Keeping History Alive
- Livable El Cerrito
- Sep 18
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 20
About 70 people celebrated the 50th anniversary of the El Cerrito Historical Society on Sept. 13 at the former Contra Costa Florist shop on San Pablo Avenue next to the Hana Gardens senior apartment complex.
Proclamations recognizing the society’s achievements were presented by County Supervisor John Gioia and Harpreet Sandhu, an aide to Congressman John Garamendi. The El Cerrito City Council issued a proclamation late last year.
People who worked to preserve the storybook-style Contra Costa Florist building wanted to use the historic site to inform people about the heritage of Japanese-American families who operated flower shops and nurseries in the area.
Saving a Heritage
The stone building owned by the Mabuchi family was saved once during World War II through the efforts of a neighbor who looked after the building and by locally-owned Mechanics Bank, which handled taxes and loan payments while the family was interned.
In the 2010s, the building was saved again after years of negotiation involving the El Cerrito Historical Society and members of the Japanese American Citizens League. An agreement keeping the shop was finally reached with Hana Gardens developer Eden Housing in 2014.
David Weinstein, former president of the society and now its program manager, said the effort led by Tom Panas was one of the society’s major successes. Signs next to Hana Gardens and stones in the pavement in front of the building describe how Japanese-American flower growers in Contra Costa County were affected by that time in U.S. history.
At the anniversary celebration, local Ikebana teachers Juri Kinoshita and Florence Dakharo Zakharov showed how to arrange flowers in the Ikenobo style. (Ikebana is a school of Japanese floral design; Ikebono is a style of Ikebana, Kinoshita explained.)
Learning from History
Jim Oshima, who grew up in El Cerrito and graduated from El Cerrito High School, said his grandparents immigrated to California from Japan in 1906 “seeking freedom and opportunity.” His family operated a successful floral business for many years, but when World War II came, they were incarcerated. At the same time his uncle served in the U.S. Army in Italy, France, and Germany.
“It’s important that we tell the full picture of history,” Oshima said. “When you hide that history, you can’t grow. You can’t learn from your mistakes…Recently we’ve taken some steps backwards. We need to treat everybody with empathy.”
Rodini House and Development
Another success story involving the historical society is the Rodini house, a Victorian cottage built in 1897 at the corner of Elm and Blake streets. On Sept. 16, the City Council toured the historic house along with a recently completed 14-unit apartment building that is part of the same parcel.
When a developer first purchased the property, the Rodini house was in the middle and plans called for tearing it down and paving over a creek, according to Community Development Director Melanie Mintz. The historical society pushed for keeping the house.
Years later -- developer Harmeet Anand bought the property. He moved the Rodini house to one side of the property and restored it. He also worked with the regional water quality control board to keep the creek, Mintz said.
Howdy Goudy, a member of the city’s Environmental Quality Committee, said he would have liked to see the creek daylighted and restored, but understood the project involved some compromise.
Mintz said a housing project at the site was first approved in 2014 and Anand is the third owner since then.
The Rodini house is vacant, but El Cerrito Planning Manager Sean Moss said his department plans to lease it to a nonprofit group and will develop a process for that.
Weinstein said an agreement with the developer provides funding that will be used to create three metal signs which will discuss the architecture, the Rodini family, and the Italian community in the city. The agreement also provides for some community access.
Developer Anand said it took him three years after buying the project to complete it.
City Council member William Ktsanes said the original plan was for the units to be for-sale condos but the developer is leasing them instead “because the rental market is now stronger than the condo market.” The possibility remains that they could be sold as condos in the future.
Anand said on Sept. 16 that the 14 apartments are now available to rent through Diablo Valley Realty.
The Cerrito Theater
A third preservation success is the Cerrito Theater, now named Rialto Cinemas Cerrito.
Weinstein said in an interview that the historical society’s involvement was brief but important.
In September 2001, Weinstein went to the society’s president requesting support in asking the city to save the art deco movie house built in 1937. By February 2002, Weinstein and others had formed Friends of the Cerrito Theater, which took over fundraising to preserve the building.
As a result, El Cerrito still has the theater at 10070 San Pablo Avenue.
A Relaxing Celebration
At the celebration in the garden behind the old Contra Costa Floral shop, members and interested people chatted and enjoyed refreshments.
Said Laura Lent:,“That was a real feel-good meeting, and those aren’t easy to find these days. I liked the acknowledgement of all the people and all the work they’ve done.”
El Cerrito High graduates Michael Martin, John Gioia, and Jim Oshima recalled old times. Gioia, who was a distance runner, was wearing a Gauchos track and field jacket he found in a thrift store. Martin was a pole vaulter on the team.
Rich Sandvick, who now lives in Santa Rosa, recalled that his grandfather John Sandvick was one of the first city officials in El Cerrito and built a house at 1534 Kearney St. in 1917.
Walter Schweikert, with his wife Lisa Martinengo, told how he made history by becoming a U.S. citizen in a ceremony on Sept. 4. He was still celebrating that milestone.
Current historical society president Jon Bashor introduced El Cerrito High students Zola Grondahl and Elizabeth Patusco, thanking them for their work scanning historical photos stored in the society’s Sundar Shadi Room at City Hall. Shadi and his wife, Dorothy, donated the funding to the city for the history room.
Upcoming Events
Society vice president Meredith McGuire, who started a Yesteryears book club in November 2024, reminded the crowd that the next meeting will be on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Kensington library. The book is Ishi in Two Worlds by Theodora Kroeber. The book talk will be led by Barbara Lass, an anthropology professor at City College of San Francisco and a historical society member.
The society will also host a tour, video, and live presentation on Sunday, Sept. 28, at St. Peter Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, the only African American church in El Cerrito. Society board member Patricia Durham said the free celebration will start at 3 p.m.
Excellent wrap-up of important events in EC, especially the recognition of the Japanese community. Thank you so much, & very nice photos. I did find puzzling, however, the phrase "three metal panels" in relation to the floral shop.