Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 22

2 METRO THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE LOCAL SUNDAY January 14 2007 Preservationist recalls service in defense Annalee ALLEN LOCAL PRESERVATIONIST Naomi Schiff is stepping down as president of Oakland Heritage Alliance SchitTs loft for a key scene 1 wanted an office that looked out on a BART stop so last summer we made way for the crew to During her years as alliance presl 7 dent Schiff counts passage of Measure DD and the proposed redesign of the 12th Street bridge among the successes After the 1989 earthquake another historic affordable housing apartment building was threatened with demolition used lessons learned from the Metcalf House and worked collabora tlvely with other community organlza tions to save the Madison Street she said to the preservation tax credits and federal funds for affordable housing the building was successfully rehabbed and retrofitted" She also is proud of the work to save the 16th Street train station and intends to keep working on issues such as finding a new use for the Ninth Avenue Terminal year OHA re ceived the award for Its Summer Walking Tours Series I am very proud pf that as Oakland Heritage Alliance's new president Is former Chicagoan Valerie Garry is going to do a great Job She has an impressive historic preservation background and I know OHA is going to continue to tap into enormous wealth of citizen ideas and Schiff says Garry's first order of business is to seek out this Partners In Preser vation honorees are looking for nominations of projects companies individuals or Garry says encounters with devel opers threatening to tear down one of i the former mansions long ago converted Into units in her Adams Point neighborhood house built In 1909 was home to Victor Metcalf a prominent Oaklander in his day who served as secretary of the Navy In President Theodore Roose The home was designed by then prominent architect Walter Mathews Metcalf was and In the weeks and months after the city and taking photographs of the old buildings I saw everywhere" she said She remembers landmarks like the ox Theater and the I Magnin Building the little corner post office on 15th Street with Its quirky tower the cobalt blue floral depot building and the multi tiled Howden Building on Webster Street Another favorite was the elegant now demolished Grey Shoppe on Broadway an art deco marvel the way the buildings looked how they lent character to downtown" she recalled During SchifT first years as a graphic artist her studio also was her living space fl lived in a scries of flats apartments in older buildings be cause they were what was affordable at the time I grew to appreciate the im portancc of the availability of cheap housing and keeping older structures intact for low income a She well remembers one of her first Broadway" she said 1996 we 3 moved to a larger space a converted savings and banking building with in tcrcsting classical Their current loft space also looks out on both Broadway and Telegraph TER THREE years as president of the Oakland Heritage Alliance longtime local preservationist Naomi Sehili is stepping down' She Intends to stay active and on the board of the thousand member non profit organization which has been safe guarding older buildings and touting the history since 1981 Schiff with Lorrie ink and hus band Randall Goodall owns a graphics design firm located in a i 1920s commercial building in down town Oakland She spent some time this week reflecting on coming to the Bay Area fighting neighborhood pres ervatlon battles and spearheading the alliance's progress into its third decade I first came to Oakland in 1974 1 spent a lot of time exploring' the 1906 earthquake according to the nistory lues He received praise ior ms accurate assessments of die catas trbphe and in an era predating modern communications Metcalfs direct line into the White House helped bring much needed relief from Wash ington to the Bay Area fellow neighbors and I formed a neighborhood group to try and fight city says Schiff had to learn the rules as we went along We held countless garage sales to raise money for legal fees and attended countless planning commission and city council meetings" During the fight which generated many a headline the determined group researched the neighborhood and the history eventually publishing a booklet about Metcalf and" his accomplishments wanted thehuildlng preserved not just for lbs historic character and associations but so that the tenants living there would not lose their homes" which she views out her window I fee Applications are available online at (J can finally stop worrying about how wwwoaklandheritageorg or by calling in COVP tr hn cnvci urtih Inurfh tneUHAoiliceat 703 9210 Tills Thejptqducers of the new movie year's Partners In Preservation will be selected announced in March 77mS77'' 7 for historic houses at Alameda Point In the end the Metcalf House was saved but ended up being moved to a lot by the 1 980 freeway was a mixed victory but we learned a lot" Not long after that Schiff Joined Oakland Heritage Alliance and other like minded residents from all over the With restoration work under way on city who wanted to use preservation the ox Theater across the street itacucs to neip revitalize the earlv 1980s Randall and I had our first office upstairs in an older to save she says with a laugh uununig on me snort diock01 i ztn Street between Telegraph and 7 HOUSES from Metro 1 and what There may be Honda in stock at an especially low special 0 AM finanai 'No Haggle price mis offer is new 2007 Pibts or or his part Rutter said he plans to stay Involved as the city nears finding a developer Garcia Sinclair Is chairman and CEO of CyberTran Interna tional an Alameda transit com pany that is part of the United World Infrastructure team He also happens to live on the old base In the House mind is certainly open to preserving the Big Whites" he said draw up his own plans to relo cate the Big Whites so they 3 would be placed on smaller lots and take up less space Such a move would also i solve the problem that the homes fornow are in a flood plain (If new housing units re place the Big Whites the land would likely be elevated to pro 11755 San Pablo Ave hoivda hondaelcerritocom customers told us that prices make the car buying experience easy EL CERRITO CA Due to the incredible response we received last year when this sales strategy ran Honda of El Cerrito will again offer each new or years he and others have advocated saving many of the historic structures at the former Air Station now called Alameda Point The city is currently weighing the qualifications of five devel opers who would like to build on Alameda Point after an orig i Inal development group aban 4 doned its plans for the base In September The prime development obst acles at Alameda Point are the price of the 700 acre site $1085 million andcontaml nation left in the soil by years ofNavy use But the developer who is eventually selected may also face battles over which buildings are i ultimately preserved and which 1 are torn down' Indeed the original developer called Alameda Point Com munity Partners a group that included Centex Homes and Shea Homes listed the mands being made upon the project by the historic preserva tlon community as one ol its terrific selection of colors and options That's why this special test marketing effort is so important to us Also right now Honda of El Cerrito is offering (Tib AM financing on all 9007 Pikh PiXvklinAt Odysseys and Elements tect against a 100 year storm) 7 Rutter said his idea got little traction A he said wanted to tear them all He may have more luck in the future One person who said entertain the Idea of pre serving the old homes is Neil Garcia Sinclair tlon and storage facilities Debbie Potter the base reuse and redevelopment man ager said the historical preser vatlon aspect of Alameda Point Is considered an for developers By that she means members of the City Council may ulti mately decide on preserving more structures than would be preserved in the preliminary space for new homes or shops' and therefore a lower rate of i return for a developer 1 Mayor Beverly Johnson said i a compromise must be reached personal preference is al ways on the side of historical she said there has to be a balance with reasons for abandoning the project The primary reason was the downturn In the housing rriarket Under current plans many structures such as the Ad House the Main Admin istration building (now used for city offices) and numerous han gars would be saved for reuse Others such as the Big Whites would be removed A so called preliminary design con plans That could mean less cept wmen is not a binding doc ument envisions replacing the Big Whites with 120 new two story residential buildings All to the dismay of people like Rutter think they're salvageable" he said In all 52 of 80 buildings within a historic district at the what will work economically base would be saved six addi tional buildings were previously more of an opportunity for approved for demolition and an reuse at some of the existing other was destroyed by fire In i buildings That's something we can look at but it has to be eco Other notable buildings that nomlcally viable" would be removed Include the or his part Rutter said he Bachelor Officers Quarters the massive Naval Air Rework a cillty and additional admlnlstra 7 i He once went so far as to GENERAL Open to ALL job seekers Opportunities in areas such as sales management retail customer service underwriting loan processing banking administration and more is We can help anyone in any situation drive home in a new Honda Upside down in a car want a lower APR or iusf simolv need lower 2007 Hoedo CR EX 4WD Right now Honda of El Cerrito can offer 0 AM short term financing on all 2007 Honda trucks in stock Enjoy 0 AM on all Pilots Ridgelines Odysseys and Bring your experience and resume to the Contra Costa Times Career air Meet and talk with potential local companies 7 looking for qualified applicants 7 or a list of participating companies see our ad in the Contra Costa Times Employment Section Sunday January 14 and Monday January 15 2007 Honda of El Cerrito is located at 11755 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito Just minutes from the Bay Bridge off the Potrero Road exit on the 80 reeway or call us now at 8M 3040000 or visit us on the web at hondaelcemtckxom oitctmoio We want to make the car buying experience very easy No muss No fuss Simply stop by the dealership or call our special lNo Haggle hotline at 8M3040000 and inquire about the specific model you are looking for receive our incredibly low price sign me papers and drive off in your new Honda No money down no down payment needed just sign and drive off period No Haggle price I his otter is availablelTom January 11 17 2007 According Io Lyle Nick General Manager at Honda of El Cerrito we made No Haggle pricing available to the public last sAZvr Al If 1 1 fLmw Jrwwl i VUI VUutvIllGI 3 was overwhelmingly positive Our customers told us that Haggle prices make the car buying experience very easy No muss No fuss Our No Haggle approach is straight forward and simpler continued Mr Nick one price strategy is not limited to a select number of vehicles Our entire inventory will be attractively priced to accommodate this sales auenf Tkie tinll kz Jrt zia! ft tumn UVVIII IIHJ Trill NJ UIII 3IUII our 2007 sales year "This special priang is not limited to a few vehicles every new 2007 more vehicles we sell the more Accord Civic Hybrid Element CR vehicles we will receive from Honda Odyssey minivan Ridgeline truck and This will ensure a high inventory level Pilot SUV in slock is available at No of hard Io find models like the new Haggle prices said Nick 2007 CR and allow our customers a IIMMMMiMMH ADVERTISEMENT PUBLIC NOTICE Bay Area Honda Dealer Test Markets Special One Price Strategy With 0 APR inancing Monday January! 5 2007 11:00 am 5:00 pm i (Closed from 2:003:00 pm) Hilton 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