22Mar 2015 by adamgillitt
The Year in Review

The Year in Review

Alameda Museum News, Meyers House News, News
As a part of our Annual Luncheon yesterday, Board member Jim Smallman created a presentation highlighting some of the accomplishments, achievements and advances at both the Meyers House and the Alameda Museum in the past 12 months, including repairing the fence and carriage house at the Meyers House, a new furnace at the Museum and much, much more. Download a copy (in PDF format) by clicking here.
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21Oct 2014 by adamgillitt
Museum Archive Inspires Local Author

Museum Archive Inspires Local Author

Alameda Museum News, News
[caption id="attachment_1712" align="alignleft" width="300"] Julia Park Tracey reading The Great Gatsby. Credit: Ed Jay[/caption] Alamedan Julia Park Tracey will hold a launch party in the Art Gallery of the Museum Friday, January 9, 2015, 7:00- 8:30 pm, for her new novel, set in a fictional version of Alameda: "San Pedro Island." The book is based on an old photo from the Alameda Museum showing early settlers digging up the shell mound on the island. It features Veronika Layne, a sassy tattooed, twenty-something newspaper reporter, who stumbles upon a big story — and has to beat deadlines as well as real estate developers before they destroy native burial grounds, all while mismanaging her love life. The launch party will feature a reading from the novel and a talk about the role…
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17Sep 2014 by adamgillitt
Shaken, Not Stirred

Shaken, Not Stirred

Lectures, News
How did you fare during the August 24 quake that shook us awake at 3:30 that morning? Did you ever wonder what it was like to be in largest earthquake ever unleashed by the Hayward Fault? Author and historian Richard Schwartz will offer riveting first-hand accounts of people who lived through the October 21, 1868 earthquake on the Hayward fault. It measured 6.8; the recent temblor clocked in at 6.2… [caption id="attachment_1692" align="aligncenter" width="768"] A mill in Hayward was destroyed by the 1868 earthquake on the Hayward fault. Seismologists believe that this fault is due any time for another major eruption of similar magnitude. (source: UC Berkeley Sunsite)[/caption] Schwartz will use many photos and illustrations to illustrate what happened in the Bay Area before, during, and after the 1868 Hayward…
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28Aug 2014 by adamgillitt
Alameda: Troop 78 Boy Scouts honored at Meyers House

Alameda: Troop 78 Boy Scouts honored at Meyers House

Meyers House News, News
ALAMEDA -- The Meyers House hosted a flag-raising ceremony Aug. 17 to honor the Boy Scouts from Troop 78 and adult volunteers for removing a huge water storage tank on the property and restoring a flagpole. George Gunn, curator of the Alameda Museum, had approached volunteer Carl Ramos about the tank and flagpole. Ramos then contacted Assistant Scoutmaster Steve Ramos, who involved Boy Scout Troop 78, which is chartered through St. Philip Neri Church. Carl Ramos and his grandsons, Nathan, Zach and Ian Ramos, restored the flagpole. Work on removing the water storage tank from the Carriage House of the Meyers House began in July 2013 and was completed in November 2013. Working in pairs, the Scouts took shifts using a torch to cut the tank into small pieces for…
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20Aug 2014 by adamgillitt
Flag Raising Ceremony Photos

Flag Raising Ceremony Photos

Meyers House News, News
Scouts from Troop 78 raised a historic flag in the garden of the Meyers House Museum.  The ceremony was a celebration of the original 1897 flagpole, restored by Alameda Museum volunteer Carl Ramos and his grandsons.  Legions in vintage clothing took part, as did Mayor Marie Gilmore, historian Woody Minor, and officers from both the Police and Fire Departments. Delightfully garbed in Victorian costume, Jim Smallman was the M.C. Below are  photos from Museum Board President, Judith Lynch and Museum Director and Meyers House Committee Chairman, Charlie Howell. Click on any of them to enlarge. [gallery link="none" ids="1681,1679,1653,1642,1643,1644,1645,1646,1647,1648,1649,1650,1651,1652,1654,1655,1656,1657"]
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28Jul 2014 by adamgillitt
Flag Raising at the Meyers House

