MAY 25 Concord Pioneer 2018 by Pioneer Publishers

IT’S YOUR PAPER

Downtown rallies after massive construction blaze

www.concordpioneer.com

From the desk of...

May 25, 2018

EDi BiRSAn

MAYOR

Listening is one thing, agreeing is another

This story should be told in your best grandfather voice, while rocking back and forth and talking to a young one. “A long time ago in the Old Country, there was a little boy who did not watch when he crossed the road and was hit by a carriage – with his leg being crushed badly. He became lame. He went to the village’s new young priest and Tamara Steiner/Concord Pioneer said: ‘I prayed to God, but I Grateful Alpine Bakery owners Gabriela and Ernst Freitag watched from across the street as firefighters fought to save am still lame. He is not the family owned business from the massive April 25 construction fire that destroyed the adjoining Renaissance apart-

See Mayor, page 14 ments under construction. The business escaped the blaze with fairly minor water damage.

925.672.0500 TAMARA STEINER Concord Pioneer

One month after a massive fire torched a 180-unit apartment building under construction on Galindo Street, a grateful downtown is back to normal. Residents are back in their homes; all streets are open and a diminishing pile of scorched, smelly debris is all that remains of the April 24 blaze that destroyed Legacy Partners’ Renaissance Square Phase 2. The apartments were about 60 percent complete and due to open in late summer. The building is a total loss and damages were estimated at $55 million. The cause is still under investigation. The fast moving fire was first reported at 12:55 a.m. and spread quickly through the wood-framed building. Residents in the Renaissance Square apartments next door had less than 10-minutes to get out before a wall of scaffolding collapsed toward their building, crushing four cars below. With flames shooting more than 100 feet into the air and embers coming down like hailstones, the evacuated residents,

See Fire, page 8

Concord: From small farming town to largest city in county This story is part two of a threepart series leading up to Concord’s 150th birthday celebration.

fevered pace slowed and Concord slipped into a depression. Ship workers left the area, and fewer people were shopping downtown. Agriculture was still the main industry.

KARA NAVOLIO Special to the Pioneer

As Concord’s downtown flourished with new businesses in the early 1900s, the first signs of a real estate boom began in 1910. Robert Noble Burgess, a businessman from San Francisco, purchased 3,700 acres from Foskett & Elworthy’s holdings they had obtained as early settlers to the area. Then, 380 people purchased lots from the Burgess Tract at the eastern end of Concord Boulevard. With the beginning of WWI, the shipyard in Bay

Memorial Day May 28 10 a.m. VFW Traditional Service at the Flagpole, west end of Main St., Clayton

Inside

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Hearts & Hands . . . . . . .2 Community . . . . . . . . . . .4 School News . . . . . . . .14

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Performing Arts . . . . . .16

They came by bridge and Tunnel

Photo courtesy of Concord Historical Society

The Concord Library once sat in Todos Santos Plaza until moving to a new building at Parkside and Salvio in 1958. The original library was built in 1917 with a $2500 grant from the Carnegie Foundation

Point was in full swing building ships, and the workers were looking to build homes in the temperate climate of Concord. At 2 a.m. on April 25, 1917, a fire started at the Concord Inn and spread to adjoining buildings. The fire destroyed

two entire blocks, including Frederick Galindo’s Concord Mercantile Co. However, Concord residents showed their resiliency and rebuilding began. When WWI ended and ship building halted, the

Concord resident Harmesh Kumar envisioned the Diversity Spring Festival as a way to foster harmony, understanding and goodwill among different faith groups. Kumar collaborated with the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County and other faith organizations of the Bay Area to launch the festival. Now in its 15th year, the event was held April 28 at Todos Santos Plaza. The festival showcases the talents and culture of different faiths. “It is an attempt to promote goodness and serv-

ice for humanity without any expectations,” Kumar says. “We know that ignorance breeds misunderstanding and prejudice and it leads to acting out and violence against each other,” he adds. “This was our attempt to bring children and their parents together from different ethnic groups so that we can provide them a venue to get to know each other’s faith and positive contributions they make in making our human race more loving, caring and peaceful in years to come.”

Two events occurred in the Bay Area in the late 1930s that would change Concord forever. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Caldecott Tunnels were completed, making the East Bay more accessible to workers in other parts of the Bay Area. Lewis Lehmer saw an opportunity and opened the first auto sales agency in 1940. During the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, Concord transformed from a small farming town into an important commuter community. In 1940, the popula-

tion was 1,373. By 1970, it was the largest city in Contra Costa County – with more than 85,000 residents. People flocked to Concord for its central location, good climate and flat land near scenic Mt. Diablo. WWII had dramatic effects on Concord. Farmlands were taken for the Naval Weapons Station. In 1942, the Air Force took over land purchased for Buchanan Field. There was a need for housing, and subdivisions replaced orchards, wheat fields and grasslands at a frantic pace. Concord was one of the first cities to build a sewer system. In order to access it, home developers had to annex their property to the city. The city grew not just in population, but in area too – from 9 square miles in 1960 to 24

square miles by 1970. Wanting to preserve their own unique identities, neighboring communities like Pleasant Hill and Clayton voted to incorporate as separate cities so they wouldn’t be annexed by Concord. ciTy manager oversees growTh

As Concord grew, people needed places to shop, more schools, parks and things to do. Farrel A. “Bud” Stewart, city manager from 1960 to 1986, guided the city through this period of incredible growth. The library, which had been housed in Todos Santos Plaza since 1917, was moved to a new building at Parkside and Salvio in 1958. Park & Shop became the first

See History, page 14

Religious diversity on full display at spring fest Kumar notes that the current political situation makes the festival even more relevant. “We at the festival acknowledge and promote nurturing, caring and loving values inherent within all of us,” he says. “It also promotes the same principles of equality and social justice for all as enshrined in the Constitution.” The Sikh religion was founded in 1699 to eradicate discrimination based on religion and caste, race, and social and economic status.

See Festival, page 3

Harmesh Kumar stands with children in festive attire at the Diversity Spring Festival in Todos Santos Plaza.