A heat wave arrived just before the 4th of July, and our Piedmont Recreation Department's Walking on Wednesdays group had a hot morning this week. As you know, we have a "we walk rain or shine" mantra, and we can now add "or excessive heat" to it. However, a good, holiday week turnout of 34 heat-resistant walkers and one K-9 best friend were on hand at the Exedra ready for it.
Lois P and Sherry J reminded everyone that we were walking together in the next day's Piedmont 4th of July Parade. Karin F had asked about the safety of former walker Christine C. She retired last year and returned to her native Grenada in the Caribbean, but "Hurricane Beryl" had done significant damage to its islands. Thankfully, Christine's K family friends reported she is okay. Phil W was asked about his new book on cartooning, Funny Stuff. One last announcement was that Jim K will be leading the walk next week, and will complete his tour of architectural styles in Piedmont that he started last month.
It was hot, so we thought we would take it easy and stay in the central part of Piedmont. We could preview the 4th of July Parade route, see surrounding streets and also our Mesa Avenue assembling spot for the parade.
This was going to be the 57th Annual Piedmont Parade, but it was noted that residents of El Cerrito Avenue had mini 4th of July parades during the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were under the leadership of Mary Ellen S and Dorothy C, my mother. Current Piedmont Parade "Mistress of the Microphone" Patty E and I were kid participants in them.
Going up Highland provided an opportunity to walk past the Piedmont Police Department offices in the lower level of the Veterans Memorial Building. Construction had started the prior week on a new dispatch center with the demolition of the old one. While a short project overview was being given, Police Chief Jeremy Bowers and Mayor Jen Cavenaugh approached the building and us. It was a complete coincidence. They stopped and Chief Bowers gave us a report. He started advocating for a new dispatch center with the City Council three years ago. The old one was the size of a "mid-sized closet," and inadequate for the city's current needs. Piedmont voters approved
Measure F this past March to increase staffing support, and Piedmont's share of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is being used for the construction. Chief Bowers stressed there will be significant safety benefits from this major project that is scheduled to be completed in March 2025.
We thanked the chief, went up Highland Avenue, and stopped in front of the house on the corner. Some more history was shared. This area above Oakland Avenue was a bit of bohemian neighborhood in the early 20th Century. Writers and painters like Jack London and Xavier Martinez lived there. However, before them land developer Frank C. Havens was a resident in the area in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. This house at the corner was built in 1898 and might have been an early office for Havens. It is a wonderful late 19th/early 20th Century Victorian with gables of different sizes and a witch cap roof in the front. Many of the homes in this neighborhood were built soon after the San Francisco Earthquake. After Piedmont became a city in 1907 home construction boomed. These streets were part of Wickham Havens' (Frank C.'s son) Alta Piedmont Track and Alta Heights development. We wondered if Havens' "Alta Piedmont" resulted in later references to "Baja Piedmont" for the streets below Highland.
We went down Highland to Moraga Avenue and up it to Mesa Avenue. Between 21 and 25 Mesa was to be our parade assembling spot in about 24 hours, and we took the attached group photo there. We continued on Mesa to Pala Avenue, and down it to Oakland Avenue for our return to the Exedra. The homes along the way were built from 1906 to 1960, including some with classic cedar shake shingle exteriors.
It was still early when we got to the Valero station, only about 11:40, and while warm, it was not oppressive, so some of us continue on. We did a loop down Highland to Sheridan and Caperton Avenues (there was a giant American flag on a Caperton home), to Hazel Lane and a hidden path to Gilford Road. The top of Piedmont Park was straight ahead, and so was the completion of our 3rd of July walk. More parading was coming the next day.
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