The Emeryville Historical Society Launches Greenway Walking Tour
Following the success of our first-of-its-kind Park Avenue District walking tour, we’ve launched a second tour along Emeryville’s cherished Greenway.
The Emeryville Greenway is a “rails-to-trails” success story that converted parts of a Southern Pacific interurban passenger and freight line into a walkable and bikeable path that runs the length of the city.
This 1.5-mile, self-guided walking tour details 26 stories behind the existing brick and concrete buildings and other razed structures. These stories hearken back to the city’s founding and industrial past and more contemporary stories spotlight the city’s development and growth.
The tour begins behind the former Marchant Building in the “Three Corners” neighborhood, where Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland adjoin. It ends in the Park Avenue District in the city’s southern portion near the gorgeous new Huchiun Park. The tour can be taken from either end of the city.
Research and writing for the tour were done in tandem by EHS Creative Director Rob Arias and EHS Co-Founder and President Donald Hausler. Arias lent his talents in Graphic Design to create a cohesive experience that includes physical signage, printed tour maps, and website graphics.
“Every time I travel the Greenway, I wonder if all the people coming to and from the Berkeley Bowl or wherever are aware of what this path used to be?” said Arias. “We wanted to provide them the means of satiating their curiosity.”
“We dug deep into our research for this project, and I’m hopeful that those who take the tour will learn something new about the city,” provided Hausler. “These are stories we’ve long wanted to capture and thankfully we finally did.”
The optimal way to take the tour is in person through the PocketSights app (available on both Apple and Android stores) as the app will direct you to each spot through your device’s location awareness feature. It can also be taken “a la carte” by scanning the QR codes on each mounted sign along the way or “virtually” from the comfort of your own home.
Each stop contains a narrated audio clip that can be listened to while walking the path.
Points of interest on the tour include long-departed titans of industry like The Marchant Calculating Machine Company, The Donut Corporation of America, Pacific Manifolding Book Company, and International Harvester.
It also contains still-thriving businesses that made their mark in Emeryville including Rheem Manufacturing, Shell Oil, Kaiser and JT Thorpe.
Funding for the tour was provided through the City of Emeryville Community Grant program and selected by a special sub-committee. Emeryville’s legendary Townhouse and The Public Market Emeryville both contributed financially to bring this tour to life.
The EHS is hoping to do some in-person guided tours for Historical Society Members in partnership with local businesses like the Townhouse later in the Spring.
Printed maps for the tour can be picked up at The Townhouse, as well as the Emeryville Civic Center lobby, The ECCL, and the Emeryville Senior Center. They can also be printed from the tour web page.
