DEC 2014 - Livermore Heritage Guild

Livermore Heritage Guild
Saving Yesterday For Tomorrow
P.O. Box 961, Livermore, CA 94551
www.livermorehistory.com
December 2014
LONGTIME ENTERTAINMENT, DINING & DRINKING CENTER
Phone 925-449-9927
Vol. XLV, No. 3
Schenone Building, Downtown Icon, Marks 100 Years
At the heart of downtown Livermore are three historic structures
on First Street near Livermore
Ave.: the tall flagpole (1905/
2004), Masonic Building (190910) and the L. Schenone Building.
Photo by Bill Nale, eLivermore.com, 2011
For the past century, the trio has
symbolized Livermore and the
changing times. They have been
photographed to illustrate floods
in front of them ('38, '54), lightning storms behind them (2003)
and, during national mourning,
half-mast flags above them ('63).
Builder Louis Schenone (18631939), a Genoa, Italy native, married Catherine Livermore (18701944), daughter of Robert Livermore, Jr., in 1895. On the Las
Positas Grant (today's Las Positas
Road), the family grew vegetables,
which they sold from a peddler's
wagon until they opened a store
in the McLeod Building diagonal- The L. Schenone Building, 2219-2223-2235 First Street, as it appeared in 2011.
ly across S. Livermore Ave. from The current paint color scheme is from a 2002 renovation.
the L. Schenone Building site.
nolini designed a two-story, steel-reinforced Schenone Building was Livermore's main
"fireproof" concrete building. S. Fiorio won movie theater. Gary Drummond has idenThe March 15, 1913 Herald said the construction bid in July 1913 ($15,680). tified four names: Bell Theatre, 1913-23;
that the Schenones purchased the San Francisco's Vermont Marble Co. did the Livermore Theatre, 1923-1929; California
building site from the John Mc- terrazo and marble work (veins in slabs Theatre, 1929-31; and State Theatre, 1931Devitt Estate for a price "under- carefully matched). Tenants began occupan- late 1950s (Jan. 2008 LHG newsletter).
stood to set a new record for First cy in late 1913. "Schenone Hall" formally Today's Old Theatre Mall on Second
street property. A frame structure opened with a grand ball on June 13, 1914. Street is a vestige of the (continued on p. 6)
(an "unsightly wooden shack") The Bell Theatre orchestra played for danIn This Issue:
housing Plaith & Jensen saloon, cers until 2:00 a.m. Admission was $1.
President's Message: Bolts, p. 2.
Gus Candido's barber shop and
L.E. Wright's cyclery/electrical No existing building in Livermore has a 1919 Livermore Aerial Photo, p. 4
supplies store was demolished. richer history as an entertainment and din- Book on 1950s & '60s City, p. 7.
San Francisco architect Italo Zan- ing center. For nearly a half century, the Vallecitos Rd. Barn Painting, p. 8.
A Message From the President
December 2014
Dear Members:
The big stories are often what we tell Guild visitors about, and there is plenty to say about Midway school, the HistoryMobile, Hagemann Ranch, and lots of other things. But first I'm going to talk about something as minor as four old bolts.
Photo by Will Bolton, 2014.
When Walt Detjens donated the original belt-drive
Bradford lathe that ran in the shop, it set the garage crew
working to make sure it got installed correctly. We have
one photo of Frank Duarte working at the lathe (right) so
there were some reference points for location and even
some hints of how it connected to the overhead leather
belt drive system. After the lathe left the garage in the
1970's, it had been converted to an attached electric motor,
making the three-quarter ton lathe a little more, well,
portable. The motor still worked fine with the lathe when
Walt donated it to us, but our team wants that shop to look
as original as possible and their goal is to have overhead
belts once again supplying power to the large tools in our
shop. Besides getting the location correct and looking for
the missing overhead system parts, one of the steps is to
bring the lathe back to its original appearance, without the
electric motor.
Collection of Walter Detjens. Donated to LHG.
Many of you know about the exacting work going on at
the north end of the Duarte Garage & Lincoln Highway
Museum these days, under Will Bolton's heading of "Garage Archeology," which has included identifying original
locations of tools, shelves, and finding the original pieces
to place there when possible. The original regulator clock is
hanging in its original location, even the original handmade
typewriter shelf is screwed into the original holes, next to
the original roll-top desk. All very impressive.
