I spent two nights in this central coast county seat and spotted a few sidewalk stamps. These are arranged roughly old to new.
Morganti is attested in a newspaper piece in 1909, a pair of brothers. Presumably one of them used this stamp later than that.
It’s odd, and probably a coincidence, that Oakland’s Frank “Borax” Smith was named Francis Marion Smith.
The next three are WPA work, from the Depression years.
A worthy destination for sidewalk freaks.
709 Broadway
Andrew J. McNicoll started his elevator company in 1886, in San Francisco, and the company was acquired by the Otis Elevator Co. after the 1906 earthquake. That year, Otis, McNicoll and seemingly every other elevator company in America were involved in a historic district court case in which the companies agreed to compete honestly in the elevator business. It established a precedent, for better or worse, of settling disputes by consent decrees instead of expensive trials that can unearth embarrassing facts, like guilt.
McNicoll’s steel was handsome and sturdy, although the elevator, which once served the building hosting the Have a Heart dispensary, probably doesn’t work any more.
819 Paramount Road
I finally deciphered this one. The “27” could still be the day of the month, though. Short of a lidar scan it’s the best I can do.
1600 Franklin Street
This access cover sits right outside the big AC Transit headquarters building, where it protects the fiber optic connections. I’ve passed over it for years, but today I noticed that the two S’s on the lid are backwards. The manufacturer responsible for the error, Alhambra Foundry Co. Ltd., was founded in Southern California in 1923, but after a century’s existence was swallowed up in 2022 as part of a relentless acquisition drive by the private multinational metalworking firm EJ Group. Alhambra’s shortcomings are also evident in the firm’s former website, preserved on archive.org.
1321 Acton Street, Berkeley
Frank Salamid, sidewalk maker of endless variety, stamped the date day-first in May and month-first in December.
1211 Curtis Street, Berkeley
This whole block is full of 1922 stamps and this one exception.
4317 Salem Street, Emeryville
A fine, crisp example from this year, including the union bug.
Oakland Underfoot 