NEW: Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda, 1921-1999

Uh...California.

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Groceteria
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NEW: Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda, 1921-1999

Post by Groceteria »

I'm excited about this one and quite proud of it. It took twenty years. Here's why:

https://www.groceteria.com/2021/12/08/o ... -bay-area/

The location list:

https://www.groceteria.com/place/califo ... -berkeley/

The map (Alameda County):

https://www.groceteria.com/place/califo ... da-county/

Feedback is most welcome!
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Andrew T.
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Re: NEW: Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda, 1921-1999

Post by Andrew T. »

Congratulations! The San Francisco Bay Area may have lost some lustre over the last 30 years as a place to live, but it's still a unique area with rich history and cultural relevance, and I'm thrilled to see Groceteria be "reunited" with the locale. I salute you for slogging through all those newspapers to get there!

On the Safeway front, I was curious to see if any evidence of the chain's circa-1930 Canadian store design would surface here. Sadly, it did not. A few late-1920s and 1930s stores did have a tinge of tile on the roof edge, though: 2979 MacArthur Blvd, 2436 Sacramento, 2005 San Pablo Ave, 1336 Gilman, 3617 International Blvd, and 5701 Foothill Blvd...which is well worth a look for the windows alone. 1935 73rd Ave had ornate details. But nothing like the Canadian stores.

Some 1963 and 1968 lists of Oakland Safeway locations had came up a couple of years ago, and this feature fleshes out the known locations quite nicely. The updated chart also shines a light on some short-lived Safeways that came and went between 1943 and 1967...and for that, I'm grateful. These include several stores built from the chain's 1940 prototype with striated pilasters: 6537 Foothill Blvd, 780 54th St, and 1536 23rd Ave.

Other than architecture, the other great take-away from the list is how chain grocery development in Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Alameda hit a brick wall after the 1960s. Only six new addresses appear in the 32-year span between 1967 and 1999! Was this due to community opposition, lack of development space, stagnant populations (I know Oakland basically plateaued from 1950 to 2000), or a little of all of the above?
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: NEW: Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda, 1921-1999

Post by TheStranger »

1963 photo of the Montclair Safeway, posted on a mid-century modern group by Chris Rooney.

Imagemontclair safeway 1963 by Chris Sampang, on Flickr
Chris Sampang
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