The Macdonald 80 Shopping Center
is a commercial plot along the trunk route of Macdonald Avenue which has been designated the city's main street under the aforementioned program. It was once anchored by the now-defunct Montgomery Wards and a Toys"R"Us. Demolition of the former buildings and construction of a new shopping mall were completed in 2006 and the center is now anchored by a Target
store.
in the Point Isabel area and a Home Depot which is partially in Richmond. A controversial Kohl's
department store has been proposed for Point Isabel. (See Point Isabel)
The city's adjacent Richmond Annex
neighborhood is home to a chinatown
that is anchored by the Pacific East Mall
, an Asian mall.
were transformed starting in the late 1980s into a multiunit residential area, Marina Bay
. Starting in the early 2000s, the city began an aggressive redevelopment effort spurring exurban tract housing, condominiums, townhomes, a transit village
, and terraced hillside subdivisions. The city also created a redevelopment agency
that refurbished Macdonald Avenue
, funded the Metro Walk transit village, resurrected the Macdonald 80 Shopping Center
, and created the Richmond Greenway
rails-to-trails trail and urban farming project. Since 1996, new homes have increased in price by 32%, and there has been a 65.6% increase in the total amount of new dwellings built annually.
Country Club vista is a development surrounding the Richmond Country Club to the south and north. It includes suburban style tract houses with cul-de-sac courts and small yards. Seacliff, at Point Richmond, is a development of luxury waterfront homes built on a terraced hillside. San Marcos is a series of about ten condominium multistory buildings between Hilltop Mall and Country Club Vista. Richmond Transit Village has been constructed in the former west parking lot and an adjacent empty lot of the combined Richmond BART and Amtrak station. The development is part of the city's downtown revitalization efforts.
would have a casino, resort, and a luxury shopping mall. Sugar Bowl Casino
proposes a casino, steakhouse, and a buffet promoted by the Pomo Tribe's Scotts Valley Band near the border between North Richmond
and the city of Richmond's Parchester Village
whose resident's have lauded as a boon to fight crime by adding more of a police presence and creating jobs for shiftless youth, but residents from neighboring newly developed sub-divisions along the Richmond Country Club
were fervently opposed based on potential losses to property values. Casino San Pablo has already been built in neighboring San Pablo, with 2,500 slots. The projects have been the subject of much civic debate supporters contend that the often cash-strapped government would get a major new source of revenue, while opponents air their concerns over the ramifications including an increase in already high crime rates, lowered property values, and worsening neighborhood quality of life.
Point Molate is currently slated to either become a housing and conference center or a casino
resort shopping area, or even a large regional park.
In 2010 the city approved the environmental review of the plan in which the tribe agreed to contain development of the casino to the footprint of the buildings on the former naval depot site. The lobbying and reports required by Richmond have cost the tribe $15,000,000. This approval won over the regions strict environmentalists and many council members. Later that year residents were given the opportunity to weigh in the issue and voted on the non-binding measure U to determine their approval of the project. 58% of voters opposed the 1 billion dollar project. Citing the people's opposition and the inability to negotiate several key points with the developer the city council voted down the project in 2011. Councilman Nat Bates remained a proponent of the plan with its projected 17,000 jobs, the remainder of the council was chagrined at the fact that there was no guarantee that the jobs would go to Richmonders. The city of San Pablo whose lifeline is their card club, Casino San Pablo
was elated. The Guideville Band of Pomo Indians
were given the opportunity of 150 days to create a non-casino plan for the site such as alternatives in the environmental report for a convention center, conference center, hotel, spa, and housing.
with 9 members (including mayor and vice mayor) elected to alternating 4-year terms.
Politically, the city is a Democratic
stronghold. By the early 1990s, not a single Republican
remained on the council. Most mayors have been African-American. George D. Carroll, who was voted by the City Council to become Mayor on July 6, 1964, was described at the time as "the first Negro mayor in California and first in America with the exception of small, scattered all-Negro communities in the Deep South,". Rosemary Corbin
was the mayor throughout the 1990s and was an exception, as she is white. In the early 2000s Gayle McLaughlin
was the first Green elected to the council, with the support of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), a coalition of liberal Democrats, progressive independents, and Greens. In November 2006, McLaughlin was elected mayor. The city council has four African Americans, four whites and two Latinos. Richmond has formerly been home to black culture and activist movements, most notably the Black Panther Party
.
In 2006 the city implemented a computer program that it had ordered from a German firm that provides the city with statistical interactive maps. These maps cover such areas as signage locations, streets, crime hot-spots, and zoning information. In 2007 the city won a contest in which its previously substandard website was upgraded and improved to make it more modern and functional. The prize includes 2 years of free webmastering.
There has recently been controversy regarding appointments of councilpersons Sandhu and Thurmond who were not elected at-large or were appointed to the ballot on a Yes/No basis.
Recently Mayor McGlaughlin and Councilperson Butt have opposed Chevron's plans of modifications to the refinery that would increase pollution by using dirtier, thicker, but cheaper crude oil.
The city of Richmond has eight community centers which are located within city parks. Many of the city's community centers were closed in the early 2000s following budget miscalculations and financial difficulties. In the 2006 city elections many candidates ran on platforms promising to reopen these community centers, most of which had been closed due to budget cuts. That election also featured a city sales tax increase, Measure Q, which failed.
There are 53 voting precincts in Richmond. During the regular election on November 7, 2006
21,575 of 37,605 (57.37%) registered voters cast their ballots.
at 2% and recreational marijuana at 10%.
and Richmond Fire Department. Dozens of parks are run by the Richmond Parks & Recreation Department. The Richmond Civic Center is currently undergoing a seismic upgrade and renovations program. Some buildings are being refurbished while other buildings will be replaced.
The city received widespread attention in 2009 when a girl was gang raped
at a homecoming dance at Richmond High School.
The city has in recent years suffered from a high crime rate, so serious that the city council at one point requested a declaration of a state of emergency and asked for the intervention of the Contra Costa County Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol
in order to ameliorate the crime rate. Murder, vehicle theft and larceny rates are all high, although they tend to be concentrated in certain areas such as the Iron Triangle and areas surrounding adjacent unincorporated North Richmond
, which is outside the jurisdiction of the Richmond Police Department.
In 2004, Richmond was statistically the most dangerous city in California and was named the 8th most dangerous city in the country. Those rankings have changed and Richmond is now the third most dangerous in California behind Compton and Oakland and 11th most dangerous nationally according to the Morgan Quitno
rankings. For every 100,000 people there were 38.3 murder
s, 50.4 rape
s, 485.8 robberies
, 512 assault
s, 1110.7 burglaries
, 3497.4 counts of larceny
and 2471.4 thefts of vehicles
. Richmond had 42 murders in 2006; and the city experienced a record of 62 homicides in 1991 out of a population of 98,000, which was 7 times the national average.
Current mayor Gayle McLaughlin is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
and Boston
mayor Thomas Menino
. The city is also participating in the California Cities Gang Prevention Network. Gangs are a serious problem for the police department as they cause violence and shootings. Many gangs graffiti their "tags" to mark their territory thus blighting the city with vandalism. A high ranking MS-13 (or mara salvatrucha) leader, José Santos Bonilla, was captured in the southwestern Annex
neighborhood in 2006.
Richmond is also home to the West County Detention Center
in the Point Pinole area
. It is a male and female county jail.
RichmondWorks and Richmond Summer YouthWorks are city programs which aim to decrease unemployment and crime and have led to hundreds receiving employment at area retail businesses.
Fires, medical emergencies and other disasters are handled by the Richmond Fire Department
which has seven fire stations in the city. Medical and trauma patients are transported by American Medical Response Paramedics and EMTs.
Sewage is largely handed by the Richmond Sewage Treatment Plant in Point Richmond.
The public schools in Richmond are administered by the West Contra Costa Unified School District
, formerly the Richmond Unified School District. There are also many private schools, mostly Catholic schools under the authority of the Diocese of Oakland.
The city has five high schools: De Anza High School
, Salesian High School
, Richmond High School
, and Kennedy High School
. In addition, there are two charter high schools, Leadership Public Schools: Richmond and West County Community High School. There are also three middle schools, sixteen elementary schools, and seven elementary-middle schools. Richmond also hosts three adult education schools.
The Contra Costa Community College District
serves all of Contra Costa County, and Richmonders who decide to attend a community college typically go to Contra Costa College
, located in the neighboring city of San Pablo.
79.8% of Richmonders have a high school diploma or equivalent compared with 84.2% nationally, however 27.1% have a bachelor's degree compared with a statistically similar 27.2% countrywide.
All Richmond schools have banned junk food, such as candy, soda, Twinkies, pizza, and other like items in attempt to curb childhood obesity
and change children's eating habits. It has been speculated that this was done preemptively since some believe the state will soon mandate such restrictions.
Since the implementation of an exit exam requirement for California high schools, the CAHSEE, some Richmond high school students have been protesting the requirement. In 2007, over 28% of Richmond High School students has passed the CAHSEE, a prerequisite for graduating. Some students were angered with the new CAHSEE requirement. They sued the district in the pursuit of eliminating the requirement. In July 2007 a compromise was reached in which the district would provide 2 additional years of educational assistance for the purposes of passing the exam.
Point Richmond
, which is in effect a village within Richmond, is known for its small-town charm and its quaint shops. The Point, as it is known by locals, offers owner-operated stores, coffee shops, and historic benches and streetlights. The Masquers Playhouse
is a performing arts center that offers shows and productions year round. Hotel Mac is one of the oldest buildings in the area and has classic early 20th century architecture, like many other buildings in the area. There is also The Plunge
, a natatorium which had been closed due to seismic safety issues but was re-opened in August 2010 after the retrofitting was completed. The city expressed a desire to demolish the building at one point, but this was halted by the actions of a neighborhood preservation campaign which continues its mission to "Save the Plunge!".
The Ferry Point Tunnel is one of the oldest tunnels in California. Built in 1899, this structure still gives access to many attractions and neighborhoods in Brickyard Cove. The tunnel goes to the Golden State Railroad Museum, the USS Red Oak Victory, and many beaches and parks, and to Ferry Point where an abandoned ferry-rail pier still stands with a historic ferry slip still standing, though somewhat damaged by fire. It can be viewed from an adjacent fishing pier.
The USS Red Oak Victory (AK-235) is a restored World War II Victory ship
, the 558th ship made in Richmond. Liberty
and Victory ships transported troops and supplies during World War II.
During World War II
the city sprawled and its population increased dramatically. This led city leaders to construct the Richmond Civic Center in 1957. This center houses the city hall, a small convention center, library, hall of justice, police headquarters, and arts center.
The Richmond Public Library, the only public library independent of the Contra Costa County Public Libraries system, lies in the heart of the civic center. It houses over 204,686 books, 4,014 audio materials, 5,277 video materials, and 491 serial subscriptions.
The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
extends 5.5 miles (8.9 km) across San Pablo Bay. The bridge is the origin of the term rollercoaster span, due to its curves, bumps, and appearance which have also earned the bridge the nickname of The Rollercoaster Bridge. It was built in 1957, and connects Contra Costa County with Marin County. Automobiles are charged a $4 toll in the westbound (towards Marin) direction only.
The Golden State Railroad Museum
is a complex series of model railroad layouts in a museum in the Brickyard Cove area of Point Richmond. A visitor can operate trains of various eras, and there are miniature freight and passenger terminals, trestles, tunnels, and meticulously detailed town and city scenes, many of which are copied from real life scenes of the 1950s.
The Santa Fe Railroad Terminal operated as the western terminus for the railroad from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. It has now been transformed into a museum to exemplify the feel of the terminal in that era.
The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park
is in Richmond, and commemorates women's shipbuilding and support for the war effort in the 1940s.
Keller Beach is one of the city's beaches, located at Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, a park in Brickyard Cove. It offers picnicking, sunbathing, wading, and swimming. The beach is overlooked by vehicles exiting the Brickyard Cove drive, Ferry Point tunnel and houses on the steep cliffs above. The beach, as with most of the cove, offers spectacular panoramic bay views of the Oakland hills, bridges, the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate.
Point Molate Beach Park is a park on the western coast of Richmond along Western Drive. It was originally a Chinese shrimp camp in the 1870s.
Point San Pablo yacht harbor accommodates hundreds of private boats.
East Brother Light Station on East Brother Island (one of the Brother Islands
) is host to an exclusive bed and breakfast
. It is only accessible by private boat. Visitors come and stay for the day and picnic for free or they may pay for a room.
The city also is also home to a radio controlled model airplane airport, Breuner Airfield that is located in Breuner Marsh
a contested piece of land and near Point Pinole Regional Park in the Parchester Village neighborhood.
s administered by the East Bay Regional Park District
lie within the city, including the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
and the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
. They are linked by the San Francisco Bay Trail
. Part of the former shipyard is now a marina.
The Richmond Art Center, founded by Hazel Salmi in 1936, is one of the oldest continually operating non-profit art centers on the entire West Coast of the United States. Its programming includes exhibitions, adult and youth education, and community initiatives. The Center currently (as of 2005) provides some of the only arts education programming in the Richmond City School District, relying primarily on public donations and private grants as its means of support.
There is also the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Hilltop Multiplex, or Masquers Theaters in Point Richmond.
The Richmond Progressive Alliance
and Green Party are active political parties in Richmond. The House Rabbit Society
has its national headquarters in Richmond.
The Hyphy
subculture and sub genre of rap music originated in Richmond and surrounding cities.
From 1996 to 2002 a "geekfest
" was held on the beach in Point Molate every few weeks or monthly by S.P.A.M. Records. The festival was a community service for under 21 year olds.
Buddhist temple that serves as a community center for the Lao community of the East Bay.
The city has 292.6 acres (1.2 km²) of parkland, that is 1.5% of the city's land territory. A new national park, Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park is now under construction in the former Kaiser shipyards and other wartime industrial sites in Richmond. The park is a memorial to the six million women who labored on the home front, symbolized by the mythical figure "Rosie the Riveter". Richmond was selected for the park because it has many intact buildings that were constructed for 56 wartime industries. Its four shipyards produced an amazing 747 large ships and set production records. The home front changed Richmond from a predominantly rural community of 23,600 residents to a diverse population of over 100,000 people within a year. Industries operated around the clock and public housing, schools, day care centers, health care and merchants mobilized to support the new workforce that arrived on the city's doorstep. Fortunately, Richmond's turbulent and productive home front years were well chronicled and photographed. The National Park Service provides interpretive services and operates a Visitor Center in the craneway of the Ford Assembly Building.
Richmond also has number of local parks and two large regional parks are under the authority of the East Bay Regional Parks District, a consortium of most of the Parks and Recreation lands and facilities of Alameda and Contra Costa County.