Frank Duarte, possibly in the 1920s, installed in the
Garage a belt-driven 18-inch lathe manufactured by
Bradford Machine Tool Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The top photo is believed to be of Frank Duarte
working at the lathe. The bottom photo is of the
lathe recently re-installed in the Garage. After the
City forced Frank's son Fran to sell the Garage in
1975, Robert Detjens used it at his Tesla Road
home. After Bob Detjens died in 1985, his brother
Walt used it at his Vallecitos Road ranch for nearly
30 years until he donated to the Guild in 2014.
Few parts were actually removed during the change, and
the pieces went back together nicely, but four original bolts
were lost in the conversion. I think most of you can find
your way to the hardware store, so this lack would not
seem to be a problem, but the Garage Archeology team
knew that modern bolts just don't have the same look as
those made 100 years ago. For something so simple, you
would be surprised to see just how much they differ.
Today's high quality bolts are stamped with their strength
grade, and the bolt head is a standard height that provides
enough grip for a wrench, but is no taller than necessary to afford good clearance, unlike the antique bolts, which had
significantly larger heads and were generally unmarked. And of course new bolts look new. Hardware used for decades in a
working machine shop gains a patina of grease, grime and chipped paint that can't be bought.
That presented a problem, because our team was simply not going accept parts that they knew would look wrong. You and
I might not have noticed, but the crew knew it would gnaw at them if they didn't make an attempt to recreate the original
look. They considered paint, specialty bolts, salvaged bolts, and indeed still hold hope that the originals might be found.
Page 2
LHG
BELT-DRIVEN LATHE RETURNS TO DUARTE GARAGE • LHG NEWS December 2014
Lathe (Cont'd from Page 2)
on the property, as well as conducting
such things as historic walking tours and
school classes. We have not inked a deal,
but both the Guild and the City are
anxious to have the Guild help ensure
that the site is preserved for generations
to come.
From a set of bolts to a
historic ranch, the Guild has quite a
range! Sincerely,
But for now, they would start
essentially from scratch and manufacture four bolts that would withstand
more than casual inspection.
Will and Fred found a matching bolt
elsewhere on the lathe and took careful
measurements, so they knew what they
were after. They couldn't find a modern
matching bolt, but in the course of
searching they found a nut whose
dimensions were spot-on for the head
of the missing bolts. They merely
needed an accomplished welder to step
up and weld the nuts to a correct
length of threaded rod. As often he
does, Jim Boehmke appeared (apparition in a welding mask?) and did the
required molten metal magic.
Which left the crew with four correctlysized bolts with all the wrong
appearance. Time for an alchemist of a
different sort, Duane Sunnarborg, who
has the machining and chemistry skills
to turn shiny modern steel into
doppelgangers for the missing antiques.
Take a look at the photos. You can see
that, except for the shop rash on the
old bolt, the reproduced bolts are a
great match. So with no small amount
of effort on even the small details, the
lathe is going to be a great showpiece
for the garage centennial next year.
LHG 2015 Calendars Available
Come and get it! That is, your 2015
Heritage Guild calendar. Available right
now in a limited printing. $20 at the
History Center; don't forget your 10%
member discount. This calendar
features objects in the LHG collection.
LHG and Hagemann Ranch
If you have not heard already then I
haven't done my job, but the city is
looking for new service providers for
the Hagemann Ranch. The ranch was
CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE? Two reproduced bolts on
the lathe (above) closely match the
appearance of the original style
bolt (below). Photos by Will Bolton.
purchased in the 1860's by Martin
Mendenhall, the brother of Livermore's founder, William Mendenhall.
Just before the turn of the 20th century, the property transferred to Mendenhall's neighbor to the south, Maas
Luders, who gave it to his stepson
August Hagemann.
It remained in the family until the
1960's and after a few twists and turns,
was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places and bought by the
City. Today the City needs to have a
service provider who benefits low
income families and whose program is
compatible with the equestrian, ranching or agricultural nature of the site.