Flag Raising at the Meyers House

Meyers House News, News
Celebrate Sunday August 17, 2-3:30PM at the historic Meyers House and Garden, 2021 Alameda Avenue, where a rejuvenated 19th century flagpole will be inaugurated and local Boy Scouts will be honored. The Colonial Revival home is owned and operated by the Alameda Museum, whose curator, George Gunn, and board members have embarked on a capital campaign to underwrite much needed preservation, maintenance and upgrading. Their current project is to save the original carriage house, which will be open for hard-hat tours that day. See for yourself how near the structure is to collapsing and please bring cash or your checkbook. The Boy Scouts of Troop 78 will raise the flag at 2:30PM. Then light refreshments in the Victorian manner will be served, in keeping with the 1897 vintage of the…
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27Jun 2014 by adamgillitt
Raising Funds to Save Carriage House

Raising Funds to Save Carriage House

Meyers House News, News
At 115 years old, the carriage house at the Myers House & Garden on Alameda Avenue is showing its age. The makeup applied to the outside of the structure and its new roof hides the fact that the fragile building is, well, falling apart at the seams. [caption id="attachment_1618" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Alameda Museum curator George Gunn shows the ivy that intrudes on the interior of the carriage house at the Meyers House & Garden. Photo by Dennis Evanosky.[/caption] The cornice is rotted, allowing plants to intrude into the structure,” said Alameda Museum curator George Gunn, who is spearheading a fund drive a restore this small, but important part of the Meyers House and Garden’s property. Daylight intrudes into the building in places it shouldn’t, betraying just how fragile the building…
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19Jun 2014 by adamgillitt
George Gunn Accepts Heritage Award for Meyers House and Garden

George Gunn Accepts Heritage Award for Meyers House and Garden

Meyers House News, News
The elegant Saint Francis Yacht Club welcomed California Heritage Council (CHC) members Thursday evening June 12 for their Annual Awards Dinner. Alameda’s Meyers House and Garden received one of the six prestigious awards, presented by John J. Hodges, Honorary CHC Board Chair. Museum Curator George Gunn, who accepted the award in front of an audience of several hundred CHC members, including a contingent of Alameda Museum people. The Alameda group included Jeannie Graham, whose 1897 Colonial Revival home received an award from the CHC last year. Steve Aced and Jim Smallman, both Meyers House Committee members, also attended. [caption id="attachment_1543" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Curator George Gunn (second from right) receives the award for the Meyers House and Garden from CHC Honorary Board Chair John J. Hodges (left) and President Christopher Layton.…
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15Jun 2014 by adamgillitt
Profit From Down-sizing and Culling Your Treasures

Profit From Down-sizing and Culling Your Treasures

Alameda Museum News, News
If you are recovering from the loss of a loved one, moving to smaller quarters, or awash in clutter, the Alameda Museum has an expert estate and consignment sale team that can take care of everything for you. And when you engage us, not only do you keep more of the revenue than by utilizing a for-profit estate sale company; you also may be eligible for a tax deduction (please consult your tax advisor for information about charitable contributions). Each sale is personally orchestrated by Curator George Gunn and his team of experts in jewelry, books, art, collectibles, and tools. They also research items for up-to-date information about values and prices. Most notably, the team meticulously inventories your belongings to ensure your family treasures are not sold if you overlooked…
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11Jan 2014 by adamgillitt
Alameda Sun- House Museum Now Open Twice Monthly

Alameda Sun- House Museum Now Open Twice Monthly

Meyers House News, News
By Judith Lynch The Meyers House is the only vintage home in Alameda open to the public. For the past 16 years, the home has been open only one day each month, staffed by volunteers under the direction of Alameda Museum Curator George Gunn. The gracefully proportioned Colonial Revival house was completed in 1897. The Meyers family bequeathed the property to the Alameda Museum and the city in 1994. At first the museum and the city’s Recreation and Park Department co-managed the house. Last year sole ownership of the property passed to the museum. The board of directors started a much-needed capital campaign to cover maintenance, such as painting, and to upgrade the home for events like weddings. Spurred by the need for more public education and major fundraising, Gunn…
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