Vallejo Mourns McKinley

On this day      in 1901, Vallejoans gathered in mourning after the assassin- ation of President William McKinley. McKinley had been shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz after delivering a speech at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York on September 5^th. He died nine days later.  Following the announcement of McKinley’s death, hundreds of Vallejoans formed a public procession that wound through the streets of downtown. The procession was led by members of the Vallejo Police Department, and also included a cavalry detail from the Benicia Barracks, a U. S. Marine Corps unit from Mare Island, a group of Vallejo Civil War veterans and representatives from various local fraternal organizations.

35 Years of Collecting: 1975 - 2010

In 1975 the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum accepted its first official donation: a painting of the original 1927 Carquinez Bridge by artist Julie Polousky. In the succeeding 35 years, our fine art collection has expanded to include paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture and textiles reflecting a broad cross section of works by both local artists and well known regional and national artists. More than 30 of those works are featured in a new exhibit in the Hall of History that continues through October 16th. Most of the works were chosen for their historic themes ranging from submarines to historic architecture to commemorative prints and posters.

Among the works featured in the exhibit are Chinese-American, a bronze sculpture by Beryl McCarthy Wynnyck, created in 1937 as part of the WPA’s Federal Artists’ project; Pipeline Welder, 1928 by Maynard Dixon; Cliff Shadow, Sierra Buttes by Douglass Fraser; USS Wahoo (above), an oil painting of one of Mare Island’s legendary WWII submarines, by Vladimir Shkurkin; Sketch of Mare Island on Aug. 11, ’42 by noted Bay Area watercolorist Dong Kingman; Vallejo-Mare Island Map Series by Roberto Rovira; Carqunez Bridge 50th Anniversary, a limited edition print by Roy DeForest, and many more.

Burning of the State Capitol

August marks the anniver- sary of a significant event in Vallejo's early history. Vallejo served as California's state capital in 1852 and 1853. The capitol building was located near the corner of York and Sacramento Streets - today the location of the new downtown transportation facility. Following the departure of the state legislature to Benicia in 1853, the former capitol building served as a library, meeting hall, and warehouse. In August 1859, the old capitol building was destroyed by fire.

A later newspaper account described the fire:

"At the time of the conflagration, J. B. Frisbie and Burcham had a considerable quantity of hay stowed in the basement. The day before an incendiary attempt on Georgia Street had aroused apprehensions among the citizens, and Mr. Topley and some others who had examined the State House with the possibility of a fire there in view, found evidence of the occupation at night of the place where the hay was stored. They nailed up everything securely so that no access was offered to the hay, and left. It was on the next day after - the morning of August 20, 1859 - that the building burned."

"The flames first broke out on the water side and were seen first by a man in a sloop on the bay. The alarm was given and the people rushed to the spot. But there was no fire apparatus in that day and the building burned to the ground before their eyes."

Following this disaster it became apparent that the community needed better fire protection. Volunteer hose companies were formed in the following years and these companies protected the city until the establishment of a municipal fire department in 1906.

Vallejo's Beer Gardens

Got time to enjoy a nice cool beer on a hot summer day in one of Vallejo's shady beer gardens? One hundred years ago a popular Vallejo gathering spot was Germania Park, shown here in 1895. The park was located on Georgia Street, near present day Wallace and Solano Avenues. The adjacent Cyclodrome was a popular outdoor sports facility. Germania Park was operated by Larry Monreal until about 1915. Another fashionable Vallejo beer garden around the turn of the 20th century was Weniger's Gardens, located on Benicia Road.

USS Daniel Boone

The nuclear submarine USS Daniel Boone (SSBN 629) was launched on this date in 1963 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The ship was the ninth nuclear powered vessel built at Mare Island and the fourth “boomer,” or ballistic missile submarine built there. Altogether Mare Island built seventeen nuclear subs between 1957 and 1970.

USS Daniel Boone was named after the legendary American frontier pioneer and backwoodsman (1734-1820). The sub was one of the Navy's “41 for Freedom,” - Polaris missile-equipped submarines all named after significant figures in U.S. History. Daniel Boone was sponsored by Mrs. Margaret Wakelin, wife of Assistant Secretary of the Navy James H. Wakelin, who delivered the keynote address at the launching. USS Daniel Boone served the U.S. Navy until she was decommissioned in 1994.