The Guild will be involved as well. We
are working with the City to take on
the role of property manager, so that
we could coordinate preservation and
restoration of the historic buildings
Page 3
Jeff Kaskey
Auction Proceeds
Loretta Kaskey reports that the May
2014 LHG Auction generated gross
income of approximately $13,000,
with net income exceeding $11,000.
Donations to the "Fund A Need"
campaign ($5,000), earmarked for the
Midway School restoration project,
nearly matched the auction tally
($5,300). There were 58 winning
bidders plus two winning pre-bidders.
More than 90 dinners were sold,
generating around $2,500, including
drinks. The auction raffle netted $450.
The "Yard Sale" following the auction
brought in around $1,000. The Guild
thanks all for a successful auction.
Contact Us
President
Jeff Kaskey
[email protected]
1st Vice Pres. (Program Chair)
Andrea Loyd
nd
2 Vice Pres. (Membership Chair)
Sandra Grafrath 925-443-6655
[email protected]
Secretary
Susan Junk - [email protected]
Treasurer
Usha Khullar
History Center Curator
Don Smith - [email protected]
Duarte/Highway Garage Curator
Will Bolton
Directors at Large
Bill Junk & Barbara Soules
Newsletter Editor
Jason Bezis
925-962-9643 & [email protected]
Aeroplane view Livermore, Cal., Jesse Brown Cook Scrapbooks Documenting San Francisco History and Law Enforcement,
Volume 27, 136c, BANC PIC 1996.003--fALB, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
First Known Aerial Photograph of Livermore: 1919
LHG
December 2014
Page 4
O Street is at the bottom of the photo, running leftright. Above it, running left/right in succession,
can be seen N, M, L, K, J and I streets and
Livermore Avenue. The last right/left street that is
easily visible in the upper left corner of the photo is
North I Street. Junction Avenue is barely visible in
the far upper left. The McLeod Tract stretches of
First, Second, Third and Fourth streets are visible in
the upper center of the photo. The curve of
Railroad Avenue into First Street near Maple Street
is visible in the top center. The beginning of East
Avenue is visible in the upper right corner.
The airplane apparently was flying over P Street
between First and Fourth streets. The view is
looking easterly.
The main four "up/down"
streets that are visible in the photo are First Street
(to the right of the warehouses), Second Street,
Third Street and Fourth Street. To the left of the
warehouse cluster are the Southern Pacific Railroad
tracks (removed in the 1970s). Railroad Avenue is
the wide dirt road to the left. The last visible road
in the upper left corner is Oak Street/Western
Pacific Railroad tracks.
Depicted above is the first known aerial photograph
of Livermore. It is believed to have been taken in
1919, the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment
of Livermore.
Among the present day (2014) landmarks in the
photo is Dania Hall (opened in 1911), just above
the "CAL." inscription, at Second and N Streets.
Also seen in the photo are the Southern Pacific
Depot (with the long freight shed, since
demolished), the tall 1905 flagpole at First and S.
Livermore Ave. and Carnegie Library building. May
Nissen's 1980 "A Typical Day on First Street"
interview includes many landmarks in this photo.
Page 5
The three hay warehouses visible along North I
Street in the upper left are (left to right):
Callagahan Warehouse Company, Livermore
The white building on the easterly side of L
Street is the Farmers Exchange (hotel/saloon)
(demolished in 1968; see John Shirley's new
book). The largest building on the Livermore
Ave./First St./L St./Railroad "superblock" is the
E.S. Stevens Warehouse. The largest structure
on the "superblock" east of Livermore Ave. is
the Diamond Milling Company Grain
Warehouse (northerly side of S.P.R.R.).
The double buildings on the easterly side of N
Street at First Street are Independent Warehouse
Company Hay Warehouses Nos. 1 and 2. Just
above them on the easterly side of M Street is
Independent Warehouse Company Grain
Warehouse No. 1. The building to their left,
parallel to the S.P. tracks is the Independent
Lumber Company Lumber Shed. The large
building on the easterly side of M Street is
Independent Warehouse Company Grain
Warehouse No. 2. The other large building on
that block (fronting on L Street) is a livery
stable.