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
is the city's largest park at 2428 acres (10 km²). The park once housed a dance hall and roller rink and has distinctive stonework throughout, which was the rationale for its placement on the National Register of Historic Places. It features San Pablo Creek, trails, forests, horseback riding, picnic areas, and a play structure for children, as well as horses for rent and mountain biking trails. High school students practice cross-country in the park. It is situated in the eastern Richmond hills and stretches into Berkeley's Tilden Regional Park
in Alameda County. The park has diverse animal and plant life including great horned owls, opossums, king snakes, rubber boas, turkey vultures and many others.
Point Isabel Regional Shoreline
is the largest off-leash dog park in the United States.
The Richmond Greenway
is a project costing millions of dollars to transform an old rail line into a walking, jogging, and biking trail. It will span east to west from the end of the Ohlone Trail that follows the BART line from El Cerrito to Berkeley. It will also follow the BART line to Richmond station and continue to Point Richmond. Pedestrian bridges will be used to cross major avenues such as San Pablo Avenue and 23rd Street. An additional side project will add a bike lane/bike trail between the Richmond Greenway and the Ohlone trail at Potrero Avenue via 23rd Street, Carlson Boulevard, Cutting Boulevard, and Potrero. It is currently under construction.
Richmond is home to four marinas: the Brickyard Cove Yacht Club, Point San Pablo Yacht Club, Marina Bay Marina, and Channel Marina in the Santa Fe channel. In addition, Richmond has the "Richmond Plunge", a municipal natatorium
dating back to 1926 and which reopened August 14, 2010. The pool is located in the Point Richmond neighborhood.
and Cinco de Mayo
celebrations. The Cinco de Mayo celebrations sponsored by the 23rd Street
Merchant's Association attracts thousands and closes the entire length of the roadway. The Richmond Police Department, Fire Brigage, United States Marine Corps and other organizations participate in the parade. This is in addition to a fireworks show at Marina Bay celebrating the 4th of July
and a Silly Parade, an event where people march down the street and generally act "weird" and silly. The city also participates in various Earth Day
activities. The city hosts an annual and a physical activity and nutrition forum to discuss health in the community, it has been running since 2006.
and Richmond Globe
publish print and online editions. RichmondConfidential.org, which is run by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
, is a general interest online-only news publication serving the city of Richmond. Richmond Pulse is a youth-led print and online publication which focuses on community health. The West County Times, run by Media News Group, covers greater Contra Costa County.
, mainly plays historical archives but also airs Government-access television (GATV) City Council Meetings and music videos.
provides intercity passenger rail service from Richmond Station
, an intermodal connection shared with the BART
system. The station is located downtown and has a transit center with connections to AC Transit
and Golden Gate Transit
buses as well as taxis.
There are two Amtrak lines serving this station. The regional San Joaquin Route runs from nearby Oakland to the south through Richmond and Martinez
to the Central Valley through Stockton
and Fresno
, terminating in Bakersfield
. Passengers continuing on to Los Angeles or other points in Southern California
may transfer at Bakersfield for connecting Amtrak Thruway bus services.
The second Amtrak line, the Capitol Corridor runs from San José
to the state capitol, Sacramento
, through Richmond, Fairfield, and Davis; some trains continue to the northern Sacramento suburb of Auburn
. This route is the third most heavily used Amtrak line in the United States.
BART
has one station in the city of Richmond, mentioned above, which serves as the northern terminus of the Richmond-Millbrae and Richmond-Fremont lines. Two other stations are located near Richmond, El Cerrito del Norte and El Cerrito Plaza, both in El Cerrito. The Richmond BART station
had over 1.7 million passengers in 1998 while the Amtrak station carried 238,893 in 2006.
Before AC Transit and BART the Key System
provided a network of several rail lines on the East Shore and Suburban Railway
.
line 72R along San Pablo Avenue, "Transbay" commuter service across the Bay Bridge to the San Francisco Transbay Terminal
and also owl "All-Nighter" service along the BART line. The lines are: 7, 29, 70, 71, 72, 72M, 72R, 74, 76, 376, 800, H, L, LC, LA
In June 2007, after engaging with the community for feedback with public hearings, AC Transit implemented the West Contra Costa County Service Plan which realigned existing service finds to reroute portions of certain lines, eliminate service to areas with low ridership, and replace service in some areas with service from a different route providing direct service to areas previously requiring tedious transfers. Furthermore, a great effort was made to provide a better transfer at Richmond Station as well as the Richmond Parkway Transit Center
. The changes are covered by Phase I and use no new monies which would be required to completely implement the plan: Phase II. Phase II will use Regional Measure J funds to expands service providing lines along corridors which are undeserved or not served, and increasing hours and decreasing headways. Two of the greatest changes will be extending BRT service to Richmond Parkway Transit Center and providing service along the Ohio Avenue corridor. These changes have effected the northern neighborhoods of the city and the adjacent communities of El Sobrante and San Pablo the most. Phase I was originally supposed to be implemented in late 2006, but the implementation has been delayed until June 2007. Phase II has a target date of mid-2008.
Golden Gate Transit provides a service from San Rafael in Marin County across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
to Richmond
and El Cerrito del Norte BART
stations with routes 40 and 42.
Vallejo Transit (line 80) and Fairfield/Suisun Transit
(line 85) and Napa VINE (line 29) provide feeder services from the North Bay
counties of Solano & Napa, primarily Vallejo but also Fairfield, Vacaville, and Napa and other cities to El Cerrito del Norte BART, these busses pass through Richmond.
WestCat provides similar feeder service from other West County cities like Pinole
and Hercules
. In addition to service in northern Richmond's Hilltop
neighborhood. Lines running through Richmond are: 16, 17, 18, 19, 30Z, C³, J, JX, JPX
Carlson Boulevard is the primary access from Downtown Richmond to the Richmond Annex neighborhood, starting from 23rd street and terminating at San Pablo Avenue just north of the Alameda-Contra Costa county boundary, feeding into the El Cerrito Plaza shopping center.
Bear Transit
provides commuter and student service from El Cerrito BART and UC Berkeley to the UC Field Station in Campus Bay on route RFS.
Napa VINE offers commuter service from Napa County
.
and Richmond. They propose BART be extended north to Hercules to ameliorate traffic.
(UP) has a mainline passing through Richmond. This line was formerly operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad
(SP).
The BNSF Railway
(BNSF) has a yard and that serves as the Northern California terminus of their line that goes to their main classification yard
at Barstow, CA via the San Joaquin Valley
. The track was formerly operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
(ATSF). Many years ago, the ATSF offered rail car ferry service from Point Richmond
to San Francisco. The partially-burnt remnants of the ferry pier can still be seen at Point Richmond.
The Richmond Pacific Railroad
(RPRC) is a class III shortline railroad operating on 2.5 miles (4 km) of track, providing switching services at Richmond's wharves. The RPRC is owned by the Levin-Richmond Terminal Corporation and was formerly known as the Parr Terminal Railroad (PRT).
on weekdays and Fisherman's Wharf on weekends in addition to special Giants
Ballpark
service during the baseball season. The voyage took approximately 45 minutes one-way. The service began in 1999, but was discontinued in the late 2000s in the economic downturn following the dot-com bust. Ferry ridership plummeted and the service became economically unsustainable, which led Red and White Fleet to discontinue the service. The Richmond ferry terminal is at Ford Point located adjacent to the historic Ford Plant in Marina Bay
which is now open as an industrial park and under renovation. The terminal had its own dedicated AC Transit
feeder service from Point Richmond and downtown Richmond
with route 374 also now discontinued. A new ferry service
from Richmond is planned for 2008 by the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority. The new ferry will take only half an hour to San Francisco and will use the existing terminal and parking facilities at Ford Point. Recently most of the city council except Tom Butt and Mayor McLaughlin have lost interest in the project instead supporting using the site for expanded Toyota vehicle importation parking which that company has expressed an interest in.
and has more than any other city at present. The total is 17 miles (27 km) and more is to be built. The city is also currently developing the Richmond Greenway
a rails to trails project running parallel to Macdonald Avenue which will feed into the Ohlone Trail which serves as feeder service for the El Cerrito del Norte BART station
. There is also the Hercules Bikeway connecting the Ohlone Trail with Hercules, which runs along the neighborhoods of East Richmond and El Sobrante. There is a trail under construction along Wildcat Creek
to connect the Bay Trail and Wildcat Marsh
with Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
. The city also has many miles of trails in that park in addition to Miller/Knox, Point Isabel, and Point Pinole parks, among others.
: Shimada, Shizuoka
, Japan Regla, Cuba. Zhoushan
, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
, part of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been undergoing a shift towards a service and commercial economy since the 1970s. Richmond almost completely surrounds the city of San Pablo
San Pablo, California
San Pablo is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Paul V. Morris, and the current Vice Mayor is Cecilia Valdez. Current Councilmembers include Arturo M....
and the unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
s of North Richmond
North Richmond, California
North Richmond is a community in Contra Costa County, California, a census-designated place of 3,717 adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the city Richmond, to which it is generally socially and culturally attached...
, El Sobrante
El Sobrante, California
El Sobrante is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 12,669 at the 2010 census...
and East Richmond Heights
East Richmond Heights, California
East Richmond Heights is an unincorporated and census-designated place in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The community is locally referred to as Richmond View or Arlington Heights, especially in the context of real estate advertisements...
. The city has a reputation for being crime-plagued, although this problem is centralized in the urban core, with many parts of Richmond having a low crime rate. The city's own police department
Richmond Police Department
The Richmond Police Department or RPD is a public safety and law enforcement agency founded in 1910 that is in charge of protecting and safeguarding the city of Richmond, California...
, however, has described the city as having a chronic violent crime problem for "decades" and in 2010, Richmond was ranked the 6th most dangerous city in the United States.
The city is headed by mayor Gayle McLaughlin
Gayle McLaughlin
Gayle McLaughlin is a California politician. She is a member of the Green Party and, since 2006, the mayor of Richmond, California and a member of Richmond's City Council. McLaughlin was elected on November 7, 2006 by a 279-vote margin over incumbent mayor Irma A. Anderson...
, making Richmond the largest city in the country with a Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
mayor. As of the 2010 U.S. Census
United States Census
The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution. The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats , electoral votes, and government program funding. The United States Census Bureau The United States Census...
, the city's population is at 103,701. This makes Richmond the 61st largest city in the state.
History
The name "Richmond" appears to predate actual incorporation by more than fifty years. Edmund Randolph, originally from Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, represented the city of San Francisco when California's first legislature met in San Jose in December 1849, and he became state assemblyman from San Francisco. His loyalty to the town of his birth caused him to persuade a federal surveying party mapping the San Francisco Bay to place the names "Point Richmond" and "Richmond" on an 1854 geodetic coast map, which was the geodetic map at the terminal selected by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad
San Joaquin Valley Railroad
The San Joaquin Valley Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies and is part of the Sunset Division of RailAmerica. It operates about of track primarily on several lines in California's Central Valley/San Joaquin Valley outside of Fresno, California and Bakersfield, California...
; and by 1899 maps made by the railroad carried the name "Point Richmond Avenue," designating a county road that later became Barrett Avenue, a central street in Richmond.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad had its terminus at Richmond. The first post office opened in 1900.
Richmond was founded and incorporated in 1905, carved out of Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo was a land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1823 by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello to Francisco María Castro , a former soldier at the San Francisco Presidio and one-time alcalde of the Pueblo of San José. The grant was reconfirmed by Governor José...
, from which the nearby town of San Pablo inherited its name. Until 1919, the city had the largest winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
in the world; the small abandoned village of Winehaven remains fenced off along Western Drive in the Point Molate Area. In the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
was active in the city. In 1930 the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
opened an assembly plant which moved to Milpitas in the 1960s. The old Ford plant has been a National Historic Place since 1988, and has recently been converted into an events center (Ford Point Building - The Craneway). The city was a small town at that time, until the onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
which brought on a rush of migrants and a boom in the industrial sector. Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
set up operations here in 1901, including a what is now the Chevron Richmond Refinery
Chevron Richmond Refinery
The Chevron Richmond Refinery is a petroleum refinery in Richmond, California, on San Francisco Bay. It is owned and operated by Chevron Corporation and employs more than 1,200 workers, making it the city's largest employer. The refinery processes approximately of crude oil a day in the...
and tank farm
Oil depot
An oil depot is an industrial facility for the storage of oil and/or petrochemical products and from which these products are usually transported to end users or further storage facilities...
, which are still operated by Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
. There is a pier into San Francisco Bay south of Point Molate
Point Molate
Point Molate may refer to:*Point Molate Beach Park*Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot*Winehaven, California*Point Molate Hills*Point Molate Marsh*Point Molate Peninsula*Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor...
for oil tankers. The western terminus of the Santa Fe Railroad was established in Richmond with ferry connections at Ferry Point in the Brickyard Cove area of Point Richmond
Point Richmond
Point Richmond, also sometimes referred to locally as The Point, is a neighborhood in Richmond, California, USA, near the eastern end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, between Interstate 580 and the San Francisco Bay...
to San Francisco.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the four Richmond Shipyards
Richmond Shipyards
The four Richmond Shipyards, located in the city of Richmond, California, United States, were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards, and were responsible for constructing more ships during World War II than any other shipyard in the country. The shipyards are part of the Rosie...
were built along the Richmond waterfront, employing thousands of workers, many recruited from all over the United States, including many African-Americans and women entering the workforce for the first time. Many of these workers lived in specially-constructed houses scattered throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including Richmond, Berkeley and Albany. A specially-built rail line, 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....
, transported workers to the shipyards. Kaiser's Richmond shipyards built 747 Victory
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
and Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
s for the war effort, more than any other site in the U.S. The city broke many records and even built one Liberty ship in a record five days. On average the yards could build a ship in thirty days. The medical system established for the shipyard workers at the Richmond Field Hospital eventually became today's Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield...
HMO. It remained in operation until 1993 when it was replaced by the modern Richmond Medical Center
Richmond Medical Center
Richmond Medical Center is a large Kaiser Permanente hospital in downtown Richmond, California which serves 77,000 members registered under its medical plans.-History:...
hospital, that has subsequently expanded to a large multiple building campus.
Point Richmond was originally the commercial hub of the city, but a new downtown arose in the center of the city. It was populated by many department stores such as Kress
S. H. Kress & Co.
S. H. Kress & Co. was the trading name of a chain of "five and dime" retail department stores in the United States, which operated from 1896 to 1981....
, J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
, Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
, Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, and Woolworth's. During the war the population increased dramatically and peaked at around 120,000 by the end of the war. Once the war ended the shipyard workers were no longer needed, beginning a decades-long population decline. The Census listed 99,545 residents in 1950. By 1960 much of the temporary housing built for the shipyard workers was torn down, and the population dropped to about 71,000. Many of the people who moved to Richmond were black and came from the Midwest and South. Most of the white men were overseas at war, and this opened up new opportunities for ethnic minorities and women. This era also brought with it the innovation of daycare for children, as a few women could care for several dozen women's children, while most of the mothers went off to work in the factories and shipyards.
