More than 55 years ago in 1969, after graduating from Kennedy High School in Richmond, I attended Contra Costa College for a year before transferring to UC Davis. As the country’s environmental awareness began to emerge in the early 70’s, students in my Political Science course were assigned to report on local examples of environmental stewardship — good or not.

 While I was clearing out my garage last year, I found that old report— and although not impressed with the quality of my writing or conclusion at the time, I did enjoy the photos (taken from a cheap camera) of the El Cerrito-Richmond area. I ended up discarding the written content of the report, but kept the photos and when they resurfaced again recently, I thought maybe the best place for them might be with the El Cerrito Historical Society — rather than in a drawer in my garage never to be seen again.

I got a decent grade on the report, but as I implied, my conclusions about what was or was not good environmental stewardship were naive and unsubstantiated. For example, I wrote that both the camera shots of the empty quarry (where our Recycling Center now exists) and construction of the support structures for the BART train track, were examples of “bad environmental planning.” Well, we do now know what resulted in that quarry at the end of Schmidt Lane — a world-class recycling center. Also, the completion of our major transit system does provide an alternative for El Cerritans to driving polluting vehicles.

 Ironically, after graduate school, I made my way to Washington, D.C., where I worked for a variety of legislators on Capitol Hill. This included working for Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine, one of my legislative heroes (because of his environmental record). He was chair of the Senate Environmental Pollution Subcommittee with jurisdiction on water, air and toxic chemical pollution. When the mid-seventies environmental movement was in full swing, I was honored to have worked as a speechwriter for the senator and as a legislative assistant on major Superfund legislation after the famous Love Canal episode occurring near Buffalo, New York.

 So, while these photos are the product of a young student just beginning his higher education journey with lots to learn — their real significance today is simply providing an interesting view of a different El Cerrito and Richmond that we know today — hopefully in better environmental shape.

 Paul Fadelli was an El Cerrito city councilmember from 2016-24 and mayor in 2021.

Local Snapshots:
Looking Back Half a Century

By Paul Fadelli

Schmidt Lane leading to the quarry
Some empty lots were still visible on Schmidt Lane on the way to the abandoned quarry.

Albany Hill
On the west side of Albany Hill, trail bike and foot paths predate the high-rise Gateview condominium development now facing Interstate 80.

Keller Beach
Two years before this 1969 photo, the City of Richmond established Keller Beach in Point Richmond. The land was acquired from land owned by the Keller family which also owned a boat harbor on the site. It was easy for me at the time to see the new beach park as an example of good environmental stewardship. 

BART construction
Three years after this photo was taken, BART service officially began. I thought at the time that the mess around this construction site (near the city’s north gateway entrance and what now is the Home Depot) was bad news. Four decades later I would work at BART and better understand the value and difficulties of building transit infrastructure. Note the sign for the once beloved Adachi Nursery — which I visited often. 

The Quarry at the end of Schmidt Lane
Now more than 50 years old, the famous El Cerrito Recycling Center was not even a realistic idea back in 1969. At the time, I thought the quarry was an environmental scar for El Cerrito

El Cerrito Steel
In 1969, El Cerrito Steel was still in business behind St. John Catholic Church on Kearney Street and close to San Pablo Ave. In 2018, the moped company Treatland occupied the vacated steel facility.

Richmond San Rafael Bridge
The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge opened in 1956 — 13 years before this picture was taken, The old car ferry landing still remained. Growing up, almost every Sunday my family would take the ferry to visit relatives in Marin and Sonoma counties.