Prepare to defend the Bay Area

"We don’t have to give would-be authoritarians a free pass to drag us..."

Ever since his disastrous debate performance, President Biden has brushed off calls to step aside, but a slew of recent headlines indicates that the pressure to tap out of his reelection campaign may be growing too strong to resist. DC media are pointing to behind-the-scenes maneuvering, poor polls, and frustrated donors as reasons why The Big Announcement could be coming as soon as this weekend. To ensure a relatively smooth campaign transition and avoid a legal quagmire, Vice President Kamala Harris would almost inevitably replace Biden at the top of the ticket. [July 21 update: Biden has dropped out and endorsed Harris.]

Regardless of how you feel about Harris’ politics or her chances of winning, this scenario would have big implications for the Bay Area, the place where she was born and spent much of her life. Based on recent history, I think it’s fairly easy to predict some of the likely impacts. To see how conservative media and Trump supporters would respond to a Bay Area politician getting anywhere near the White House, just look at the attacks against Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom’s high visibility as a Biden surrogate has made him one of the MAGA crowd’s top targets. The primary thrust of their critiques is that California is a crime-ridden, immigrant-infested, over-taxed dystopia being overrun by homeless hordes and drag queens… and, obviously, the Bay Area is the belly of this unholy beast. 

If Kamala gets the nod, expect these attacks to go nuclear. Every major right wing outlet will be sending correspondents to the Bay Area to get footage of fentanyl dealers in the Tenderloin to discredit Harris’ legacy as San Francisco’s district attorney. They’ll be prowling Berkeley, looking for super-woke liberals to interview so they can show how the place where Harris grew up isn’t “Real America.” They’ll be searching for Oakland’s biggest encampments so they can expose the dysfunction of the place where Harris was born, and the state where she served as senator.

We won’t be able to stop this coordinated campaign to besmirch the Bay Area, but we can be prepared to push back. Even if you’re not interested in defending Harris, those of us who love this place don’t have to sit by while billionaire-funded media personalities and their MAGA cult following drag our whole region through the mud. This place is rich with natural and architectural beauty, it has a stunning track record of cultural leadership and innovation, and the food… well, let’s just say good luck finding a decent mission-style burrito in Ohio. Yes, the Bay Area has real problems that shouldn’t be ignored, but we don’t have to give would-be authoritarians a free pass to make us a whipping boy on the global stage for the next three months, either.

The view of downtown Oakland from Tribune Tower. Despite what you’ve heard, this is not the worst place on planet. [Photo: Liam O’Donoghue]

Zooming out to examine the potential long-term impacts on the Bay Area of a Harris win is a far more interesting topic to contemplate. The relevance of America’s first woman president would be on par with Obama becoming our first Black president, so I think it’s fair to look at his historical footprint for clues. Setting aside his policy legacy, the most prominent monument to Obama’s presidency is a 19-acre campus currently under construction in Chicago, the city where he spent most of his pre-DC career. Once completed in 2026, the Obama Presidential Center will look like a cross between a fancy tech company HQ and a college campus. 

The grounds will be home to a museum, a conference center, research facilities, classrooms, and various amenities including a basketball court, gardens, art installations, and plazas for outdoor events. The project, estimated to cost nearly half a billion dollars, is expected to be a major tourist draw. “Organizers estimate about 750,000 visitors will come to the center each year, transforming the South Side — which has long suffered from disinvestment — with an economic boom,” according to WTTW, a Chicago PBS affiliate.     

If Harris ends up breaking the ultimate glass ceiling, where will she build her monument to this achievement after her administration ends? San Francisco seems an unlikely location, due to its lack of available space, high cost of development, and the recent fiasco of George Lucas’ failed attempt to build a museum there serving as a warning sign. Similar challenges would make Berkeley an improbable option. Look, I’m aware it’s ridiculous to be speculating on this topic before Joe Biden has even dropped out, but… I’d bet she’d build it in Oakland, her birthplace and the city where she chose to launch her initial run for the White House back in 2019. Maybe the Harris Presidential Center could even be part of whatever replaces the Coliseum complex!    