Richmond Parkway (California)
The Richmond Parkway is an arterial road connecting Interstate 580 and Interstate 80 through Richmond, California. The road allows drivers traveling between Marin County and Solano County to bypass central Richmond.-History:...
was built along the western industrial and northwestern parkland of the city connecting Interstates 80 and 580.
In the early 1900s, the Santa Fe railroad established a major rail yard adjacent to Point Richmond. The railroad constructed a tunnel through the Potrero San Pablo ridge to run a track from their yard to a ferry landing from which freight cars could be transshipped to San Francisco. Where this track crosses the main street in Point Richmond, there remain two of the last operational wigwag
Wigwag (railroad)
Wigwag is the nickname given to a type of railroad grade crossing signal once common in North America, named for the pendulum-like motion it used to signal the approach of a train...
grade crossing signals in the United States, and the only surviving examples of the "upside-down" type. The wigwag is an antiquated type of railroad crossing signal which was phased out in the 1970s and 80s across the country. There was controversy in 2005 when the State Transportation Authority ordered the BNSF railroad company to upgrade the railroad crossing signals. A compromise was achieved that included installing new modern crossing gates, red lights and bells while not removing, but simply shutting off the historic ones and preserving their functionality for special events.
The Pullman Company
Pullman Company
The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
also established a major facility in Richmond in the early 20th century. The facility connected with both the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific and serviced their passenger coach equipment. The Pullman Company was a large employer of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
men, who worked mainly as porters
Porter (railroad)
A porter is a railway employee assigned to assist passengers aboard a passenger train or to handle their baggage; it may be used particularly to refer to employees assigned to assisting passengers in the sleeping cars....
on the Pullman cars. Many of them settled in the East Bay, from Richmond to Oakland, prior to World War II.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
had planned to visit Richmond just prior to his assassination.
In 2006 the city celebrated its centennial. This coincided with the repaving and streetscaping project of Macdonald Avenue
MacDonald Avenue
Macdonald Avenue is the main east-to-west artery in the Oakland suburb of Richmond.-Overview:Macdonald Avenue runs in a straight line from the Richmond Parkway through downtown to San Pablo Avenue, after which it continues as a minor street for a few blocks, ending at Ludwig Avenue in El...
. The city's old rundown commercial district along Macdonald has been designated the city's "Main Street District" by the state of California. This has led to funding of improvements in the form of state grants.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 52.5 square miles (136 km²), of which 30.1 square miles (78 km²) is land and 22.4 square miles (58 km²) (42.71%) is water. The city sits on 32 miles (51.5 km) of waterfront, more than any other city in the Bay Area. The city borders 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...
to the southwest and San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
to the northwest, and includes Brooks Island and the Brother Islands
Brother Islands
The Brothers lie roughly off Point San Pablo in San Francisco Bay in Richmond, California. The diseno del Rancho de San Pablo names East Brother Island as 'Isla de Pajaros' or 'Bird Island.'The Brothers, along with The Sisters The Brothers (East and West Brother Island) lie roughly off Point...
entirely, and half of Red Rock Island
Red Rock Island
Red Rock Island is an uninhabited, island in the San Francisco Bay located just south of the Richmond – San Rafael Bridge. The property is the only privately owned island in San Francisco Bay. The boundaries of three counties – San Francisco, Marin and Contra Costa – converge on this high rock...
.
There are several cities and unincorporated communities surrounding or bordering Richmond. To the south is the city of Albany
Albany, California
Albany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
which is in Alameda County
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...
and the city of El Cerrito
El Cerrito, Contra Costa County, California
-Transportation:The city's primary transportation infrastructure consists of the El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART stations along with several local bus lines, operated by AC Transit, providing access to the surrounding area and the nearby cities of Albany, Berkeley and Richmond...
. The unincorporated communities of East Richmond Heights
East Richmond Heights, California
East Richmond Heights is an unincorporated and census-designated place in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The community is locally referred to as Richmond View or Arlington Heights, especially in the context of real estate advertisements...
, Rollingwood
Rollingwood, California
Rollingwood is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, Rollingwood's population was 2,969.-Geography:...
, Hasford Heights
Hasford Heights, California
Hasford Heights historically Grand Canyon is an unincorporated community in western Contra Costa County, California in the area of the city of Richmond.-History:...
, and El Sobrante
El Sobrante, California
El Sobrante is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 12,669 at the 2010 census...
lie to the east. North Richmond
North Richmond, California
North Richmond is a community in Contra Costa County, California, a census-designated place of 3,717 adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the city Richmond, to which it is generally socially and culturally attached...
to the west and San Pablo
San Pablo, California
San Pablo is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Paul V. Morris, and the current Vice Mayor is Cecilia Valdez. Current Councilmembers include Arturo M....
to the east are almost entirely surrounded by Richmond's city limits. To the north, Richmond borders the city of Pinole
Pinole, California
Pinole is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 18,390 at the 2010 census. It is one of many small “bedroom communities” along the I-80 corridor in Western Contra Costa County. It is located about northeast of San Francisco, and approximately a half-hour...
and the unincorporated areas of Bayview, Montalvin Manor and Tara Hills
Tara Hills, California
Tara Hills is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 5,126 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land....
. Richmond borders Alameda
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...
, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and Marin
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
counties in the Bay and Red Rock Island.
The city is within the 94801, 94803, 94804, 94805, and 94806 ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s.
Climate
| Annual rainfall and temperatures' | |||
| Month | Rainfall in. (mm) | Mean high temp. | Mean low temp. |
| January | 4.91 (124.7) | 57 °F (14 °C) | 43 °F (6 °C) |
| February | 4.41 (112.0) | 61 °F (16 °C) | 45 °F (7 °C) |
| March | 3.52 (89.4) | 63 °F (17 °C) | 47 °F (8 °C) |
| April | 1.35 (34.3) | 66 °F (17 °C) | 48 °F (9 °C) |
| May | 0.54 (13.7) | 68 °F (20 °C) | 51 °F (11 °C) |
| June | 0.17 (4.3) | 71 °F (22 °C) | 54 °F (12 °C) |
| July | 0.07 (1.8) | 70 °F (21 °C) | 55 °F (13 °C) |
| August | 0.09 (2.3) | 71 °F (22 °C) | 56 °F (13 °C) |
| September | 0.27 (6.9) | 73 °F (23 °C) | 56 °F (13 °C) |
| October | 1.25 (31.8) | 72 °F (22 °C) | 56 °F (13 °C) |
| November | 3.47 (88.1) | 64 °F (18 °C) | 48 °F (9 °C) |
| December | 3.30 (83.8) | 57 °F (14 °C) | 43 °F (6 °C) |
Richmond, like much of the coastal East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
, enjoys a very mild Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
year round. The climate is slightly warmer than the coastal areas of San Francisco, the Peninsula
San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is in Santa Clara County, including the cities of Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Mountain...
, and Marin County; it is however more temperate than areas further inland. The average highs range from 57 °F (14 °C) to 73 °F (23 °C) and the lows between 43 °F (6 °C) to 56 °F (13 °C) year round. Richmond usually enjoys an "Indian summer
Indian summer
An Indian summer is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the autumn. It refers to a period of considerably above normal temperatures, accompanied by dry and hazy conditions, usually after there has been a killing frost...
", and September is, on average, the warmest month. January is on average the coldest month.
The highest recorded temperature in Richmond was 107 °F/41.6 °C in September 1971 while the coldest was 24 °F/-4.4 °C in January 1990.
The rainy season begins in late October and ends in April with some showers in May. Most of the rain occurs during stronger storms which occur between November and March and drop 3.3 to 4.91 inches (124.7 mm) of rain per month. January and February are the rainiest months.
Like most of the Bay Area, Richmond is made up of several microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
s. Southern parts of the city and the ridges receive more fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
than northern areas. Summer temperatures are higher in inland areas, where the moderating influence of San Francisco Bay is lessened. The average wind speed is 6 to 9 miles per hour with stronger winds from March through August; the strongest winds are in June. The city also enjoys more than 80% sunshine 7 months out of the year and 10 with 60% or more. December and January are the darkest months with about 45% average brightness. The city experiences virtually no snowfall, and brief hail annually. The city is very humid in the morning with the lowest humidity being in the high 70% range. This may be due to San Francisco Bay's notorious fog and also the fact that a majority of Richmond lies on a flat coastal plain predominantly consisting of reclaimed tidal marshes, inter-tidal flats, and seep
Seep (hydrology)
A Seep is a moist or wet place where water, usually groundwater, reaches the earth's surface from an underground aquifer.-Description:Seeps are usually not of sufficient volume to be flowing beyond their above-ground location. They are part of the limnology-geomorphology system...
. Morning humidity is 75% to 92% year round; afternoon humidity is more variable. This percentage is in the high 20s to mid 30s (%) May through October (the summer months) and climbs or descends through 40% to 70% during the winter.
Environment
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose is a wild goose belonging to the genus Branta, which is native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, having a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body....
visit the city on their annual migrations. Harbor Seal
Harbor Seal
The harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...
s live in the Castro Rocks and pigeons and gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s populate the sidewalks and parking lots. Tadpoles and frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s can be found in the local creeks and vernal pools. Field mice
Vole
A vole is a small rodent resembling a mouse but with a stouter body, a shorter hairy tail, a slightly rounder head, smaller ears and eyes, and differently formed molars . There are approximately 155 species of voles. They are sometimes known as meadow mice or field mice in North America...
and lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s are also found. Heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s and egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...
s nest in protected areas on Brooks Island. Deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
s, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s, duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, and mountain lions live in Wildcat Canyon and Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
The Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is a regional park on the shores of the San Pablo Bay, California . It is approximately in area, and is operated by the East Bay Regional Park District.-History:...
.
A license is needed for fishing on the waterfront or city waters but not on the piers, where in addition to crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s, sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
are plentiful and manta rays may also be found. Striped Bass
Striped bass
The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...
, Bat Rays
Bat ray
The bat ray, Myliobatis californica, is an eagle ray found in muddy or sandy sloughs, estuaries and bays, kelp beds and rocky-bottomed shoreline in the eastern Pacific Ocean, between the Oregon coast and the Gulf of California. It is also found in the area around the Galápagos Islands. The largest...
, Leopard Sharks, surf perch
Perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...
, jacksmelt, sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
, kingfish
Kingfish
-Fish:* King mackerel Scomberomorus cavalla* Kingcroaker Menticirrhus spp.* Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson * White croaker Genyonemus lineatus * Cobia Rachycentron canadum...
, and flounder
Flounder
The flounder is an ocean-dwelling flatfish species that is found in coastal lagoons and estuaries of the Northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.-Taxonomy:There are a number of geographical and taxonomical species to which flounder belong.*Western Atlantic...
s are also found. Richmond is one of the few places where you can find the rare Olympia Oyster
Olympia oyster
The Olympia oyster, Ostreola conchaphila, is the native oyster of the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico. The name is derived from the important 19th century oyster industry near Olympia, Washington, in Puget Sound....
on the west coast, in the polluted waters along the refinery's shoreline. Rainbow Trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
have recently returned to San Pablo and Wildcat creeks.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
s patrol the skies. Monarch Butterflies
Monarch butterfly
The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly , in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer...
migrate through the city on their journey between Mexico and Canada. Wildcat Marsh has two ponds where Canada Geese often rest, and is also the home of the endangered Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
The Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse , also known as the Red-bellied Harvest Mouse and some times called by Saltmarsh Harvest Mouse, is an endangered rodent endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area salt marshes in California. There are two distinct subspecies, both endangered and listed together on federal...
and California Clapper Rail
California Clapper Rail
The California Clapper Rail is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail . It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay...
. Another endangered species in the city is the Santa Cruz Tarweed
Santa Cruz Tarweed
The Santa Cruz Tarweed is an endangered plant endemic to certain coastal terraces in Northern California. Its principal range is in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County, but smaller colonies have been found slightly to the north...
which survives alongside Interstate 80. Wildcat Canyon also hosts falcons and vultures. Threatened Black Rails also live in the city's marshes.
After a baby Grey Whale was beached on the Point Richmond shore in May 2007, its rotting corpse became bothersome to neighbors. It took a while to remove it since various agencies argued over whom would have to pay for it.
Richmond is also home to one of the last pristine moist grassland habitats in the entire Bay Area at the former Campus Bay
Campus Bay, Richmond, California
Campus Bay is an property in the city of Richmond, California located off Interstate 580 , and situated between the San Francisco Bay, the Richmond Annex, and Point Isabel neighborhoods...
UC Berkeley Field Station near Meeker Slough
Meeker Slough
Meeker Slough is a slough in Richmond, California formed by a creek of the same name and drains into the Richmond Inner Harbor, part of San Francisco Bay...
.
In 2006 the city was sued by an environmental group for dumping raw sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
into the Bay. Councilmember Tom Butt was very vocal on the accusing the city council of turning a blind eye to the problem.
Mayor McLaughlin has set a goal of installing 5 megawatts of solar photovoltaic generation in Richmond.
Crime and disasters
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...
. There was also minor damage in the Richmond earthquake in 1995. The city has also had at least one minor tornado. The Chevron Richmond Refinery often releases gases and had many highly noted chemical leaks in the 1990s. The company has been fined thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars. The chemicals most often released are chlorine and sulfur trioxide.
In a July 26, 1993, industrial accident, a General Chemical company rail tanker car containing oleum
Oleum
Oleum , or fuming sulfuric acid refers to a solution of various compositions of sulfur trioxide in sulfuric acid or sometimes more specifically to disulfuric acid ....
overheated and exploded in the General Chemical railyard. This resulted in a 17 miles (27 km) area contaminated with the poisonous gas, and led to 25,000 people landing in the hospital. The incident led to lawsuits, and has been referred to as a mini-Bhopal.
In 2006 an explosion at the Chevron Richmond Refinery
Chevron Richmond Refinery
The Chevron Richmond Refinery is a petroleum refinery in Richmond, California, on San Francisco Bay. It is owned and operated by Chevron Corporation and employs more than 1,200 workers, making it the city's largest employer. The refinery processes approximately of crude oil a day in the...
left hundreds in hospitals and potentially scared 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...
away from the city.
On April 15, 2010, a sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
(roughly 30 feet / 9 m deep) appeared at the intersection of El Portal and Via Verde. Although no one was hurt, a car fell into the sinkhole.
There are 17 emergency warning sirers in the city, they are tested every Wednesday and are usually used to warn of toxic chemical releases from the Chevron Richmond Refinery
Chevron Richmond Refinery
The Chevron Richmond Refinery is a petroleum refinery in Richmond, California, on San Francisco Bay. It is owned and operated by Chevron Corporation and employs more than 1,200 workers, making it the city's largest employer. The refinery processes approximately of crude oil a day in the...