Hay and grain warehouses are the predominant
large structures in the photo. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from 1917 are useful for identifying them. At the lower left is Anspacher Brothers Hay Warehouse No. 4. Just above it on the
westerly side of N Street is Anspacher Brothers
Hay Warehouse No. 3. The circular structure to
the left of that warehouse is the Southern
Pacific Railroad turntable. The smaller building
just above the turntable is an engine house.
Warehouse Company and Livermore Commercial
Company Warehouse.
The first known comprehensive aerial survey of the
entire Livermore Valley took place in 1940. The
opening credits of the Livermore 1969 centennial
movie "A Century Has Passed" by Olga and Ed
Peiffer included an aerial view of First Street from P
Street to Livermore Avenue, providing a similar perspective to this photo, 50 years later.-by Jason A. Bezis
This photo exists because Jesse Brown Cook (18601938), a member of the San Francisco Police
Department,
kept
meticulous
scrapbooks
concerning San Francisco Bay Area history. His
collection also includes photos of vineyards, a rodeo
and the Veterans Hospital in the Livermore Valley.
This photo likely was taken in winter or spring
because the grass on vacant lots appears to be dark.
First Street was first paved in 1915. Most other
streets in Livermore were unpaved in 1919. Note
how horse carriages made shortcuts at the street
corners and how pedestrians made shortcuts across
vacant lots.
The largest building on Second Street is the
Foresters Hall at J Street (the large white building at
upper center of the photo). The Livermore Hotel
can be seen directly behind the tall flagpole on First
Street. The McLeod Building (to be mostly demolished in the 1920s for the Bank of Italy Building) is
to the left of the flagpole, across First Street.
The white building at the top of the photo one-third
from the left is the former St. Michael's Church Hall,
a part of the church campus that survived the 1916
fire. It was used as the church sanctuary while the
new building was constructed at 4th and Maple.
LHG
December 2014
LHG
HOME OF LIVERMORE'S MAIN MOVIE THEATER: 1913-1956
Schenone (Cont'd from Page 1)
Schenone Building's movie theater
days. Movie patrons entered through
the center of the Schenone Building
on First Street and traversed a 14-foot
wide corridor to the 70-by-48 foot auditorium on the Second Street part of
the building. The theater had 508
"opera seats" on a sloping floor, a
stage and an orchestra pit for seven
musicians, the Dec. 6, 1913 Herald reported. On December 27, 1913, the
Bell Theater relocated from 2nd & J
(Max Berlin's Photo-Play Theater took
that place). A.M. Bowles was manager.
Newspapers published movie playlists;
the first film was "The Call" with
Edith Storey (Vitagraph Co.).
The Lima family owned the theater
Livermore Heritage Guild Photo No. 259
for many years until 1938, when they
Schenone
Building
with
rodeo
decorations, 1932.
sold it to Julian Harvey, Jr. of San
Jose. With great fanfare, "talking roof fire) were tenants. Croce's was a French and
pictures" began there in 1929. In the Italian restaurant operated by partners A. Croce
May 1996 LHG newsletter, James and Peter Perata, according to the Jan. 1925
"Bud" Lima, LUHS Class of '42 and Hayward Journal. Croce's Restaurant was
son of the theater owner, recounted downstairs; Croce's Cafe and a dance hall were
the August 23, 1931 fire caused by upstairs. Cheerio Flower & Gift Shop opened in
unstable nitrate-based film in the 1941 A Quizno's sandwich shop was downstairs
projectionist's booth. Aside from the in the early 2000s, followed by Ancestros Mexican
projectionist, Lima's cousin Vince Grill. Demitri's Taverna, a Greek restaurant,
Porazzo, the theater was empty. He opened on much of the lower floor in Nov. 2008.
escaped through a port-hole window Demitris Kaplanis is owner.
and sounded the alarm. Movies were
projected at the Sweeney Opera Saloons have been on the lower floor for most of
House at First & McLeod until the the years since the end of Prohibition in 1933.
theater re-opened December 30, 1931. Jack Vukota opened the 1079 Club circa 1938,
The theater owner opened the Vine named because the address was 1079 West First
Theater at First and O streets in 1956 Street (until Livermore overhauled street numberand closed the State in or before 1958. ing in 1959). Vukota sold in 1946 to Gerald
Lafon, who in turn sold to Edward and Bessie
Many dining and drinking establish- Lewis in 1949, then to Joseph F. Genoni in 1954.
ments have been in the Schenone In 2012, "Happy" Singh converted the Livermore
Building. An original tenant was Louis Saloon into The Beer Baron, a craft beer bar.
