Sidewalk maker: F. C. Vieira

26 November 2025

Frank Coelho Vieira (1885-1940) first appears in the newspapers in 1926 as a “sewer and cement contractor,” at this address, where city directories show him living there, with his wife Ida (Fereira) and children, as early as 1912 and into the 1930s. They had at least three children. He was born in Portugal, like many Oakland Portuguese-Americans, but Ida was Hawaiian Portuguese, like many others. He’s buried in Hayward at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

His stamps are few. I’ve documented dates from 1935 to 1938.

1937 – J. Kemble

16 November 2025

7558 Greenly Drive

Kemble drew the date underneath, rather than inside the stamp here.

1906 – G. W. Werner

11 November 2025

2118 Eighth Street, Berkeley

A definitive double stamp from this obscure, long-gone maker.

D.J.

6 November 2025

480 23rd Street

“09.25.30–05.17.09”

Out of town: Los Angeles, California

31 October 2025

305 N. Harbor Boulevard

Right near the San Pedro cruise-ship berths, way down at the edge of this huge city, I found proof of concept that L.A. has sidewalk stamps.

Out of town: San Diego, California

24 October 2025

1109 Pacific Highway, San Diego

I was only in town for a few hours and didn’t get far from the cruise ship, but here was a stamp from Diversified Minerals Inc. (DMI) right by the pier. I’ve been to San Diego before and knew there’s a wealth of stamps there, some of them quite old and preserved by city ordinance. But this was the one my camera caught.

1912 – Esterly Con. Co.

15 October 2025

804 Allston Way, Berkeley

A different configuration of the same date by this maker.