.
On October 24, 2009, a 15-year old girl was gang-raped at Richmond High School for 2½ hours. The crime happened during the high school's home coming dance event.
In March 2010, #3 Most Dangerous City - Richmond, California
The second California city in the top ten list of most dangerous cities in the United States ranks as number 3 in terms of auto theft and terms of murders.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Richmond had a population of 103,701. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,976.0 people per square mile (762.9/km²). The racial makeup of Richmond was 32,590 (31.4%) White, 27,542 (26.6%) African American, 662 (0.6%) Native American, 13,984 (13.5%) Asian (4.0% Chinese
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
, 3.5% Filipino
Filipino American
Filipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
, 1.6% Laotian
Laotian American
A Laotian American is a resident of the United States who was originally from Laos, a person of Laotian descent residing in America, or a citizen born in the United States whose parents were originally from Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans...
, 1.2% Indian
Indian American
Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...
, 0.7% Vietnamese
Vietnamese American
A Vietnamese American is an American of Vietnamese descent. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American group....
, 0.6% Japanese
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
, 0.4% Korean
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
, 0.2% Pakistani
Pakistani American
A Pakistani American is any citizen or resident of the United States who has Pakistani heritage.- History in the United States :Muslim immigrants from areas that are now part of Pakistan have been migrating to America and first entered the United States as early as the eighteenth century, working...
, 0.1% Thai
Thai American
A Thai American is an American of whose parents or grandparents came from Thailand. Many of them may in fact be of Thai Chinese or at least part Chinese ancestry, but they are still considered to be Thais.-History in U.S.:...
), 537 (0.5%) Pacific Islander, 22,573 (21.8%) 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...
, and 5,813 (5.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40,921 persons (39.5%). Among the Hispanic population, 27.3% are Mexican
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
, 4.7% Salvadoran
Salvadoran American
Salvadorian Americans are citizens or residents of the United States of Salvadoran descent. As of 2010 there are 1.6 million Salvadoran Americans in the United States, the fourth-largest Hispanic community by nation of ancestry.They are also known as the nicknamed Salvi people in the USA,...
, 1.7% Guatemalan
Guatemalan American
A Guatemalan American is an American of Guatemalan descent.The Guatemalan American population in the USA in 2009 was estimated by the US Census Bureau at 1,081,858...
, 1.2% Nicaraguan
Nicaraguan American
Nicaraguan American are Americans of Nicaraguan ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 177,684 Americans of full or partial Nicaraguan ancestry living in the U.S...
, 0.5% Peruvian
Peruvian American
A Peruvian American , mestizo, Amerindian, and Afro-Peruvian descent, as well as others, including Italian, French, and German or a mix of any of these. A significant number are of pure or mixed Chinese or/and Japanese heritage....
, 0.5% Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
, and 0.3% Honduran
Honduran American
A Honduran American is an American of Honduran descent. The number of Hondurans in the U.S. in 2005 was estimated at 459,653.- US communities with high percentages of people of Honduran ancestry :...
.
The Census reported that 102,118 people (98.5% of the population) lived in households, 670 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 913 (0.9%) were institutionalized.
There were 36,093 households, out of which 13,487 (37.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 14,502 (40.2%) 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, 6,931 (19.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,585 (7.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,538 (7.0%) 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 427 (1.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 9,546 households (26.4%) were made up of individuals and 2,707 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83. There were 24,018 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...
(66.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.43.
The population was spread out with 25,800 people (24.9%) under the age of 18, 10,364 people (10.0%) aged 18 to 24, 30,846 people (29.7%) aged 25 to 44, 26,109 people (25.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 10,582 people (10.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.8 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
There were 39,328 housing units at an average density of 749.4 per square mile (289.3/km²), of which 18,659 (51.7%) were owner-occupied, and 17,434 (48.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%. 52,683 people (50.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 49,435 people (47.7%) lived in rental housing units.
| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align: right;font-size: 90%;"> | Demographic profile | 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| One race | 98,277 - 94.7% | |
| White alone | 19,138 - 18.4% | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native alone | 122 - 0.11% | |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone | 252 - 0.24% | |
| Some other race alone | 743 - 0.7% | |
| Two or more races alone | 2,040 - 1.96% | |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 40,921 - 39.5% |
2000
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 99,216 people, 34,625 households, and 23,025 families in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,309.5 people per square mile (1,277.8/km²). There were 36,044 housing units at an average density of 1,202.3 per square mile (464.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.06% 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...
, 21.36% white
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...
, 0.64% 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...
, 12.29% 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...
, 0.50% 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...
, 13.86% 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...
, and 5.27% from two or more races. 26.53% of the population were Hispanic
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 Latino
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...
, of any race.
Of the 34,625 households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were 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, 20.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,210, and the median income for a family was $46,659. Males had a median income of $37,389 versus $34,204 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $19,788. About 13.4% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
75.4% of inhabitants over the age of 25 were high school graduates, while 22.4% had bachelor's degrees, and 8.3% had a graduate or professional degree. 7.7% of the population was unemployed and those who were employed took, on average, 34.3 minutes to commute to their place of work.
33.2% of the population aged 15 and over has never married, while 46.3% is currently wed. 11.1% have already divorced, 3.1% is currently separated, and 6.4% has been widowed.
20.6% of the population was born outside the U.S., of which 15.4% were born in Latin America and 8.7% in Asia.
During the day the population shrinks by 6.2% due to commuting while 23.3% of the population works within the city limits. 20.5% of the jobs in the city are in the educational, health, and social service fields, while 10.9% are professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste disposal, and 10.4% are in retail.
7.0% of Richmonders are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces compared with 10.9% nationally. 33.2% are foreign born while 12.4% are nationwide. 48.1% of men and 43.2% of women are married conversely 55.9 and 51% of Americans are respectively. Nearly half (46.7%) speak a language other than the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at home. 65.3% are employed even with the national average. The average household income is US$52,794; $6,552 higher than the national average. The average family makes 57,931 dollars while the average American household makes 55,832 dollars. The per capita income is 22,326 compared with 25,035 federally.
Among Richmond residents, 64.56% residents speak English, 23.13% speak Spanish, 2.11% speak Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, 1.75% speak Chinese, 1.20% speak Miao–Mien, 1.12% speak Laotian, 0.72% speak Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, 0.54% speak Cantonese, 0.51% speak French, 0.5% speak Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
, 3.49% speak other languages none of which represents more than half of one percent of the population.
Economy
| Largest employers in Richmond | ||
| Rank | Name | Industry |
| 1. | West Contra Costa Unified School District West Contra Costa Unified School District The West Contra Costa Unified School District is the school district for western Contra Costa County, California. It is based in Richmond, California... |
Education |
| 2. | Chevron Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,... |
Petrochemical |
| 3. | City of Richmond | Government |
| 4. | Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield... |
Healthcare |
| 5. | SunPower SunPower SunPower Corporation designs and manufactures high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, roof tiles and solar panels based on a silicon all-back-contact solar cell invented at Stanford University. SunPower Corporation is publicly traded on the NASDAQ as SPWRA and SPWRB... |
Industrial |
| 6. | Pacific Gas and Electric | Utility |
| 7. | United States Postal Service United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States... |
Government |
| 8. | Richmond Health Center Contra Costa County, California Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025... |
Healthcare |
| 9. | Target Target Corporation Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's... |
Retail |
| 10. | Galaxy Desserts Galaxy Desserts Galaxy Desserts is a dessert manufacturer based in Richmond, California, in the United States.The 1998 merger of Paris Delights and The Cheesecake Lady created this company which specializes in rich, single-serving desserts which are described as fitting into the "affordable luxury" niche... |
Consumer Goods |
Many industries have been and are still sited in Richmond. It had a dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
and gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
works (the Giant Powder Company, closed in 1960, now the site of Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
The Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is a regional park on the shores of the San Pablo Bay, California . It is approximately in area, and is operated by the East Bay Regional Park District.-History:...
), the last active whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
station in the country at Point Molate (closed in 1971), and one of the world's largest wineries (Winehaven), closed by Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
in 1919.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Richmond developed rapidly as a heavy industrial town, chiefly devoted to shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
. Its major activity now is as a seaport, with 26 million ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of goods shipped through Port Richmond
Port Richmond, California
For other ports with similar names see: Port Richmond The Port of Richmond is a major shipping terminal in California's San Francisco Bay.-History:...
in 1993, mostly oil and petroleum products. Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
USA has a major oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
in the city, with a storage capacity of 15 million barrel
Barrel (unit)
A barrel is one of several units of volume, with dry barrels, fluid barrels , oil barrel, etc...
s (2,400 m³). The Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
employs over 1,000 at its regional office and program service center in Downtown Richmond. Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California, United States, founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield...
's Richmond Medical Center
Richmond Medical Center
Richmond Medical Center is a large Kaiser Permanente hospital in downtown Richmond, California which serves 77,000 members registered under its medical plans.-History:...
hospital in the Downtown Richmond is one of the largest employers in the city. Galaxy Desserts
Galaxy Desserts
Galaxy Desserts is a dessert manufacturer based in Richmond, California, in the United States.The 1998 merger of Paris Delights and The Cheesecake Lady created this company which specializes in rich, single-serving desserts which are described as fitting into the "affordable luxury" niche...
is run and operated in the city. Vetrazzo, an award winning green business that manufactures Recycled Glass Countertops out of waste glass such as beer bottles and old traffic lights, is located in the refurbished Ford Assembly Plant. Treeskunk Productions a video game animation studio is based in the town. Bay View recording studios are located in the city, and have worked with artists such as Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell, Greg Camp, Paul De Lisle and Kevin Coleman as lead vocals, guitar, bass and drums respectively...
. Photon Films, LLC, a video production and editing studio, is located in Harborfront area along the southeast shoreline.
Shopping
Hilltop, Richmond, California
Fairmede-Hilltop, more commonly known simply as Hilltop, is a neighborhood located in the northeastern area of Richmond, California.-Overview:...
includes Hilltop Mall
Hilltop Mall
Hilltop Mall is a mall in the Hilltop neighborhood of Richmond, California. Hilltop is managed and co-owned by Simon Property Group, and is anchored by longtime tenants JC Penney, Macy's, Sears, and lastly Wal-Mart, a 2007 addition. -History:...
that features Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
, J.C. Penney
J.C. Penney
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
, Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, and Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
department stores as anchors. Furthermore the area is home to Hilltop Auto Mall, a 16 screen Century Theaters alongside, Hilltop Plaza Shopping Center.
The 23rd Street business district
23rd Street (Richmond, California)
23rd Street is a major north-south trunk street in Richmond and San Pablo, California flanked by many Latino-oriented businesses.-History:The street runs between San Pablo Avenue in the north and Interstate 580 in the south after which it becomes Marina Bay Parkway. It later meets up with 22nd...
has evolved into a predominantly Latino neighborhood over the last twenty years as have the storefronts.
In the Downtown Richmond District
Downtown Richmond, Richmond, California
Downtown Richmond is the old center of Richmond, California. The area is roughly bordered by 6th street to the west, 23rd Street to the east, Barrett Avenue to the north, and Macdonald Avenue to the south. The area once featured major department stores and other chains such as J.C. Penney, S. H....
the Richmond Shopping Center was built as part of the city's "main street" revitalization efforts. It is anchored by a Foods Co. supermarket and a Walgreens
Walgreens
Walgreen Co. , doing business as Walgreens , is the largest drugstore chain in the United States of America. As of August 31st, the company operates 8,210 locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901, and has since expanded...
pharmacy.
The Macdonald 80 Shopping Center
Macdonald 80 Shopping Center
Macdonald 80 Shopping Center or simply Macdonald 80 is a 200,000 sq. ft. regional shopping mall in the North & East neighborhood in Richmond, California anchored by a Target store. The center was largely demolished and rebuilt after suffering from urban decay and blight...
is a commercial plot along the trunk route of Macdonald Avenue which has been designated the city's main street under the aforementioned program. It was once anchored by the now-defunct Montgomery Wards and a Toys"R"Us. Demolition of the former buildings and construction of a new shopping mall were completed in 2006 and the center is now anchored by a Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
store.
Richmond Annex and South West Annex
"Big-box" stores already in the city include CostcoCostco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
in the Point Isabel area and a Home Depot which is partially in Richmond. A controversial Kohl's
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...
department store has been proposed for Point Isabel. (See Point Isabel)
The city's adjacent Richmond Annex
Richmond Annex, Richmond, California
Richmond Annex or The Annex is a neighborhood in southeastern Richmond, California. It is mostly residential and located between Interstate 80 and El Cerrito to the east, the San Francisco Bay to the west, Albany to the south, and Pullman to the north....
neighborhood is home to a chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
that is anchored by the Pacific East Mall
Pacific East Mall
Pacific East Mall is an Asian mall in Richmond, California. It is owned by Pacific Infinity Company Incorporated.The mall opened in 1998 in Richmond's Richmond Annex neighborhood but straddling the El Cerrito border at a former Breuner's location...
, an Asian mall.
Redevelopment
The former Richmond ShipyardsRichmond Shipyards
The four Richmond Shipyards, located in the city of Richmond, California, United States, were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards, and were responsible for constructing more ships during World War II than any other shipyard in the country. The shipyards are part of the Rosie...
were transformed starting in the late 1980s into a multiunit residential area, Marina Bay
Marina Bay, Richmond, California
Marina Bay is located in Richmond's protected Inner Harbor. It was developed in the mid 1980s in an effort to clean up what had been up to that point the defunct WWII-era Kaiser Shipyards. The has been planned as an upper-scale residential waterfront community with apartments, condominiums,...
. Starting in the early 2000s, the city began an aggressive redevelopment effort spurring exurban tract housing, condominiums, townhomes, a transit village
Richmond Station (California)
Richmond Station is an at-grade Bay Area Rapid Transit and Amtrak station located in Richmond, California. Each system is served by an island platform. The Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, California Zephyr, and Coast Starlight stop here and connect to BART. The station is currently being rebuilt...
, and terraced hillside subdivisions. The city also created a redevelopment agency
Redevelopment agency
A redevelopment agency is a government body dedicated to urban renewal. Typically it is a municipal level city department focused on a particular district or corridor that has become neglected or blighted. In many cases this is the city's original downtown that has been supplanted in importance by...
that refurbished Macdonald Avenue
MacDonald Avenue
Macdonald Avenue is the main east-to-west artery in the Oakland suburb of Richmond.-Overview:Macdonald Avenue runs in a straight line from the Richmond Parkway through downtown to San Pablo Avenue, after which it continues as a minor street for a few blocks, ending at Ludwig Avenue in El...