1940: Fats Waller Plays in Vallejo

Seventy years ago this week, on June 14, 1940, famed jazz pianist Fats Waller played at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall in Vallejo. “Local dance and music fans,” announced the Vallejo Times-Herald, “will have an opportunity this evening to see and hear one of the country’s out- standing entertaining stars when “Fats” Waller brings his famous orchestra to the Memorial Hall under the auspices of Samoset Tribe of Red Men. The essence of spontaneity in humor, he has an individual style not heard from any other entertainer as he leads his popular dance band.... Dancing will start at 9 o’clock and continues until 1 a.m.”

The Vallejo newspaper promoted the show in almost every edition during the week preceding the dance: “A songwriter of no mean ability, “Fats” is a virtuoso of the piano, organ, violin and a master of ceremonies extra- ordinary. He began his musical career in the choir of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where he also played the organ and his father preached. Over parental objection he accepted an offer to sing and play at Leroy Wilkins’ cabaret where he remained until 1924, doubling occasionally as a theatre organist and making piano rolls for the Q-R-S Company. He next took to the vaudeville stage and started writing music for the show “Keep Shufflin’.” Since then his climb to stardom has been unhalted and today he ranks with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and other swing masters. His appearance here will be a rare treat for dancers and spectators alike.”

Another article described Waller and listed a few of his many well-known compositions: “Just a big, good-natured boy making a living out of fun, with a smile that won’t come off, is “Fats” Waller, the composer, pianist and vocal entertainer who brings his famous orchestra to Memorial Hall next Friday evening…. As a composer he is known for “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “My Fate Is In Your Hands,” “I’ve Got A Feelin’ I’m Fallin’,” “If It Ain’t Love,” “Keepin’ Out Of Mischief Now,” and “Crazy ‘Bout My Baby.” He has also written a number of musical reviews, such as “Connie’s Hot Chocolates,” and “Keep Shufflin’.” Waller is recognized as the most outstanding rhythmic pianist in the popular field today.”

Waller, who died in 1943, was just one of the many famous Swing and Big Band era musicians to play in Vallejo during the 1930s and 40s.

Carquinez Bridge Opening - May 21, 1927

May 21, 2010 marks the 83rd anniversary of the opening of the Carquinez Bridge. The bridge spanned the Carquinez Straits between Vallejo and Crockett and completed the first direct highway link between San Francisco and Sacramento. The bridge had been the brainchild of Aven J. Hanford and Oscar H. Klatt, operators of the Rodeo-Vallejo Ferry Company. The growth of automobile traffic had caused a ten-fold increase in the number of vehicles using Hanford and Klatt’s auto ferries in the five years from 1918 to 1923. The need for a bridge across the Straits became obvious and the two partners formed the American Toll Bridge Company to undertake the project.

Ground was broken in 1923 and construction took four years. The new bridge was described at the time as a “majestic masterpiece of engineering” and was heralded as the world’s largest highway bridge. When it was finally completed in 1927, the total length of the new bridge was 4,482 feet and the main support towers stood 325 feet above the water. 14,000 tons of steel were used in the project and five steel workers lost their lives during construction.

On March 19, 1927, the final section of the span moved slowly up the Carquinez Strait on barges. Massive counterweights were suspended from the already completed portions of the bridge and were slowly filled with sand. As the counterweights eventually increased to 750 tons each, the span was slowly hoisted on cables into position. This spectacular engineering feat was completed in less than an hour.

Two months after the final span was lifted into place, the Carquinez Bridge officially opened. Thousands of people attended the ceremony on May 21, 1927. The governors of four states - California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada - were on hand for the dedication. The great celebration was nearly eclipsed by other momentous news, shouted by newsboys hawking their afternoon papers on the bridge. American pilot Charles Lindbergh had reached Paris, completing the first solo trans-Atlantic airplane flight.

Following WWII, California’s population continued to boom. The nation’s interstate highway system expanded in response to America’s increasing dependence on the automobile. In 1958, a second bridge was built across the Carquinez Straits, parallel to the 1927 span. After the war the toll for crossing the original bridge had been eliminated, but when the new eastbound span opened on November 25, 1958, tolls were reintroduced at 25 cents per car.

In 2003 a new westbound span opened and the original 1927 bridge was demolished. Several pieces of the original 1927 bridge were identified as historical artifacts and are now housed at the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.