“Richmond has always been a town of big dreams, dreams that always seemed to be just out of reach. Blessed with a long waterfront, it hoped to rival the ports of San Francisco and Oakland. This never seemed to quite happen. The water front remains, and it is to that waterfront that the city has returned its gaze, partly for reasons of good business, but also because it is a beautiful shoreline and increasingly valuable for the enjoyment of its citizens and visitors .In Richmond’s beginning, it seems, are the seeds of its future.”

--Donald Bastin, Richmond historian, from "Images of America: Richmond"

A Brief History of Richmond
Under Spanish and Mexican governance, the current location of Richmond was part of an extensive land grant know as the Rancho San Pablo. The agrarian life of the area continued up to the end of the 19th century, with Mexican ranchers gradually supplanted by subsequent waves of white settlers.

Development of the City began at the beginning of the 20th century, with the arrival of two key industries. Richmond was seen as an ideal terminus for the Santa Fe Railroad, as freight could be shipped from the deep water port at Point Richmond across the Bay to San Francisco. Attracted by newly available access to rail and water transportation, Standard Oil (now Chevron) also located in Richmond at the beginning of the 1900s. During this period of development the navigable channel that separated Potrero Island (where Point Molate is located) from the mainland was filled, creating much of the area now occupied by the railyards and Chevron.

These industries supported slow but steady growth of the City up until the time of World War II. Prior to the war, Richmond had a large Italian population. Italian families owned many of the small businesses of the City, as well as a major canning factory.

World War II brought tens of thousands of workers, mostly from the South, into the City of Richmond to build more than 1,300 ships. Richmond’s shipyards played a key role in America’s victory, and the town’s population more than quadrupled in a two-year period. For the first time, women, blacks, and other minorities were allowed onto factory floors as vitally necessary workers. More than 24,000 temporary houses were built to accommodate workers. After the war, industrial jobs began a precipitous 60-year decline, abandoning WWII workers and their descendants to steadily shrinking opportunities. Temporary housing was bulldozed. Richmond bore the brunt of rapid expansion, followed by equally rapid disinvestment. Many of today’s social and economic conditions can be traced to this history.

Current Conditions
The City of Richmond, particularly those neighborhoods sandwiched between Chevron and the railyards, has one of the highest crime rates in Northern California. In the 1940s and 1950s, Richmond's handsome downtown bustled with nightlife and jazz clubs. Today, large sections are boarded up—its buildings abandoned and collapsing.

Significant economic disparities divide the newer or gentrified neighborhoods along the shore and in the hills from the neighborhoods of the central city. Community leaders worry about the safety of their children and the lack of opportunities to break the cycle of poverty.

At the same time, the City has made significant efforts to reinvest in its future. City Hall, a historical downtown anchor, is undergoing major renovation. The former shipyards are being restored and turned to new uses for businesses and recreation.

The Rosie the Riveter National Monument celebrates the untold story of Richmond’s contribution to the war effort. Green industry is increasingly seen as part of the region’s and the community’s future. The redevelopment of Point Molate is a critical element of the City’s economic development strategy.

The Opportunity of Point Molate
With extraordinary revenue and job projections for the City and its residents, the Project has been conceptualized as a stimulus for ongoing regeneration for Richmond. It includes a comprehensive program of economic linkages between the Project and the City, and the development of numerous community partnerships to support groups working hard to improve conditions in the City and the region. Commitments to target economic opportunities to Richmond residents are detailed in the first-source hiring and living wage provisions of existing formal agreements completed in 2004 between Upstream, Guidiville, and the City.

Beyond these commitments, the project team has initiated a collaborative process with the community to develop workforce preparation plans, so Richmond residents will be ready for the construction and operations jobs as they unfold. The Upstream/Guidiville team will partner with local unions, existing training programs, and non-profit and faith communities to provide workforce development to meet the 40-percent local hiring goal. The Project has committed funds to supplement the existing workforce development programs to prepare local Richmond applicants to meet upcoming job skills and requirements. Preferences will be made for tribal and local vendors and contractors. Strategies to enhance local capacity to participate in construction and vendor programs are being developed by teams of community volunteers and the project team.

In addition to providing direct investment and economic opportunity for Richmond, education will be a key and ongoing part of the Project’s mission. The Project sees at least four key constituencies that it can support through education, including its work force, tribal members, local schools and young people, and guests and visitors (through cultural and ecological tourism).