, funded the Metro Walk transit village, resurrected the Macdonald 80 Shopping Center
Macdonald 80 Shopping Center
Macdonald 80 Shopping Center or simply Macdonald 80 is a 200,000 sq. ft. regional shopping mall in the North & East neighborhood in Richmond, California anchored by a Target store. The center was largely demolished and rebuilt after suffering from urban decay and blight...
, and created the Richmond Greenway
Richmond Greenway
-History:It runs along what was formerly the right-of way of the Santa Fe Railroad parallel to Ohio Street, between the end of the Ohlone Greenway adjacent to the intersection of Macdonald and San Pablo Avenues, and Point Richmond. There is a connector from the trail to the Macdonald 80 Shopping...
rails-to-trails trail and urban farming project. Since 1996, new homes have increased in price by 32%, and there has been a 65.6% increase in the total amount of new dwellings built annually.
Country Club vista is a development surrounding the Richmond Country Club to the south and north. It includes suburban style tract houses with cul-de-sac courts and small yards. Seacliff, at Point Richmond, is a development of luxury waterfront homes built on a terraced hillside. San Marcos is a series of about ten condominium multistory buildings between Hilltop Mall and Country Club Vista. Richmond Transit Village has been constructed in the former west parking lot and an adjacent empty lot of the combined Richmond BART and Amtrak station. The development is part of the city's downtown revitalization efforts.
Casinos
Many casinos have been proposed for the West Contra Costa area. Point MolatePoint Molate
Point Molate may refer to:*Point Molate Beach Park*Point Molate Naval Fuel Depot*Winehaven, California*Point Molate Hills*Point Molate Marsh*Point Molate Peninsula*Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor...
would have a casino, resort, and a luxury shopping mall. Sugar Bowl Casino
Sugar Bowl Casino
The Sugar Bowl Casino is a planned 2,000 slot gambling hall in North Richmond, California. The project has met little opposition for area residents that believe it will provide jobs and added police presence allowing for reduced crime.-History:...
proposes a casino, steakhouse, and a buffet promoted by the Pomo Tribe's Scotts Valley Band near the border between North Richmond
North Richmond, California
North Richmond is a community in Contra Costa County, California, a census-designated place of 3,717 adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the city Richmond, to which it is generally socially and culturally attached...
and the city of Richmond's Parchester Village
Parchester Village, Richmond, California
Parchester Village is a master planned neighborhood majority African-American village in Northwestern Richmond, California that was the first in the state to sell to blacks.-History:...
whose resident's have lauded as a boon to fight crime by adding more of a police presence and creating jobs for shiftless youth, but residents from neighboring newly developed sub-divisions along the Richmond Country Club
Richmond Country Club
The Richmond Country Club is a social gathering place and sports facility especially golf, swimming, gym in Richmond, California. The club covers thousands of acres in the northern Hilltop neighborhood between Hilltop Mall and Point Pinole and is adjacent to Parchester Village to the west, near its...
were fervently opposed based on potential losses to property values. Casino San Pablo has already been built in neighboring San Pablo, with 2,500 slots. The projects have been the subject of much civic debate supporters contend that the often cash-strapped government would get a major new source of revenue, while opponents air their concerns over the ramifications including an increase in already high crime rates, lowered property values, and worsening neighborhood quality of life.
Point Molate is currently slated to either become a housing and conference center or a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
resort shopping area, or even a large regional park.
In 2010 the city approved the environmental review of the plan in which the tribe agreed to contain development of the casino to the footprint of the buildings on the former naval depot site. The lobbying and reports required by Richmond have cost the tribe $15,000,000. This approval won over the regions strict environmentalists and many council members. Later that year residents were given the opportunity to weigh in the issue and voted on the non-binding measure U to determine their approval of the project. 58% of voters opposed the 1 billion dollar project. Citing the people's opposition and the inability to negotiate several key points with the developer the city council voted down the project in 2011. Councilman Nat Bates remained a proponent of the plan with its projected 17,000 jobs, the remainder of the council was chagrined at the fact that there was no guarantee that the jobs would go to Richmonders. The city of San Pablo whose lifeline is their card club, Casino San Pablo
Casino San Pablo
Casino San Pablo is a Native American reservation with a gambling hall located in San Pablo, California. It is operated by the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians.-History:...
was elated. The Guideville Band of Pomo Indians
Guideville Band of Pomo Indians
The Guideville Band of Pomo Indians is a Native American tribe of the Pomo Indians of northern California.-History:The tribe's origin is of the original setters of areas in Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma Counties...
were given the opportunity of 150 days to create a non-casino plan for the site such as alternatives in the environmental report for a convention center, conference center, hotel, spa, and housing.
Politics
Richmond city government operates under a council-manager systemCouncil-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
with 9 members (including mayor and vice mayor) elected to alternating 4-year terms.
Politically, the city is a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
stronghold. By the early 1990s, not a single Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
remained on the council. Most mayors have been African-American. George D. Carroll, who was voted by the City Council to become Mayor on July 6, 1964, was described at the time as "the first Negro mayor in California and first in America with the exception of small, scattered all-Negro communities in the Deep South,". Rosemary Corbin
Rosemary Corbin
Rosemary Corbin is a longstanding Democrat public figure and former mayor of Richmond, California.-Overview:She served on the Richmond City Council from 1985 to 1993, and then as the mayor from 1993 to 2001. Corbin was the first female mayor of the city...
was the mayor throughout the 1990s and was an exception, as she is white. In the early 2000s Gayle McLaughlin
Gayle McLaughlin
Gayle McLaughlin is a California politician. She is a member of the Green Party and, since 2006, the mayor of Richmond, California and a member of Richmond's City Council. McLaughlin was elected on November 7, 2006 by a 279-vote margin over incumbent mayor Irma A. Anderson...
was the first Green elected to the council, with the support of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), a coalition of liberal Democrats, progressive independents, and Greens. In November 2006, McLaughlin was elected mayor. The city council has four African Americans, four whites and two Latinos. Richmond has formerly been home to black culture and activist movements, most notably the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
.
In 2006 the city implemented a computer program that it had ordered from a German firm that provides the city with statistical interactive maps. These maps cover such areas as signage locations, streets, crime hot-spots, and zoning information. In 2007 the city won a contest in which its previously substandard website was upgraded and improved to make it more modern and functional. The prize includes 2 years of free webmastering.
There has recently been controversy regarding appointments of councilpersons Sandhu and Thurmond who were not elected at-large or were appointed to the ballot on a Yes/No basis.
Recently Mayor McGlaughlin and Councilperson Butt have opposed Chevron's plans of modifications to the refinery that would increase pollution by using dirtier, thicker, but cheaper crude oil.
The city of Richmond has eight community centers which are located within city parks. Many of the city's community centers were closed in the early 2000s following budget miscalculations and financial difficulties. In the 2006 city elections many candidates ran on platforms promising to reopen these community centers, most of which had been closed due to budget cuts. That election also featured a city sales tax increase, Measure Q, which failed.
There are 53 voting precincts in Richmond. During the regular election on November 7, 2006
2006 Richmond, California city election
The Richmond, California 2006 city election decided the mayor, four council members, and one measure submitted to the voters of Richmond, California on November 7, 2007. The election also elected the first Green Party mayor of this city, and made Richmond the largest city in the United States to...
21,575 of 37,605 (57.37%) registered voters cast their ballots.
Marijuana
The city has eight marijuana dispensaries and although the city has passed legislation approving them and has legalized their presence, the city management does not since it had sued to close them, for operating from partially to blatantly illegally. It is trying enforce an injunction supporting removing their operating licenses. The problem is that although the city council has passed an ordinance permitting them the city management refuses to cooperate with the spirit of the law because it has yet to take effect. The question remains if the clubs will be closed before the law takes effect allowing them to open. A moratorium on new clubs expires in January 2011 with no political will to renew it. Furthermore the city taxes medical cannabisMedical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...
at 2% and recreational marijuana at 10%.
Government
Richmond is served by the Richmond Police DepartmentRichmond Police Department
The Richmond Police Department or RPD is a public safety and law enforcement agency founded in 1910 that is in charge of protecting and safeguarding the city of Richmond, California...
and Richmond Fire Department. Dozens of parks are run by the Richmond Parks & Recreation Department. The Richmond Civic Center is currently undergoing a seismic upgrade and renovations program. Some buildings are being refurbished while other buildings will be replaced.
The city received widespread attention in 2009 when a girl was gang raped
2009 Richmond High School gang rape
The 2009 Richmond High School gang rape occurred on Saturday, October 24, 2009, in Richmond, a city on the northeast side of the San Francisco Bay in California, U.S., when a 15-year-old female student of Richmond High School was raped repeatedly by a group of young males in a courtyard on the...
at a homecoming dance at Richmond High School.
The city has in recent years suffered from a high crime rate, so serious that the city council at one point requested a declaration of a state of emergency and asked for the intervention of the Contra Costa County Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....
in order to ameliorate the crime rate. Murder, vehicle theft and larceny rates are all high, although they tend to be concentrated in certain areas such as the Iron Triangle and areas surrounding adjacent unincorporated North Richmond
North Richmond, California
North Richmond is a community in Contra Costa County, California, a census-designated place of 3,717 adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the city Richmond, to which it is generally socially and culturally attached...
, which is outside the jurisdiction of the Richmond Police Department.
In 2004, Richmond was statistically the most dangerous city in California and was named the 8th most dangerous city in the country. Those rankings have changed and Richmond is now the third most dangerous in California behind Compton and Oakland and 11th most dangerous nationally according to the Morgan Quitno
Morgan Quitno
Morgan Quitno Press is a research and publishing company based in Lawrence, Kansas, which compiles books with statistics of crime rates, health care, education, and other categories, ranking cities and states in the United States...
rankings. For every 100,000 people there were 38.3 murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
s, 50.4 rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
s, 485.8 robberies
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, 512 assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
s, 1110.7 burglaries
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
, 3497.4 counts of larceny
Larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...
and 2471.4 thefts of vehicles
Motor vehicle theft
Motor vehicle theft is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle...
. Richmond had 42 murders in 2006; and the city experienced a record of 62 homicides in 1991 out of a population of 98,000, which was 7 times the national average.
Current mayor Gayle McLaughlin is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a coalition of over 600 mayors who support a number of gun control initiatives that the group calls "commonsense reforms" to fight illegal gun trafficking and gun violence in the United States...
, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
mayor Thomas Menino
Thomas Menino
Thomas Michael "Tom" Menino is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor...
. The city is also participating in the California Cities Gang Prevention Network. Gangs are a serious problem for the police department as they cause violence and shootings. Many gangs graffiti their "tags" to mark their territory thus blighting the city with vandalism. A high ranking MS-13 (or mara salvatrucha) leader, José Santos Bonilla, was captured in the southwestern Annex
Richmond Annex, Richmond, California
Richmond Annex or The Annex is a neighborhood in southeastern Richmond, California. It is mostly residential and located between Interstate 80 and El Cerrito to the east, the San Francisco Bay to the west, Albany to the south, and Pullman to the north....
neighborhood in 2006.
Richmond is also home to the West County Detention Center
West County Detention Center
West County Detention Center is a large coeducational adult medium security Contra Costa County prison in Richmond, California opened in 1991.-Overview:...
in the Point Pinole area
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
The Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is a regional park on the shores of the San Pablo Bay, California . It is approximately in area, and is operated by the East Bay Regional Park District.-History:...
. It is a male and female county jail.
RichmondWorks and Richmond Summer YouthWorks are city programs which aim to decrease unemployment and crime and have led to hundreds receiving employment at area retail businesses.
Fires, medical emergencies and other disasters are handled by the Richmond Fire Department
Richmond Fire Department
The Richmond Fire Department is the fire and rescue service in Richmond, California and by contract with Contra Costa County it also serves East Richmond Heights, and North Richmond.-History:...
which has seven fire stations in the city. Medical and trauma patients are transported by American Medical Response Paramedics and EMTs.
Sewage is largely handed by the Richmond Sewage Treatment Plant in Point Richmond.
Education
West Contra Costa Unified School District
The West Contra Costa Unified School District is the school district for western Contra Costa County, California. It is based in Richmond, California...
, formerly the Richmond Unified School District. There are also many private schools, mostly Catholic schools under the authority of the Diocese of Oakland.
The city has five high schools: De Anza High School
De Anza High School
De Anza High School is a secondary school located in Richmond, California, named after Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza.The school originally opened in 1955. In 2005 local voters passed Measure J, a bond measure which included $161 million to completely rebuild the De Anza campus...
, Salesian High School
Salesian High School (Richmond, California)
Salesian High School is a coeducational Roman Catholic preparatory high school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland. The school's patron saint is Saint John Bosco, the Italian founder of the Salesian order. The school's motto is "Loyalty - Excellence"...
, Richmond High School
Richmond High School (Richmond, California)
Richmond High School is a public high school located on 23rd Street, Richmond, California, USA. It is part of the West Contra Costa Unified School District .- Alumni and Post-High School Education :...
, and Kennedy High School
John F. Kennedy High School (Richmond, California)
John F. Kennedy High School is a secondary school located in Richmond, California, as part of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. The school's mascot is the Bald Eagle, the school's athletic teams are known as the "Eagles," and the school colors are red and white. The current principal,...
. In addition, there are two charter high schools, Leadership Public Schools: Richmond and West County Community High School. There are also three middle schools, sixteen elementary schools, and seven elementary-middle schools. Richmond also hosts three adult education schools.
The Contra Costa Community College District
Contra Costa Community College District
The Contra Costa Community College District is a community college district that encompasses three community colleges in Contra Costa County, California - Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College. Headquarters office is located in the George R...
serves all of Contra Costa County, and Richmonders who decide to attend a community college typically go to Contra Costa College
Contra Costa College
Contra Costa College, in San Pablo, California, is the west campus of the Contra Costa Community College District. It is part of the California community colleges system, one of the three college systems in California.- History :...
, located in the neighboring city of San Pablo.
79.8% of Richmonders have a high school diploma or equivalent compared with 84.2% nationally, however 27.1% have a bachelor's degree compared with a statistically similar 27.2% countrywide.
All Richmond schools have banned junk food, such as candy, soda, Twinkies, pizza, and other like items in attempt to curb childhood obesity
Childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects...
and change children's eating habits. It has been speculated that this was done preemptively since some believe the state will soon mandate such restrictions.
Since the implementation of an exit exam requirement for California high schools, the CAHSEE, some Richmond high school students have been protesting the requirement. In 2007, over 28% of Richmond High School students has passed the CAHSEE, a prerequisite for graduating. Some students were angered with the new CAHSEE requirement. They sued the district in the pursuit of eliminating the requirement. In July 2007 a compromise was reached in which the district would provide 2 additional years of educational assistance for the purposes of passing the exam.
