Hours
Tuesday and Thursday
11:30 - 3:00
First four Sundays
1:00 - 4:00

Martinez Historical Society

1005 Escobar Street - Martinez, CA - (925) 228-8160

Current Exhibit: 

“Meet Me in Martinez”: the 1930s

 Did you know that in the 1930s Martinez boasted a very popular Toy Library, where children could check out a toy for a week? Or that a pictographic language could be found on buildings and fences all over town if one knew where to look? And those who could read it—mainly “hobos” riding the rails all over Depression America looking for work—knew if they saw a cat that the residents were kind and would help them, while other symbols would warn that the police were unfriendly or that a judge lived here or that you could sleep in the hayloft or get fare if you were sick. And neighborhoods still exist in downtown that feature clusters of quaint little “storybook” houses with soft curves and French doors and other agreeable fairytale characteristics designed and built in the 1930s by East Bay architect W. W. Dixon.

 A fascinating glimpse at Martinez in the 1930s is now on display at the Martinez Museum as the second in a series of exhibits of life in Martinez during the 20^th Century.

 The Great Depression affected Martinez along with other parts of the country. But, as Richard Patchin has noted in an article on the period, having two oil refineries, being the county seat, being located on a railroad line and on Carquinez Strait, and having an agricultural base as well meant that the town may have suffered a little less than many other towns.

 Museum Director Andrea Blachman, assisted by Adria Schwartz, has put together displays of photographs and artifacts along with binders of stories and facts to illustrate the broad aspects of the period through the narrower experiences of the 6,000 residents of Martinez.

 Upstairs, note the floor plans along with photographs of a Brown Street “storybook house.” Downstairs, find a display and description of the Toy Library. In the Front Room you will find the huge cash register used by Pete Amato in his Ferry Street restaurant and pictures of the family (the machine is on loan to the Museum by the Amato family). There is also a display case on “pop culture” of the decade, with souvenirs of the 1939 World’s Fair at Treasure Island, a big even in the lives of many Martinez residents.

 In the closet in the Dining Room there is a display of some of the items that would be found in a hobo camp, such as was located on the west side of town near the railroad tracks, and a chart of hobo signs. Next to it is a display case filled with ladies’ hats and purses of the period (many belonged to Leila Bray and some are from Pat Corr’s collection). 

 The entire exhibit is narrated by quotations form Patchin’s article and from Inez Clark Hartz Johnson’s memoirs. She moved to Martinez in 1926, when her mother was promoted to manager of ladies’ ready-to-wear at the then-new J. C. Penney’s department store. Now in her 90s and living at Rossmoor, she recalled her family’s buying a copy of the sensational new game “Monopoly” and reserving it for an evening when she and her husband entertained guests.

 Another display case and binder shows the impact of the New Deal in Martinez, principally through the Works Project Administration, which built sidewalks and the post office on Court Street. This display is based on extensive research by Martinez resident Kristin Henderson on the construction projects and on the celebrated mural painted by Maynard Dixon and his wife, Edith Hamlin.

 It will be easy to spend hours with the displays and the words of residents who lived through this period. Meet me in Martinez, and take a rewarding tour of a special time in our town.