Anyway, readers, thank you for indulging this mildly frivolous thought experiment. I know I should stick to history, but, like many of you, I’ve been increasingly anxious about the looming specter of another Trump regime. Spending the afternoon imagining a different kind of future has been a brief, but welcome reprieve from that dread.

East Bay Yesterday Updates & Events
Summer boat tours are here! Just a reminder that I’m doing an all-new route this season. Here’s a link to an FAQ page with all the details for these upcoming dates: 7/28, 8/8, 8/31, 9/6, 9/8. Get tickets here. 

After publishing my recent podcast about efforts to save 16th Street Station, a listener sent me a link to this inspiring article about “Restoration done right.” Similarly to the station in West Oakland, Detroit’s Michigan Central Station had fallen into grave disrepair and was on the verge of demolition. Thanks to a group of investors who recognized the building’s architectural and historical significance, the building was extensively renovated and is now operating as a commercial office space. Case studies like this will be crucial to convincing City Ventures, the owners of 16th Street Station, that large-scale preservation projects can work.  In related news, check out Dorothy Lazard’s upcoming lecture on the station’s history hosted by California Preservation Foundation.

The life of an independent podcaster isn’t usually very glamorous, but occasionally there are some perks. Check out the new episode of Wine Oh TV, a California travel program, if you want to see me sipping pinot grigio while riding a gondola in Lake Merritt. Host Monique Soltani wanted to include some Oakland history in her show, so I shared a few tidbits about Bruce Lee, Too Short, and other local legends. Be sure to watch the full episode if you want to see West Coast Blues Society founder Ronnie Stewart discussing The Town’s legendary 7th Street music scene.

After many years of sitting abandoned on the corner of MacArthur and MLK, the “RCA House” has finally been demolished. Those of you who remember my interview with Sam Lefebvre know that this property had a wild history. Depending on the decade, it was either an anchor of a thriving Black business district, an Occupy-era squat, or the burned out symbol of the Bay’s insane real estate market. Fortunately, the property is now set to become the site of 77 units of affordable housing, which lessens the sting of losing Timothy B’s incredible mural. Here’s the before/after, via Timothy’s Instagram…

On July 27, I’ll be giving my “Bygone Berkeley” presentation at Central Library’s “Mystery Room.” The talk assembles “some of Berkeley’s proudest achievements and most shameful chapters as a narrative that attempts to make sense of the city’s chaotic history.” The event is free and no reservations are needed.  

In Other News
One of the truly hidden nooks of the East Bay shoreline is Point Molate, a fascinating stretch of land located just upstream from the Richmond Bridge. Over the years, this area has been home to a Chinese fishing village, the world’s largest winery, a Naval fuel depot, and many underground parties. After years of development battles (and a narrowly averted casino), the property is now on the verge of acquisition by the East Bay Regional Park District. Earlier this week, the district announced it had signed a letter of intent to purchase the property for $40 million! Hopefully, the EBRPD plan will include preservation of the historic buildings left over from the pre-prohibition winery era…

On July 17, 1944, 320 servicemen, most of them African American, were killed during an accidental explosion at Port Chicago, a naval weapons dept on the Suisun Bay. The explosion was so massive that it shattered windows for miles in every direction and measured 3.4 on the Richter scale. When survivors refused to return to work in protest of the U.S. military’s segregationist policies, which forced Black men into the most dangerous jobs, they were convicted of mutiny, catalyzing outrage that fueled a growing Civil Right movement. To mark the 80th anniversary of these events, Port Chicago Weekend, a three-day series of events spanning from July 18–July 21 will be held at various locations throughout the Bay Area. For more details on the history of Port Chicago and this weekend’s events, check out this article from KQED’s Pendarvis Harshaw. [Update: Just as I was finishing up the newsletter, AP shared this joyous news: “The U.S. Navy has exonerated 256 Black sailors who were found to be unjustly punished in 1944 following a horrific port explosion...”  