Attractions and landmarks
The city of Richmond has dozens of parks, National Historic Park, and 10 sites listed under the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
Point Richmond
Point Richmond
Point Richmond, also sometimes referred to locally as The Point, is a neighborhood in Richmond, California, USA, near the eastern end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, between Interstate 580 and the San Francisco Bay...
, which is in effect a village within Richmond, is known for its small-town charm and its quaint shops. The Point, as it is known by locals, offers owner-operated stores, coffee shops, and historic benches and streetlights. The Masquers Playhouse
The Masquers Playhouse
The Masquers Playhouse has been the home to The Masquers performing group since 1960 and is a San Francisco Bay Area landmark. The non-profit Masquers have been in constant operation since 1955. The playhouse is located in the Point Richmond neighborhood of the East Bay city of Richmond...
is a performing arts center that offers shows and productions year round. Hotel Mac is one of the oldest buildings in the area and has classic early 20th century architecture, like many other buildings in the area. There is also The Plunge
The Plunge
The Richmond Municipal Natatorium, affectionately known as The Plunge, is a historic swim center in the Point Richmond neighborhood of Richmond, California. It was closed in August 2001 for seismic retrofitting and reopened in August 2010 ....
, a natatorium which had been closed due to seismic safety issues but was re-opened in August 2010 after the retrofitting was completed. The city expressed a desire to demolish the building at one point, but this was halted by the actions of a neighborhood preservation campaign which continues its mission to "Save the Plunge!".
The USS Red Oak Victory (AK-235) is a restored World War II Victory ship
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
, the 558th ship made in Richmond. Liberty
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
and Victory ships transported troops and supplies during World War II.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the city sprawled and its population increased dramatically. This led city leaders to construct the Richmond Civic Center in 1957. This center houses the city hall, a small convention center, library, hall of justice, police headquarters, and arts center.
The Richmond Public Library, the only public library independent of the Contra Costa County Public Libraries system, lies in the heart of the civic center. It houses over 204,686 books, 4,014 audio materials, 5,277 video materials, and 491 serial subscriptions.
The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end...
extends 5.5 miles (8.9 km) across San Pablo Bay. The bridge is the origin of the term rollercoaster span, due to its curves, bumps, and appearance which have also earned the bridge the nickname of The Rollercoaster Bridge. It was built in 1957, and connects Contra Costa County with Marin County. Automobiles are charged a $4 toll in the westbound (towards Marin) direction only.
The Golden State Railroad Museum
Golden State Railroad Museum
The Golden State Model Railroad Museum is an operating model railroad exhibit located in Point Richmond, California, within the boundary of the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline park. It is located in the Brickyard Cove area and features dozens of realistic city and country scenes, with trains from...
is a complex series of model railroad layouts in a museum in the Brickyard Cove area of Point Richmond. A visitor can operate trains of various eras, and there are miniature freight and passenger terminals, trestles, tunnels, and meticulously detailed town and city scenes, many of which are copied from real life scenes of the 1950s.
The Santa Fe Railroad Terminal operated as the western terminus for the railroad from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. It has now been transformed into a museum to exemplify the feel of the terminal in that era.
Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park
Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park is located in Richmond, California, near San Francisco. The park encompasses an array of historic properties in the city which were constructed during the 1940s to support America's entry into World War II.The park is a "partnership...
is in Richmond, and commemorates women's shipbuilding and support for the war effort in the 1940s.
Keller Beach is one of the city's beaches, located at Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, a park in Brickyard Cove. It offers picnicking, sunbathing, wading, and swimming. The beach is overlooked by vehicles exiting the Brickyard Cove drive, Ferry Point tunnel and houses on the steep cliffs above. The beach, as with most of the cove, offers spectacular panoramic bay views of the Oakland hills, bridges, the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate.
Point Molate Beach Park is a park on the western coast of Richmond along Western Drive. It was originally a Chinese shrimp camp in the 1870s.
Point San Pablo yacht harbor accommodates hundreds of private boats.
East Brother Light Station on East Brother Island (one of the Brother Islands
Brother Islands
The Brothers lie roughly off Point San Pablo in San Francisco Bay in Richmond, California. The diseno del Rancho de San Pablo names East Brother Island as 'Isla de Pajaros' or 'Bird Island.'The Brothers, along with The Sisters The Brothers (East and West Brother Island) lie roughly off Point...
) is host to an exclusive bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
. It is only accessible by private boat. Visitors come and stay for the day and picnic for free or they may pay for a room.
The city also is also home to a radio controlled model airplane airport, Breuner Airfield that is located in Breuner Marsh
Breuner Marsh
Breuner Marsh is a 238 acre is a disputed, largely open space in Richmond, California made of current and former wetlands with little development.-History:...
a contested piece of land and near Point Pinole Regional Park in the Parchester Village neighborhood.
Leisure and culture
Several regional parkRegional park
Regional park is a term used for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.-Definition:...
s administered by the East Bay Regional Park District
East Bay Regional Park District
The East Bay Regional Park District is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area...
lie within the city, including the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline is a park in the Point Richmond neighborhood of Richmond, California. It offers panoramic views of the Bay Area especially San Francisco and the North Bay mountains, especially from its high point, Nicholls Knob. The park includes Keller Beach on San Pablo Bay and a...
and the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
The Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is a regional park on the shores of the San Pablo Bay, California . It is approximately in area, and is operated by the East Bay Regional Park District.-History:...
. They are linked by the San Francisco Bay Trail
San Francisco Bay Trail
The San Francisco Bay Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian trail that will eventually allow continuous travel around the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. As of 2011, approximately 310 miles of trail have been completed...
. Part of the former shipyard is now a marina.
The Richmond Art Center, founded by Hazel Salmi in 1936, is one of the oldest continually operating non-profit art centers on the entire West Coast of the United States. Its programming includes exhibitions, adult and youth education, and community initiatives. The Center currently (as of 2005) provides some of the only arts education programming in the Richmond City School District, relying primarily on public donations and private grants as its means of support.
There is also the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, Hilltop Multiplex, or Masquers Theaters in Point Richmond.
The Richmond Progressive Alliance
Richmond Progressive Alliance
The Richmond Progressive Alliance is a community/political group in Richmond, western Contra Costa County, California, United States of America.It supports various community efforts including campaigns to force the local Chevron refinery to pay higher taxes and reduce pollution; opposition to...
and Green Party are active political parties in Richmond. The House Rabbit Society
House Rabbit Society
The House Rabbit Society is a non-profit organization based in Richmond, California that rescues and adopts rabbits and educates the community on how to properly care for them. HRS tries to promote responsible rabbit ownership, including the spaying and neutering of all pet rabbits, and proper...
has its national headquarters in Richmond.
Art
Richmond is home to the National Institute of Art and Disabilities Art Center, also known locally as the NIAD Art Center. NIAD is a non-profit organization hosting over sixty client artists weekly. NIAD's client artist's work can be seen at NIAD's on-site gallery, the Florence Ludins-Katz Gallery. NIAD has a gift shop.The Hyphy
Hyphy
The word hyphy is Conor Devlin's preferred short word meaning "hyperactive." It was created by Bay Area rapper Keak Da Sneak when he used the term on an album he recorded in 1994. From the USA Today article: "Every record label was getting at us at that time, but we fumbled the ball," says E-40,...
subculture and sub genre of rap music originated in Richmond and surrounding cities.
From 1996 to 2002 a "geekfest
Geekfest
Geekfest is the name of a series of free, all-ages concerts organized by California indie label S.P.A.M. Records during the 1990s. The first Geekfest was held in June 1996 on the shoreline at Point Molate in Richmond, California...
" was held on the beach in Point Molate every few weeks or monthly by S.P.A.M. Records. The festival was a community service for under 21 year olds.
Religion
There are dozens of gathering places for various religions in the city, and some which are not represented in the city can be found nearby. Christian denominational churches include the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses; Word of Faith church; Kingdom Land Baptist Church; Grace Baptist Church; Grace Lutheran Church; Temple Baptist Church; Unity Church of Richmond; Holy Trinity Episcopal Church; Holy Mission Christian Center; St. David Catholic Church, Faith Temple C.O.G.I.C., and Faith Tabernacle A.O.H. Church Of God; and the Largest Church in Richmond, Hilltop Community Church which is Assemblies of God. There is also a large LaotianLaotian American
A Laotian American is a resident of the United States who was originally from Laos, a person of Laotian descent residing in America, or a citizen born in the United States whose parents were originally from Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans...
Buddhist temple that serves as a community center for the Lao community of the East Bay.
Parks and recreation
Richmond also has number of local parks and two large regional parks are under the authority of the East Bay Regional Parks District, a consortium of most of the Parks and Recreation lands and facilities of Alameda and Contra Costa County.
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is a East Bay Regional Parks District park located within the city limits of Richmond in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California...
is the city's largest park at 2428 acres (10 km²). The park once housed a dance hall and roller rink and has distinctive stonework throughout, which was the rationale for its placement on the National Register of Historic Places. It features San Pablo Creek, trails, forests, horseback riding, picnic areas, and a play structure for children, as well as horses for rent and mountain biking trails. High school students practice cross-country in the park. It is situated in the eastern Richmond hills and stretches into Berkeley's Tilden Regional Park
Tilden Regional Park
Tilden Regional Park, also known as "Tilden" , is a regional park in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is situated between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge....
in Alameda County. The park has diverse animal and plant life including great horned owls, opossums, king snakes, rubber boas, turkey vultures and many others.
Point Isabel Regional Shoreline
Point Isabel Regional Shoreline
Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California, operated by East Bay Regional Park District, is an award-winning park offering activities for humans as well as dogs. It also features a concession offering food for humans and grooming for pets. It has easy access for pedestrians, public...
is the largest off-leash dog park in the United States.
The Richmond Greenway
Richmond Greenway
-History:It runs along what was formerly the right-of way of the Santa Fe Railroad parallel to Ohio Street, between the end of the Ohlone Greenway adjacent to the intersection of Macdonald and San Pablo Avenues, and Point Richmond. There is a connector from the trail to the Macdonald 80 Shopping...
is a project costing millions of dollars to transform an old rail line into a walking, jogging, and biking trail. It will span east to west from the end of the Ohlone Trail that follows the BART line from El Cerrito to Berkeley. It will also follow the BART line to Richmond station and continue to Point Richmond. Pedestrian bridges will be used to cross major avenues such as San Pablo Avenue and 23rd Street. An additional side project will add a bike lane/bike trail between the Richmond Greenway and the Ohlone trail at Potrero Avenue via 23rd Street, Carlson Boulevard, Cutting Boulevard, and Potrero. It is currently under construction.
Richmond is home to four marinas: the Brickyard Cove Yacht Club, Point San Pablo Yacht Club, Marina Bay Marina, and Channel Marina in the Santa Fe channel. In addition, Richmond has the "Richmond Plunge", a municipal natatorium
Natatorium
A natatorium is a term given for a building containing a swimming pool. In Latin, a cella natatoria was a swimming pool in its own building, although it is sometimes also used to refer to any indoor pool even if not housed in a dedicated building...
dating back to 1926 and which reopened August 14, 2010. The pool is located in the Point Richmond neighborhood.
Celebrations and conferences
The city has annual JuneteenthJuneteenth
Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865...
and Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla...
celebrations. The Cinco de Mayo celebrations sponsored by the 23rd Street
23rd Street (Richmond, California)
23rd Street is a major north-south trunk street in Richmond and San Pablo, California flanked by many Latino-oriented businesses.-History:The street runs between San Pablo Avenue in the north and Interstate 580 in the south after which it becomes Marina Bay Parkway. It later meets up with 22nd...
Merchant's Association attracts thousands and closes the entire length of the roadway. The Richmond Police Department, Fire Brigage, United States Marine Corps and other organizations participate in the parade. This is in addition to a fireworks show at Marina Bay celebrating the 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
and a Silly Parade, an event where people march down the street and generally act "weird" and silly. The city also participates in various Earth Day
Earth Day
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
activities. The city hosts an annual and a physical activity and nutrition forum to discuss health in the community, it has been running since 2006.
Newspapers
There are two African American weekly newspapers, one general interest online publication, and one multimedia news project that cover Richmond exclusively. The Richmond PostRichmond Post
The Richmond Post is a newspaper in Richmond, California which featuring comics, world news, regional San Francisco Bay Area news, local city of Richmond news, health, entertainment, and religious or "faith" sections in addition to an advertisements section. The paper has been printed and...
and Richmond Globe
Richmond Globe
The Richmond Globe is a weekly newspaper in Richmond, California, published by The Globe Newspaper Group.-External links:*...
publish print and online editions. RichmondConfidential.org, which is run by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism is a graduate professional school on the campus of University of California, Berkeley. It is among the top graduate journalism schools in the United States, and is designed to produce journalists with a two-year Master of Journalism degree.The program...
, is a general interest online-only news publication serving the city of Richmond. Richmond Pulse is a youth-led print and online publication which focuses on community health. The West County Times, run by Media News Group, covers greater Contra Costa County.
Television
A local cable TV station, KCRT-TVKCRT-TV
KCRT-TV is a local cable news cable TV station in Richmond, California. It mostly plays historic archives and historic documentary, news, as well as the long-running Sidewalks Entertainment...
, mainly plays historical archives but also airs Government-access television (GATV) City Council Meetings and music videos.
Port of Richmond
The Port of Richmond, located in along the city's southern coast beside the Richmond Inner Harbor, handles the third-largest shipping tonnage in California annually, a total of 19 million short tons. It ranks number one for ports of the San Francisco Bay for vehicles and liquid bulk. In addition to these commodities, the port can also handle dry-bulk, break-bulk, and containers. Seven of the terminals are city-owned, in addition to 5 dry docks, while there are 11 privately-owned terminals. The port is served by a rail network operated by four major rail companies.Highways and expressways
- Interstate 80 cuts through the eastern and northeastern portions of the city, through a mostly residential area, connecting to Pinole, Hercules and then on to VallejoVallejo, CaliforniaVallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
via the Carquinez BridgeCarquinez BridgeThe Carquinez Bridge refers to parallel bridges spanning the Carquinez Strait, forming part of Interstate 80 between Crockett and Vallejo, California. The name originally referred to a single cantilever bridge built in 1927, helping to form a direct route between San Francisco and Sacramento. A...
in the eastbound direction, and through, AlbanyAlbany, CaliforniaAlbany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
, BerkeleyBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley 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...
, EmeryvilleEmeryville, CaliforniaEmeryville 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...
and eventually terminating in San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
via the Bay Bridge in the westbound direction. The weekday westbound morning commute on I-80 through Richmond lies within the most congested stretch of freeway in the Bay Area, according to Caltrans, and has been ranked as such since 2001.
- Interstate 580Interstate 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...
curves along the southern waterside of Richmond and merges into I-80 in AlbanyAlbany, CaliforniaAlbany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
in the southern OaklandOakland, CaliforniaOakland 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...