Pappas, a Greek immigrant who ran a
candy store/ice cream parlor in 1914. In the 1990s, Dunbar's Family Amusement
In the 1920s and '30s, Croce's Fashion Center, a video game arcade owned by Gary J.
Restaurant and Over the Top Dunbar, operated on the lower floor. Its location
Restaurant (damaged in a March 1919
Page 6
December 2014
there was controversial. The
city planning commission
recommended denial of a
conditional use permit in
1990, but the city council
overturned the commission
after
imposing
security,
lighting and other requirements, including, "The Arcade shall not admit students
under the age of 18 during
normal school hours."
The second floor was used as
meeting space for the American Legion and Native Sons
of the Golden West in its
early years. The Eagles met
there in 1937. The Independent
newspaper rented an upstairs
office for 33 years, from its
1963 founding to July 1996.
Susan Ulatoski opened Salon
Tivoli in Nov. 2008. She
explains the building's allure
on her website, "I knew as I
stood there and began to set
my plans for Salon Tivoli at
the
Schenone
building
overlooking the fountains of
downtown Livermore it was
going to be remarkable." The
"living room" area of her
salon highlights the historic
wooden walls and floors.
In 1940, the Louis Schenone
estate transferred the building
to his widow Catherine. The
year 1960 was a turning point
for the Schenone family. The
grocery store across the street
in the McLeod Building remnant closed; Mrs. Robert
Schenone sold the Schenone
Building to W.F. Henderson
Enterprises of Fresno.(Please
share your own stories about
the Schenone Building with
the Guild.) -by Jason Bezis
LHG
RETROSPECTIVE ON LIVERMORE'S COLD WAR-ERA DEVELOPMENT December 2014
Book: Dr. John Shirley Reflects on Dr.'50s
&
'60s
City
Shirley's gregarious nature is
Livermore
experienced
dramatic
growth during the 1950s and '60s.
Population expanded by 268 percent in
the '50s and 135 percent in the '60s.
Decisions about land use and public
works during that era have influenced
the community to the present day.
Dr. John Shirley was a participant in
shaping this dynamic era, first as a
member of the Livermore planning
commission from 1956 to 1958, then
as a city council member from 1958 to
1966, and later as a citizen active in
civic affairs (especially the downtown
railroad consolidation project).
A
veterinarian, he also was a local
business owner.
John Shirley Reminisces: Livermore Political
Activities 1955-1970 is his new book
that discusses his involvement in civic
affairs during those boom years. It is
available for purchase ($7.00) at the
History Center or directly from Dr.
Shirley (phone: 447-2256).
Dr. Shirley's book offers a rare
firsthand retrospective on land use
decisions from the vantage point of a
half-century later. Civil engineering
infrastructure is at the very foundation
of civilization, literally and figuratively,
but it often is overlooked and
underappreciated. Dr. Shirley explains
how water, sewer and road projects
were conceived, planned, financed and
executed to enable Livermore's
residential, commercial and industrial
development. Readers learn the "back
stories" of the geneses of suburban
tracts that are now home to thousands,
such as Springtown and Sunset West.
(For example, he laments the lack of
public parks and the use of wooden
fences along Holmes St. in Sunset
West.) He includes anecdotes about
prominent developer Masud Mehran.
evident in his stories. Among the
most entertaining anecdotes is his humorous plan for a "municipal saloon,"
which might give the reader a chuckle
long after putting the book down.
Dr. John Shirley served on the Livermore Planning Commission and City
Council in the 1950s and '60s. He has
written about his experiences in Livermore government in a new book.
Many of the projects that he worked on
did not come to fruition until years after
he left the Council. He discusses the
planning for the Isabel Avenue highway
forty years before it was built in 2001. He
also discusses the 1960s infancy of what
is now Las Positas College.
