Richmond Annex or The Annex is a neighborhood in southeastern Richmond, California. It is mostly residential and located between
San Pablo Avenue/
El Cerrito to the east,
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water f ...
to the west, Central Avenue/
Cerrito Creek
Cerrito Creek is one of the principal watercourses running out of the Berkeley Hills into San Francisco Bay in northern California. It is significant for its use as a boundary demarcation historically, as well as presently. In the early 19th ce ...
/
Albany Hill
Albany Hill is a prominent hill along the east shore of San Francisco Bay in the city of Albany, California. Geologically, the hill is predominantly Jurassic sandstone, carried to the western edge of North America on the Pacific Plate and scra ...
/
Albany/
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...
to the south, and Potrero Avenue/
Pullman to the north. Carlson Boulevard is the main thoroughfare through the annex, connecting
downtown Richmond
Downtown Richmond is the central business district of Richmond, Virginia. It is generally defined as being bound by Belvidere Street to the west, I-95 to the north and east, and the James River to the south. The Fan district borders it to the ...
with downtown
El Cerrito.
In the segment of San Pablo Avenue that forms the boundary between Richmond and El Cerrito, the buildings on the western side (which are in Richmond Annex) have an El Cerrito postal address and their occupants are sometimes mistakenly described as being in El Cerrito, such as El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company and Down Home Records (formerly
Arhoolie Records
Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was founded ...
).
According to a local history written down by Fay Breneman circa 1941, "The land now known as Richmond Annex was farmed by the Conlon Brothers." The 1894 map showing the final verdict in Emeric V. Alvarado shows the entire Annex as the property of William Meyer (written on map as "Wm. Meyer"). It was annexed by the City of Richmond on September 26, 1926, after a 13-12 vote on whether to join Richmond or El Cerrito. In recent years, Richmond Annex has been home to the
Pacific East Mall
Pacific East Mall is an Asian mall in Richmond, California. It is owned by Pacific Infinity Company Incorporated.
History
The mall opened in 1998 in Richmond's Annex neighborhood, directly adjacent to the borders of El Cerrito and Albany, at ...
, a large collection of Chinese stores, the largest of its kind in the East Bay.
Other significant landmarks include: The Richmond Annex Senior Center, which was a firehouse from 1937-1976, and Huntington playground Park.
The residents have also rallied successfully for a cell phone tower to not be built, had major input on the Carlson boulevard Interstate 80 overpass mural, and kept Fairmont elementary school in neighboring
El Cerrito from being closed.
Richmond Annex Neighborhood Council
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References
External links
{{coord, 37.909, -122.312, region:US-CA, display=title
Neighborhoods in Richmond, California