/San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
direction while slicing through mixed medium and heavy industries and homes through Point RichmondPoint RichmondPoint Richmond, also sometimes referred to locally as The Point, is a neighborhood in Richmond, California, USA, near the eastern end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, between Interstate 580 and the San Francisco Bay...
and onto the Richmond-San Rafael BridgeRichmond-San Rafael BridgeThe Richmond – San Rafael Bridge is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end...
over the San Pablo BaySan Pablo BaySan Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
segment of the San Francisco BaySan Francisco BaySan 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...
into San RafaelSan Rafael, CaliforniaSan Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
and Marin CountyMarin County, CaliforniaMarin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
.
- The Richmond ParkwayRichmond ParkwayThe name Richmond Parkway may refer to:*In California:**Richmond Parkway in Richmond, California, planned as State Route 93**Richmond Parkway Transit Center, a bus hub in Richmond, California*In New York:...
, built in the between the early 1990s and early 2000s connects I-580 in the Point Richmond area in the southwest to the Hilltop Area and I-80, it runs along the city's heavily industrial western side and through unincorporated area of North RichmondNorth Richmond, CaliforniaNorth Richmond is a community in Contra Costa County, California, a census-designated place of 3,717 adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the city Richmond, to which it is generally socially and culturally attached...
. It has been proposed that it be upgraded to a state highway and be redesignated: State Route 93 and transferred to the authority of Caltrans.
- San Pablo Avenue (State Route 123California State Route 123State Route 123 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Named San Pablo Avenue for virtually its entire length, SR 123 is a major north–south state highway along the flats of the urban East Bay in the U.S. state of California...
) runs through Richmond and San Pablo to Pinole, Hercules and to its terminus in CrockettCrockett, CaliforniaCrockett is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 3,094 at the 2010 census...
and south through El Cerrito, Albany, EmeryvilleEmeryville, CaliforniaEmeryville 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...
, and Berkeley, until it runs into Frank Ogawa Plaza in OaklandOakland, CaliforniaOakland 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...
.
Major trunk streets
- Macdonald AvenueMacDonald AvenueMacdonald Avenue is the main east-to-west artery in the Oakland suburb of Richmond.-Overview:Macdonald Avenue runs in a straight line from the Richmond Parkway through downtown to San Pablo Avenue, after which it continues as a minor street for a few blocks, ending at Ludwig Avenue in El...
is the "mainstreet" of Richmond, running east-west from Atchison Village through downtown to San Pablo Avenue in the North & East neighborhood. In 2010 is was repaved and refitted with new lampposts, street furniture, business façades, landscaping and trees. - Cutting BoulevardCutting BoulevardCutting Boulevard is a major east-west arterial trunk road in the city of Richmond, California it begins in the historic neighborhood of Point Richmond at the base of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and flows through the South Richmond forming the border with that neighborhood and Marina Bay as does...
parallels Macdonald Avenue to the south, traveling from Point Richmond to Arlington Ave. near the top of the hills. It is a busy commercial and commute route. In 1990, a major improvement program was designed by the city also involving Knox Freeway. - 23rd Street23rd Street (Richmond, California)23rd Street is a major north-south trunk street in Richmond and San Pablo, California flanked by many Latino-oriented businesses.-History:The street runs between San Pablo Avenue in the north and Interstate 580 in the south after which it becomes Marina Bay Parkway. It later meets up with 22nd...
runs through the heart of the city north-south from where it turns to Marina Bay Parkway at I-580 through this heavily Latino business district and neighborhood to San Pablo Avenue in the city of San Pablo. - Barrett Avenue parallels Macdonald Ave two blocks north; it is slightly less traveled and has less activity than Macdonald.
- Marina Bay Parkway serves as a link between I-580 and the Marina Bay neighborhood, it turns into 23rd street after crossing 580.
- Marina Way and Harbour Way/Harbour Way South (formerly 14th Street and 10th Street respectively) run north-south.
- Giant Highway, named for the former Giant Powder Company, runs in the northern part of town between San Pablo Avenue and the Leroy Heights neighborhood.
- Hilltop Drive is a trunk street which runs from Richmond Parkway, crosses San Pablo Avenue, passes Hilltop Mall and continues over Interstate 80 into the neighboring city of El Sobrante.
- Carlson Boulevard (formerly Pullman Avenue) is the primary access from Downtown Richmond to the Richmond Annex neighborhood, starting from 23rd Street and terminating at San Pablo Avenue just north of the Alameda-Contra Costa county boundary, feeding into the El Cerrito Plaza shopping center.
Rail
AmtrakAmtrak
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...
provides intercity passenger rail service from Richmond Station
Richmond Station (California)
Richmond Station is an at-grade Bay Area Rapid Transit and Amtrak station located in Richmond, California. Each system is served by an island platform. The Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, California Zephyr, and Coast Starlight stop here and connect to BART. The station is currently being rebuilt...
, an intermodal connection shared with the BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
system. The station is located downtown and has a transit center with connections to 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...
and Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It mainly serves Marin and Sonoma Counties, and also provides limited service to San Francisco and Contra Costa County.Golden Gate Transit is one of three...
buses as well as taxis.
There are two Amtrak lines serving this station. The regional San Joaquin Route runs from nearby Oakland to the south through Richmond and Martinez
Martinez, California
Martinez is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,824 at the 2010 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings...
to the Central Valley through Stockton
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
and Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, terminating in Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
. Passengers continuing on to Los Angeles or other points in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
may transfer at Bakersfield for connecting Amtrak Thruway bus services.
The second Amtrak line, the Capitol Corridor runs from San José
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
to the state capitol, Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, through Richmond, Fairfield, and Davis; some trains continue to the northern Sacramento suburb of Auburn
Auburn, California
Auburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history.Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area.- History :...
. This route is the third most heavily used Amtrak line in the United States.
BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
has one station in the city of Richmond, mentioned above, which serves as the northern terminus of the Richmond-Millbrae and Richmond-Fremont lines. Two other stations are located near Richmond, El Cerrito del Norte and El Cerrito Plaza, both in El Cerrito. The Richmond BART station
Richmond Station (California)
Richmond Station is an at-grade Bay Area Rapid Transit and Amtrak station located in Richmond, California. Each system is served by an island platform. The Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, California Zephyr, and Coast Starlight stop here and connect to BART. The station is currently being rebuilt...
had over 1.7 million passengers in 1998 while the Amtrak station carried 238,893 in 2006.
Before AC Transit and BART 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...
provided a network of several rail lines on the East Shore and Suburban Railway
East Shore and Suburban Railway
The Eastshore and Suburban Railway was a formerly independent unit of the historic San Francisco Bay Area Key System which ran streetcar trains in Richmond, California, San Pablo, and El Cerrito...
.
Bus
AC Transit provides 14 bus lines in the city including local service throughout the city including BRTBus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
line 72R along San Pablo Avenue, "Transbay" commuter service across the Bay Bridge to the San Francisco Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Terminal
San Francisco Transbay Transit Terminal, or simply Transbay Terminal, was a transportation complex in San Francisco, California, USA, located roughly in the center of the rectangle bounded north–south by Mission Street and Howard Street, and east–west by Beale Street and 2nd Street...
and also owl "All-Nighter" service along the BART line. The lines are: 7, 29, 70, 71, 72, 72M, 72R, 74, 76, 376, 800, H, L, LC, LA
In June 2007, after engaging with the community for feedback with public hearings, AC Transit implemented the West Contra Costa County Service Plan which realigned existing service finds to reroute portions of certain lines, eliminate service to areas with low ridership, and replace service in some areas with service from a different route providing direct service to areas previously requiring tedious transfers. Furthermore, a great effort was made to provide a better transfer at Richmond Station as well as the Richmond Parkway Transit Center
Richmond Parkway Transit Center
The Richmond Parkway Transit Center or RPTC is a park and ride lot and bus terminal located in Richmond, California. It is named after the adjacent Richmond Parkway. It serves as a transfer point for the WestCAT and AC Transit...
. The changes are covered by Phase I and use no new monies which would be required to completely implement the plan: Phase II. Phase II will use Regional Measure J funds to expands service providing lines along corridors which are undeserved or not served, and increasing hours and decreasing headways. Two of the greatest changes will be extending BRT service to Richmond Parkway Transit Center and providing service along the Ohio Avenue corridor. These changes have effected the northern neighborhoods of the city and the adjacent communities of El Sobrante and San Pablo the most. Phase I was originally supposed to be implemented in late 2006, but the implementation has been delayed until June 2007. Phase II has a target date of mid-2008.
Golden Gate Transit provides a service from San Rafael in Marin County across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end...
to Richmond
Richmond Station (California)
Richmond Station is an at-grade Bay Area Rapid Transit and Amtrak station located in Richmond, California. Each system is served by an island platform. The Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, California Zephyr, and Coast Starlight stop here and connect to BART. The station is currently being rebuilt...
and El Cerrito del Norte BART
El Cerrito del Norte (BART station)
El Cerrito del Norte, frequenly shorterned to del Norte, is one of two BART stations in El Cerrito, California, just east of the Cutting Boulevard interchange of Interstate 80 parallel to San Pablo Avenue and the Ohlone Greenway straddling the Richmond border. Del Norte opened to revenue service on...
stations with routes 40 and 42.
Vallejo Transit (line 80) and Fairfield/Suisun Transit
Fairfield/Suisun Transit
Fairfield and Suisun Transit , formerly known as Fairfield/Suisun Transit, is a public transportation system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It mainly serves the Solano County cities of Fairfield and neighboring Suisun City, with limited service to Yolo and Contra Costa Counties, as well as...
(line 85) and Napa VINE (line 29) provide feeder services from the North Bay
North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The North Bay is a subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The largest city is Santa Rosa. It is by far the least populous and least urbanized part of the Bay Area...
counties of Solano & Napa, primarily Vallejo but also Fairfield, Vacaville, and Napa and other cities to El Cerrito del Norte BART, these busses pass through Richmond.
WestCat provides similar feeder service from other West County cities like Pinole
Pinole, California
Pinole is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 18,390 at the 2010 census. It is one of many small “bedroom communities” along the I-80 corridor in Western Contra Costa County. It is located about northeast of San Francisco, and approximately a half-hour...
and Hercules
Hercules, California
Hercules is a city in western Contra Costa County, California. Situated along the coast of San Pablo Bay, it is located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about northeast of San Francisco. The city has a 2010 population of 24,060 according to the U.S...
. In addition to service in northern Richmond's Hilltop
Hilltop, Richmond, California
Fairmede-Hilltop, more commonly known simply as Hilltop, is a neighborhood located in the northeastern area of Richmond, California.-Overview:...
neighborhood. Lines running through Richmond are: 16, 17, 18, 19, 30Z, C³, J, JX, JPX
Carlson Boulevard is the primary access from Downtown Richmond to the Richmond Annex neighborhood, starting from 23rd street and terminating at San Pablo Avenue just north of the Alameda-Contra Costa county boundary, feeding into the El Cerrito Plaza shopping center.
Bear Transit
Bear Transit
Bear Transit is the bus service operated by the Department of Parking and Transportation of the University of California, Berkeley. Its fleet includes a combination of shuttle vans and passenger buses , with all of its passenger buses formerly owned by AC Transit. In the early 2000s the passenger...
provides commuter and student service from El Cerrito BART and UC Berkeley to the UC Field Station in Campus Bay on route RFS.
Napa VINE offers commuter service from Napa County
Napa County, California
Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
.
Friends of El Cerrito del Norte
The Friends of del Norte is a community group dedicated to improving the quality of life around the del Norte station and for residents of El CerritoEl Cerrito, California
-Transportation:The city's primary transportation infrastructure consists of the El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART stations along with several local bus lines, operated by AC Transit, providing access to the surrounding area and the nearby cities of Albany, Berkeley and Richmond...
and Richmond. They propose BART be extended north to Hercules to ameliorate traffic.
Commercial and cargo rail
The Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
(UP) has a mainline passing through Richmond. This line was formerly operated by the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
(SP).
The BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
(BNSF) has a yard and that serves as the Northern California terminus of their line that goes to their main classification yard
Classification yard
A classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill...
at Barstow, CA via the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
. The track was formerly operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
(ATSF). Many years ago, the ATSF offered rail car ferry service from Point Richmond
Point Richmond
Point Richmond, also sometimes referred to locally as The Point, is a neighborhood in Richmond, California, USA, near the eastern end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, between Interstate 580 and the San Francisco Bay...
to San Francisco. The partially-burnt remnants of the ferry pier can still be seen at Point Richmond.
The Richmond Pacific Railroad
Richmond Pacific Railroad
The Richmond Pacific Railroad is a terminal railroad owned by the Levin-Richmond Terminal Corporation. The RPRC operates on of track in the shipping terminal and wharves at Richmond, California....
(RPRC) is a class III shortline railroad operating on 2.5 miles (4 km) of track, providing switching services at Richmond's wharves. The RPRC is owned by the Levin-Richmond Terminal Corporation and was formerly known as the Parr Terminal Railroad (PRT).
Ferry
Richmond had commuter ferry service from the Richmond Ferry Terminal to the San Francisco Ferry BuildingFerry Building
The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. On top of the building is a large clock tower, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city...
on weekdays and Fisherman's Wharf on weekends in addition to special Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
Ballpark
AT&T Park
AT&T Park is a ballpark located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000....
service during the baseball season. The voyage took approximately 45 minutes one-way. The service began in 1999, but was discontinued in the late 2000s in the economic downturn following the dot-com bust. Ferry ridership plummeted and the service became economically unsustainable, which led Red and White Fleet to discontinue the service. The Richmond ferry terminal is at Ford Point located adjacent to the historic Ford Plant in Marina Bay
Marina Bay, Richmond, California
Marina Bay is located in Richmond's protected Inner Harbor. It was developed in the mid 1980s in an effort to clean up what had been up to that point the defunct WWII-era Kaiser Shipyards. The has been planned as an upper-scale residential waterfront community with apartments, condominiums,...
which is now open as an industrial park and under renovation. The terminal had its own dedicated 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...
feeder service from Point Richmond and downtown Richmond
Downtown Richmond, Richmond, California
Downtown Richmond is the old center of Richmond, California. The area is roughly bordered by 6th street to the west, 23rd Street to the east, Barrett Avenue to the north, and Macdonald Avenue to the south. The area once featured major department stores and other chains such as J.C. Penney, S. H....
with route 374 also now discontinued. A new ferry service
Richmond Ferry Terminal
Richmond Ferry Terminal is a former ferry terminal located in the Marina Bay neighborhood of Richmond, California.-History:...
from Richmond is planned for 2008 by the San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority. The new ferry will take only half an hour to San Francisco and will use the existing terminal and parking facilities at Ford Point. Recently most of the city council except Tom Butt and Mayor McLaughlin have lost interest in the project instead supporting using the site for expanded Toyota vehicle importation parking which that company has expressed an interest in.
