"Isn't it kind of dangerous there?" "Wow, that's a long way from the city!"
Those are just two of the many entertaining comments I get — usually accompanied by a furrowed brow and slight tilt of the head — when I tell new acquaintances where I live. The fact is, lots of people who eat, sleep, and play on the San Francisco side of the bay don't know where the city of Richmond is. They either think the Richmond District — or they don't think at all.
If you fall into either category, don't fret. You're not alone. But Richmond, the "scary" city I share with about 107,000 other people, is packed with history — of shipyards, labor struggles, an old Ford plant, economic and cultural transition, and victorious grassroots progressive politics. And it's not just history that makes the 40-minute trek to Richmond a satisfying, if unlikely, way to spend an afternoon. From its hills to its 32 miles of shoreline, Richmond's a big, vibrant city that buzzes with activity, particularly along the main east-to-west arteries of Barrett and Macdonald avenues, where street art tells its story.
Begin by heading west on Macdonald into downtown. After passing 11th Street, look to your left at the intersection of Harbour Way and you'll see a yellow brick building splashed with colors and scrawled with the messages "Welcome to Richmond," "There is Nothing More Valuable Than an Individual's Life," and "Alive and Free."
Those words, painted by local artist Richard Muro Salazar, refer to the city's rebound from decades of violence and decay. Its worst year was 1990, which saw 61 murders; as recently as five years ago, the FBI listed Richmond as one of the country's top 10 most dangerous cities. But Salazar's murals are part of a revitalized Richmond — one whose murder rate plummeted to a low of 18 last year, and whose majority minority voting population defeated a powerful oil company, Chevron, which spent millions in an attempt to secure city leaders who would rubber-stamp environmental irresponsibility.
Faviola Leyva, who covers politics and education for Richmond Confidential, attributes the city's David-and-Goliath victory over Chevron to unusually strong community involvement. "I've attended numerous city council and school board meetings where seating has reached capacity," she says.
Salazar helped rally that community by unveiling his images, some of which conjure old Miles Davis album covers like On the Corner, during the opening of a nearby green space last spring. "My vision for the mural was to promote the 'rules for living' and to truly portray what's going on right here in Richmond," he told Richmond Pulse while putting final touches to the piece in April 2014.
But Salazar's murals aren't the only images bringing new life to this once-gray city. Continue exploring the neighborhoods between Harbour Way and San Pablo Avenue and you'll see colorful artwork emblazoned on numerous underpasses, buildings, and community centers. A Dia de los Muertos mariachi band is one of a series of scenes which make up the Familias Unidas mural at the Richmond Recreation Complex on Harry Ells Place. On San Pablo, just north of Barrett, an overpass at Interstate 80 welcomes visitors with the word RICHMOND scrawled across its side (and it's not the only bridge touting the city's name); if you travel slowly enough through the underpass, you'll see John Wehrle's "Revisionist History" mural depicting an early native American plopped into the parking lot of a modern-day gas station, his bow and arrow aimed at a bear.
What attracts most people to Richmond may be its stunning shoreline and historical museums, but the soul of the city is in the taquerias, muffler shops, nail salons, and street art that tell the city's story in colors, textures, sounds, and flavors that speak more to the heart than the head.
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