Point Richmond, Richmond, California

Point Richmond or simply The Point is a neighborhood in southwestern Richmond, California near the eastern end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, between Interstate 580 and the San Francisco Bay. Its compact size and many historic buildings give it a quaint "small town" feel. The Point Richmond Historic District has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

Point Richmond was Richmond's central downtown area from the late 1800s until the early 1900s, when the present downtown superseded it as the busiest part of town. Since then, its trademark "mom-and-pop" shops have survived and only one chain retail outlet has established itself, a Starbucks store.

There is a large hill on three sides. Many houses, which include historic Victorians, offer a view of the bay. Many of the area businesses are housed in century-old buildings dating back to before the founding or incorporation of the town. The Plunge is a local landmark swim center, now closed for a seismic upgrade and remodeling. The nearby hill is Nickoll Knob, which is part of the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline. There is a tunnel through this hill named the Ferry Point tunnel, since trains used to drop passengers off here to continue on to San Francisco by ferry. The area on the bay side of the tunnel is known as Brickyard Cove. The Cove is home to Keller Beach, one of the several publicly accessible beaches in Richmond, and the adjacent area features a large picnicking and biking park area. Continuing along the road is Brickyard Cove a housing development in the area of a former brickyard. Nearby, at the end of Canal Boulevard is the S.S. Red Oak Victory ship in former WWII Kaiser Shipyard 3, which is part of the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park; it is a restored Victory ship built in the city during World War II.

Further along lies Brickyard Cove and the Richmond Yacht Club, one of many marinas in the city. There are condominiums and brand new luxury tract homes terraced into the hills as well as homes built over the water on piles along two spits. The condo's amenities include a swimming pool, tennis court, sauna, and spa.

Point Richmond's shoreline was the location of a convert|20|ft|m|sing=on beached grey whale calf in May, 2007 [cite news
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/25/BAG6RQ1AKI1.DTL
title=Young whale washes up in East Bay
date=May 25 2007
publisher=San Francisco Chronicle] , the source of considerable odor in the area. After a delay in obtaining permits and disputes over who would pay, the carcass was towed out to sea. [ [http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_6085645 Beached whale's carcass to be towed to sea for burial] , retrieved June 7, 2007] [ [http://www.nbc11.com/news/13463810/detail.html CoCo County Pays $18K To Remove Whale Carcass] , retrieved June 7, 2007] [ [http://www.nbc11.com/news/13463810/detail.html CoCo County Pays $18K To Remove Whale Carcass Red Tape Leaves Whale Carcass Off Pt. Richmond] , retrieved June 7, 2007] [cite news
url=http://www.nbc11.com/news/13463810/detail.html
title=Tug Tows Whale Carcass Out To Sea
publisher=NBC News
date=June 8 2007]

Transportation

It is served by AC Transit line [http://www.actransit.org/maps/schedule_results.php?ms_view_type=1&maps_category=2&maps_line=72M&map_submit=Get+Schedule&current_schedule=ALL 72M] , which terminates in Point Richmond, and by Golden Gate Transit's commuter route 42 and express route 40 to San Rafael Transit Center in Marin County. There was previously shuttle service on line 374 to the Richmond Ferry Terminal until it ceased operations in 2001. In addition to express transbay bus service to the San Francisco Transbay Terminal along route LD, there was also service directly to El Cerrito del Norte BART from Point Richmond and Brickyard Cove on line 79, but these routes were removed due to funding cuts.

Controversies

There was a great controversy in 2002 over a proposed and eventually built Starbucks coffeehouse in the neighborhood's downtown area. Many residents feared that the opening of a corporate chain store would dampen a much loved way of life and cherished independent "mom and pop" commercial sector.

There was considerable neighborhood opposition to the relocation of the Point Richmond library in 2007 when it was to be remodeled and reopened (it had been closed since 2004 due to budget issues). Instead, the city's planning commission wanted to tear it down and move it to nearby rental space so that the surrounding empty lot could be turned into a Marin County-style town square. The public vehemently rejected this at a neighborhood meeting and the committee dropped its plans. [ [http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/article.cfm?issue=05-18-07&storyID=27083 Point Richmond Council Opposes Tearing Down Library] , Contra Costa Times, by Geneviève Duboscq, retrieved May 25, 2007]

There was also controversy over a T-Mobile cellular tower that was installed on Water Street atop an apartment building. Point Richmond residents claimed the property owners did this without proper public notice. [cite news
url=http://www.berkeleydaily.org/article1.cfm?archiveDate=08-17-07&storyID=27788
title=Richmond Activists Fight Cell Phone Antenna Installation
date=August 17 2007
publisher=Berkeley Daily Planet]

References

External links

* [http://www.pointrichmond.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.pointrichmond.com/pointmolate/index.htm Richmond Delays Pt. Molate Deal]
* [http://www.pointrichmond.com/prnc/index.html Point Richmond Neighborhood Council]
* [http://www.pointrichmondhistory.org/ Point Richmond History Association]
* [http://www.cccpointrichmond.com/index.html The Coalition of Concerned Citizens of Point Richmond] development lobbyists
* [http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=37918777&x=-122389841&z=15&l=0&m=a Wikimapia aerial view]
* [http://cd-01a.global.ctcsg.no-ip.com/PtPinoleLandmark.txt Landmark Site text] and [http://cd-01a.global.ctcsg.no-ip.com/PtPinoleLandmark.jpgLandmark Site photo]