Pedestrian and bike lanes
The city has aggressively developed its portions of the San Francisco San Francisco Bay TrailSan Francisco Bay Trail
The San Francisco Bay Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian trail that will eventually allow continuous travel around the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. As of 2011, approximately 310 miles of trail have been completed...
and has more than any other city at present. The total is 17 miles (27 km) and more is to be built. The city is also currently developing the Richmond Greenway
Richmond Greenway
-History:It runs along what was formerly the right-of way of the Santa Fe Railroad parallel to Ohio Street, between the end of the Ohlone Greenway adjacent to the intersection of Macdonald and San Pablo Avenues, and Point Richmond. There is a connector from the trail to the Macdonald 80 Shopping...
a rails to trails project running parallel to Macdonald Avenue which will feed into the Ohlone Trail which serves as feeder service for the El Cerrito del Norte BART station
El Cerrito del Norte (BART station)
El Cerrito del Norte, frequenly shorterned to del Norte, is one of two BART stations in El Cerrito, California, just east of the Cutting Boulevard interchange of Interstate 80 parallel to San Pablo Avenue and the Ohlone Greenway straddling the Richmond border. Del Norte opened to revenue service on...
. There is also the Hercules Bikeway connecting the Ohlone Trail with Hercules, which runs along the neighborhoods of East Richmond and El Sobrante. There is a trail under construction along Wildcat Creek
Wildcat Creek (California)
Wildcat Creek is a creek which flows through Wildcat Canyon situated between the Berkeley Hills and the San Pablo Ridge, emptying into San Pablo Bay in northern California. The creek originates in Tilden Regional Park just east of the city of Berkeley. It feeds the artificial Lake Anza as well as...
to connect the Bay Trail and Wildcat Marsh
Wildcat Marsh
Wildcat Marsh is the wetlands delta formed by the mouth of Wildcat Creek at its confluence with Castro Creek in Richmond, California. The marsh is critical habitat for endangered species and has been contaminated and damaged by runoff from the Chevron Richmond Refinery and the city's landfill and...
with Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park
Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is a East Bay Regional Parks District park located within the city limits of Richmond in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area of California...
. The city also has many miles of trails in that park in addition to Miller/Knox, Point Isabel, and Point Pinole parks, among others.
Municipal services
Richmond's waste disposal and recycling is handled by the Richmond Sanitary Service. Water is provided by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), while sewers are operated by the city government. The city's electricity and gas is provided by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E).Athletics
- Benny BarnesBenny BarnesBenny Jewell Barnes is a former American Football cornerback who played eleven seasons in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys...
, NFL Dallas Cowboys. 11 years as a cornerback for Dallas. He is most famous for a questionable pass interference in Super Bowl XIII on Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann - Brian AbshireBrian AbshireBrian Kenneth Abshire is a retired long-distance runner from the United States , who competed for the U.S. at the 1988 Summer Olympics in the men's 3,000 meter Steeplechase. He won the bronze medal in the same event at the 1987 Pan American Games, behind Brazil's Adauto Domingues and countryman...
, Olympic track & field athlete (1988 Olympian) in the 3000 meter steeplechase - Courtney AndersonCourtney AndersonCourtney Jerome Anderson is a former American football tight end. Born in Greenville, Texas, Anderson attended high school in Richmond, California and played college football at Contra Costa College and San Jose State University. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the seventh round of the...
, NFL Raiders #88 professional football player. - Ken CarterKen CarterKenny Ray Carter is an American business owner, education activist and former high school basketball coach. Carter attended college at San Francisco State, then Contra Costa College, and finally George Fox University, where he played basketball.-Biography:...
: Richmond High SchoolRichmond High School (Richmond, California)Richmond High School is a public high school located on 23rd Street, Richmond, California, USA. It is part of the West Contra Costa Unified School District .- Alumni and Post-High School Education :...
coach, inspiration for 2005 film Coach CarterCoach CarterCoach Carter is a 2005 American film directed by Thomas Carter. It is based on a true story, in which Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his MVP and undefeated team due to poor academic results.... - Dave Smith, major league baseball pitcher for the AstrosHouston AstrosThe Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
, CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, and PadresSan Diego PadresThe San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times... - Lamont ThompsonLamont ThompsonLamont Darnell Thompson is a safety who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
, NFL footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
defensive backDefensive backIn American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...
for the Tennessee TitansTennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
and the Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL... - Ricky JordanRicky JordanPaul Scott "Ricky" Jordan is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played from to for the Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners. His first game in Major League Baseball came on July 17, 1988. During his first at-bat that game, he hit a home run. Jordan was noted for being a...
, Philadelphia Phillies baseball player - Ricardo ValenzuelaRicardo Valenzuela (referee)Ricardo Andres Valenzuela is a United States former football referee from Richmond, California, who officiated for the U.S. Soccer Federation in various leagues and competitions, as assigned. He was also a FIFA referee...
a soccer referee. - Willie McGeeWillie McGeeWillie Dean McGee is a retired professional baseball player who won two batting titles and was named Major League Baseball's National League MVP. McGee primarily played center and right field, winning three Gold Glove Awards for defensive excellence. McGee spent the majority of his 18-year career...
, Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player for the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to... - Percy Miller aka Master PMaster PPercy Robert Miller , better known by his stage name Master P or his business name P. Miller, is an American rapper, actor, entrepreneur, investor, and producer. He is the founder of the popular label No Limit Records, which went bankrupt and was relaunched as New No Limit Records through Koch...
, He had a contract with NBA teams twice - with the Charlotte Hornets during the 1998/99 season and the Toronto Raptors in 1999 pre-season.[12][13] He also played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Fort Wayne Fury. In 2004, he played for the ABA's Las Vegas Rattlers. He joined the 2008 McDonald's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and scored 17 points in total, hitting two crucial free throws at the end to win the game. - Joseph Tijero, Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Player for the Seattle MarinersSeattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
- Clinton Lumberkings, Mariners Farm Team 1999-2000 - Darrell JohnsonDarrell JohnsonDarrell Dean Johnson was an American Major League Baseball catcher, coach, manager and scout.-Playing career:...
, started as backup catcher for New York Yankees behind Yogi Berra in late '50s. Played with St. Louis Cardinals in late '50s, early '60s. Went on to coach Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers.
Music
- Master PMaster PPercy Robert Miller , better known by his stage name Master P or his business name P. Miller, is an American rapper, actor, entrepreneur, investor, and producer. He is the founder of the popular label No Limit Records, which went bankrupt and was relaunched as New No Limit Records through Koch...
, rapperHip hop musicHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, former NBA Basketball Player, and founder/owner of the P. Miller clothing, former local businessman.
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- Also connected to Master P: Silkk Tha ShockerSilkk Tha ShockerVyshonn King Miller , who records under the stage name Silkk The Shocker, is an American rapper and actor. He originally went under the stage name Silkk, but later adopted The Shocker after his debut studio album in 1996 entitled, The Shocker.- Early life :Vyshonn King Miller was born on June 18,...
, Lil Romeo, both relatives/associates of Master P, and Big EdBig EdEdward Lee Knight , better known as Big Ed or Big Ed the Assassin, was an American rapper who was signed to Master P's No Limit Records in the 1990s. Big Ed was an original member of the rap group, TRU and appeared as a member of the group's first three albums, Who's Da Killer?, Understanding the...
(formerly under Master P's No Limit Records) were residents in Richmond, CA.- Jason BeckerJason BeckerJason Eli Becker is an American virtuoso neo-classical metal guitarist and composer. At the age of 16, he became part of the Mike Varney-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. They released Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off! in 1988...
, guitarist of the 1980s and 1990s. - Peter BuckPeter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....
, guitarist for rock band R.E.M.R.E.M.R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's... - Stephen Bradley, musician, producer, and touring member of the band No Doubt.
- Larry LaLondeLarry LaLondeLarry "Ler" LaLonde is a guitarist who currently plays in Primus along with Les Claypool and Jay Lane...
, guitarist in PrimusPrimus (band)Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed... - Les ClaypoolLes ClaypoolLeslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
: Bassist, songwriter and vocalist of Primus. - Gary HoltGary Holt (musician)Gary Wayne Holt is an American guitarist from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the lead guitarist of Exodus.-Biography:...
guitarist and founding member of ExodusExodus (band)Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...
. - Amir Loggins hip hop music rapper member of the Frontline.
- Jason Becker
- Also connected to Master P: Silkk Tha Shocker
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Other
- George Johnson, supercentenarianSupercentenarianA supercentenarian is someone who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in a thousand centenarians....
and World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran. - Lucretia EdwardsLucretia EdwardsLucretia W. Edwards was an environmental activist and preservationist from Richmond, California. Edwards is responsible for thousands of acres being added to the East Bay Regional Parks District and the National Park Service...
, local preservation activist and environmentalistEnvironmentalistAn environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
.
Neighborhoods
Richmond has many distinct neighborhoods. The city can roughly be divided into the northern Hilltop/El Sobrante, eastern Central/East Richmond, downtown/Iron Triangle and Southern Point Richmond/Marina Bay areas.Books
- Richmond - Windows to the Past, an oral history based photographic history by Susan Alcorn (1980).
- In Contempt (Mass Market Paperback) by Christopher A. Darden, Jess Walter, ReganBooks; Reprint edition (February 1997) (Christopher Darden, one of the prosecutors in the criminal case against O.J. Simpson, grew up in Richmond.)
- Photographing the 2nd Gold Rush: Dorothea Lange and the East Bay at War 1941–1945 (Paperback) by Dorothea Lange, Charles Wollenberg, Heyday BooksHeyday BooksHeyday Books is an independent nonprofit publisher based in Berkeley, California.Heyday was founded by Malcolm Margolin in 1974 when he wrote, typeset, designed, and distributed The East Bay Out, a guide to the natural history of the hills and bayshore around Berkeley and Oakland...
(August 1995). - Richmond (Images of America) (Paperback) by Donald Bastin, Arcadia Publishing (SC) (November 2003).
- Tales from the Iron Triangle: Boyhood Days in the Bay Area of the 1920s (Hardcover), by James Polese, Ocean Tree Books; 1st ed. edition (September 1994).
- To Place Our Deeds: The African American Community in Richmond, California, 1910–1963 (Paperback) by Shirley Ann Wilson Moore, University of California Press; 1 edition (February 5, 2001).
- Gypsies: The Hidden Americans (Paperback) by Anne Sutherland, 1975; Re-issued 1986 by Waveland Press, Inc. This book is an anthropological study of a group of American Rom (Gypsies) living in Richmond (Barvale), California. It is based on fieldwork done during 1968-70. In this book, Richmond was given the pseudonym of "Barvale" in order to protect the anonymity of the subjects.
Film and television
- The film documentary "Enough is Enough: Live From Tent City in Richmond, CA," details a grassroots movement of Richmond city residents to fight violence on their streets. http://s-data.current.com/news/89473956_enough-is-enough-live-from-tent-city-in-richmond-ca-movie.htm
- Much of the movie Tucker: The Man and His DreamTucker: The Man and His DreamTucker: The Man and His Dream is a 1988 biographical film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Jeff Bridges. The film recounts the story of Preston Tucker and his attempt to produce and market the 1948 Tucker Sedan, which was met with scandal between the "Big Three automobile...
was filmed at the National Preservation Award winning Ford Assembly Building, now commonly referred to as Ford Point. - Many scenes from the Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
film, Patch AdamsPatch AdamsHunter Doherty "Patch" Adams, M.D. is an American physician, social activist, citizen diplomat and author. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971...
were filmed during a week in Point Richmond. - The basketball movie, Coach CarterCoach CarterCoach Carter is a 2005 American film directed by Thomas Carter. It is based on a true story, in which Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his MVP and undefeated team due to poor academic results....
although filmed across the bay in San Francisco was based on the story of the Richmond High School Basketball team being benched for poor grades despite an undefeated season. - In the T.V. Show The Game, character Latasha "Tasha" Mack grew up in Richmond.
- Many parts of the Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
movie Forever YoungForever Young (film)Forever Young is a 1992 film, directed by Steve Miner, starring Mel Gibson, Elijah Wood and Jamie Lee Curtis. The screenplay was written by J.J. Abrams from an original story, "The Rest of Daniel". The original music score is composed by Jerry Goldsmith...
were filmed in Point Richmond. - DeVry College has made a commercial showing businesses along San Pablo Avenue in Richmond.
- Kaiser Permanente made a commercial showing a man riding a bicycle in Point Richmond.
Sister cities
Richmond, California has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
: Shimada, Shizuoka
Shimada, Shizuoka
is a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 100,846 and a population density of 319 persons per km². The total area is 315.88 km².-Geography:...
, Japan Regla, Cuba. Zhoushan
Zhoushan
Zhoushan or Zhoushan Archipelago New Area; formerly transliterated as Chusan, is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. The only prefecture-level city of the People's Republic of China consisting solely of islands, it lies across the mouth of the Hangzhou Bay,...
, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China
See also
- East Richmond HeightsEast Richmond Heights, CaliforniaEast Richmond Heights is an unincorporated and census-designated place in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The community is locally referred to as Richmond View or Arlington Heights, especially in the context of real estate advertisements...
- North RichmondNorth Richmond, CaliforniaNorth Richmond is a community in Contra Costa County, California, a census-designated place of 3,717 adjacent to and nearly surrounded by the city Richmond, to which it is generally socially and culturally attached...
- Point Richmond
- El SobranteEl Sobrante, CaliforniaEl Sobrante is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 12,669 at the 2010 census...
- Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical ParkRosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical ParkRosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park is located in Richmond, California, near San Francisco. The park encompasses an array of historic properties in the city which were constructed during the 1940s to support America's entry into World War II.The park is a "partnership...
- USS Tacoma (PF-3)USS Tacoma (PF-3)USS Tacoma , was the lead ship of the Tacoma-class frigates. It was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Tacoma, Washington, a city and port on the coast of Puget Sound in the west central part of the state of Washington....
- Harry Ells High SchoolHarry Ells High SchoolHarry Ells High School in Richmond, California was a major public high school in the area from 1955 to 1968. It was originally opened as a Middle School following World War II. Ten years later, it became Richmond high school South Campus. It was replaced with the new John F. Kennedy High School...
External links
- City of Richmond Official website
- http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=16000US0660620&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US06%7C16000US0660620&_street=&_county=richmond%2C+contra+costa&_cityTown=richmond%2C+contra+costa&_state=04000US06&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=US Census Bureau] - Richmond city factsheet
- West Contra Costa Unified School District
- Richmond Annex Neighborhood Council
- Richmond Museum of History website
- USGS Faultline interactive for Richmond and East Bay
- Unofficial Regla Sister City Web Site