There’s been much talk lately about Oakland trying to position itself as a filmmaking hub by offering incentives to producers. If the plan is successful, perhaps one of the first big projects to shoot here could be a dramatized series about the history of the Oakland Police Department. According to Ali Winston, co-author of “The Riders Come Out at Night,” the book “is in development for a TV adaption.” I’d love to see Ed Harris play Jerry Brown — who else would be in your dream cast? 

Perhaps it’s naive, but one of the reasons I’m so focused on history is because I truly believe that we, as a society, are capable of learning from the mistakes of the past. Unfortunately, I’m often confronted by real world examples that challenge this optimism. The most infuriating case I’ve seen lately is this Oaklandside article by Zack Haber titled “Why does this West Oakland house keep burning and endangering the neighborhood.” As the piece explains, “the house has been a problem for decades” but city officials appear more or less impotent in their ability to force the landlords, Upper Rockridge residents Jeffrey and Mildred Crear, to meaningfully address this ongoing public safety hazard. Read the full article for a deep dive into the history of how one bad landlord can endanger an entire block.  

The Berkeley Path Wanderers Association (great name, btw) posted a short profile of Charles Keeler on its “People & Paths” blog. Keeler, a scientist who served as director of the California Academy of Sciences, was the first to commission famed architect Bernard Maybeck to build a residence in the Berkeley Hills. Maybeck’s naturalist style, which sought to construct homes that would blend into the local landscape, quickly caught on among the growing Bohemian community in the Berkeley hills. If you want to see some of Maybeck’s historic homes in person, check out the recently updated Berkeley Walks guidebook for details.   

If you’re more interested in guided historical walking tours, Oakland Heritage Alliance has several intriguing events happening soon (like “Leimert's Legacy: Lower Oakmore's Whimsical Homes” on August 11) and I just found out about these labyrinth-themed tours, led by Allison Bliss. 

Ina Coolbrith lived in Oakland while she was working as The Town’s first librarian, but the famous poet spent the last few decades of her life across the Bay in San Francisco. After her 1928 death, an idyllic patch of green space on Russian Hill was named Ina Coolbrith Park to honor her contributions to the Bay Area’s luminous literary scene.    SF Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub penned a glowing review of this little-known nook titled “San Francisco’s most underrated park has a poetic history.” If you want to hear more about Coolbrith, including her rumored romance with Mark Twain, check out the very first episode of East Bay Yesterday.

To this day, it still boggles my mind how Creedence Clearwater Revival sound like they emerged from a Louisiana bayou despite hailing from El Cerrito. So where did they come up with the ideas for songs like “Green River,” a classic ode to a Southern swimming hole? According to SF Gate, the answer is in Northern California: “Tucked in the rolling golden hills of Yolo County, an artificial lake with an algae problem was Fogerty’s inspiration for the ultimate swamp rock song.”

Sponsored Message
When 15-year-old Marcos Ornellas suffered a critical neck injury while surfing, paramedics knew he needed the best treatment, fast. He was airlifted to Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, the East Bay’s only level one pediatric trauma center. There, doctors worked with the Oakland trauma team and surgeons in every specialty area to provide full treatment coverage, from immediate care to personalized long-term recovery.  One year later and after hundreds of hours of physical therapy, Marcos is now practicing soccer drills, and often at the beach. To learn more about Oakland Trauma Care at Benioff Children’s Hospital, and read the rest of Marco’s story, check out the full story here.

Finally

My East Bay Yesterday t-shirts, made in collaboration with Oaklandish, are almost gone for good. The only remaining sizes are small and XXXL, so the final shirts are now on sale at a super-deep discount. Baggy clothes are back in style, so grab the giant size and wear it to your next rave!  

Thanks for reading all the way to the end. And extra special thanks to those of you supporting East Bay Yesterday through Patreon or through a paid subscription to this Substack. The only reason that I’m able to devote so much time to this project is because of your generosity. 

-Liam

PS: In celebration of summer, here’s one of my favorite vintage postcards of Lake Merritt, a place where I hope to be having fun in the sun this weekend.