The reader also learns about "unbuilt
Livermore," projects that never came to
be, especially a large shopping center
approved, then revoked, in the mid-1950s
fronting East Ave. at 7th to Dolores Sts.
Instead residences were built along that
stretch of East Avenue and a smaller
"Nojet" shopping center (Lucky/Sprouse
Reitz) opened on Pacific Avenue in 1959.
The book would benefit from discussion about the reaction to rapid
growth: school "double sessions" and
the 1970s "slow growth" political
movement/backlash, perhaps best
epitomized by the 1972 SAVE
building moritorium initiative, but
many of those effects occurred after
he left the Council. Also welcome
would be discussion about how his
expertise as a veterinarian influenced
city animal control policy. As rangelands converted to neighborhoods, he
cared for the livestock before and the
pets after. Citations to newspaper articles, court cases and legislative responses in Sacramento would be helpful. Such footnotes could illustrate
that the controversies and innovations
in Livermore's governance during that
formative era had wide resonance
across time and space. They ought
not interfere with Dr. Shirley's
concise, engaging narrative.
This book should be required reading
for current Livermore city officials
and staff members. The League of
California Cities should consider
giving it a wider audience. Burgeoning cities in the Central Valley could
learn from Dr. Shirley's insights conHe is forthright about the lessons that he
cerning "boomtown" decisionmaking.
learned. He also confronts social issues,
including racial integration of housing.
Dr. Shirley also has written a book
The "fallout shelters" section discusses
about his World War II experiences, I
the ultimate Cold War dilemma circa
Remember: Stories of a Combat Infantry1961-62; Livermore, home to nuclear
man, available at the History Center.
weapons designers, engaged in collective
He also has written an article about
action to develop survival plans for a
his childhood in Costa Mesa (Orange
possible World War III
County). -by Jason Bezis
Page 7
Kottinger Barn Remembered
The "Kottinger Barn" is a vanished
landmark along State Route 84, south
of Livermore in "Pigeon Pass." It
stood among the last cluster of trees
on the easterly side of Vallecitos
Road before its crest and descent
toward San Antonio Reservoir.
the door was opened.
The barn no longer stands, but a
few portions of the corral
apparently are still in place. The
S.R. 84 widening project in 200708 involved considerable earthmoving and re-aligned Vallecitos
The Detjens family leased the 178- Road to very near the barn site.
acre Kottinger Ranch from c. 1945 to
c. 1980. Max Detjens (1890-1974) and The late Robert Noble Scott and
son Walter built the corral and wife Maxine moved to Livermore
loading chute. They used the barn to in 1964. He commuted daily past
feed their herd of beef cattle, usually the barn to his job at the General
during winter months. The barn also Electric Vallecitos facility. In 1988,
was used as the staging center for the year that Mr. Scott retired, he
round-ups for branding, innocula- painted "Vallecitos Morning," an
tions, castration and other tasks. art work that the Livermore Public
They sometimes shipped cattle to Library now displays next to the
market from there (a tale about a Civic Center book return slots.
stubborn bull that resisted loading is a Mrs. Scott says that he painted in a
family favorite). Walter Detjens says home studio based upon photos
that flocks of pigeons inhabited the that he took. His work was "reprebarn and often rushed out whenever sentational," not photo-realistic.
"Vallecitos Morning," a 1988 oil painting
by Robert Noble Scott (1926-2001), is in
the Livermore Public Library collection.
She says that he was meticulous with
architectural details, but took artistic license with
some elements.
Margaret Andersen (née Detjens) says that the
delapidated structure to the left of the barn in
the painting possibly was a cream separator
shed. It actually was located thirty or so feet to
the left, outside of the picture frame. -Jason Bezis
Annual membership dues are:
Individual $25.00, Family $35.00,
Senior (age 62+) $15.00, Student
$15.00, Sponsor $75.00 and Patron
$150.00. Life (Individual) $500.00
and Business $300.00 memberships
are also available. Please make
checks payable to "LHG." Mail to
P.O. Box 961, Livermore, CA 94551.
The Livermore Heritage Guild
History Center is located in the
historic 1911 Carnegie Library
building at 2155 Third Street.
History Center hours generally are
Wednesday through Sunday, 11:30
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Phone: (925) 4499927. Free admission.
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED