In a gentrified Bay Area, the former ‘Rottenest City’ fights to preserve its history | East Bay Times

In a gentrified Bay Area, the former ‘Rottenest City’ fights to preserve its history | East Bay Times

By Will McCarthy

Emeryville’s Oaks Card Club has been in Cole Tibbets’ family for over a century. He has memories of coming into the card room as a kid with his dad, hearing stories about the guys who lived in the boarding house-style apartments on the top floor. He’s now the manager, greeting regulars as they approach the front door, but he’s worked every job in the building.

“I learned to play poker before I knew how to read,” Tibbets said.“It was part of the fabric of my life growing up.”