Presentation
Alameda
City
Council
2026
Valerie Turpen
President
Alameda Museum
Friday 1pm - 4pm
Saturday 11am - 4pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm
Alameda Museum.org
Board
Valerie Turpen, President
Kalie Sacco, Vice President
Melissa Hagaman, Secretary
Robert Farrar, Treasurer
Shanna Gaudenti
Eugene Kruger
Melissa Marchi
Rasheed Shabazz
Kent Anderson,
Executive Director
Volunteers
approx. 60
• Serve on our board
• Serve as docents at the
Museum and the Meyers House
•Work in the archives
• Repair, improve and maintain
facilities at the museum and
the Meyers House
Visitors
The museum has a guest log which asks where patrons are from and their reason for visiting.
2025
70%
Exhibits
8%
Research
22%
Store
2025 Visitors
January 325
February 333
March 373
April 301
May 344
June 352
July 643
August 401
September 258
October 261
November 405
December 188
YEAR 4184
Visiting From
Alabama
Alameda
Alaska Arizona
Australia
Brazil
Canada
Colorado
France
Germany
Hawaii
Ireland
Louisiana
Peru
Poland
Scotland
Spain
Massachusetts
Mexico
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New York
Wasington
Wisconsin
Virgin Islands
Publications
Our newsletter tells stories of our city and its
residents relying heavily on the museum
archives and research.
Popular with new
residents are the
museum books of
historic houses and
business districts.
AMQ March 2026
Alameda teenager Ruby Yoshino became
an opera sensation bringing attention to
Japanese civil rights during WWII and after.
Acc. No. 18.13.1
Wonder Horse c. 1950s
purchased at Stone’s
on Santa Clara Avenue.
The shop sells bicycles
today.
Museum Collection Online
The museum has over
21,554 objects in its
collection. Originally the
donation record was
typed on a 3” x 5” card
and filed in drawers.
Today the information
is archived in a digital
database widely used
by museums.
Kristen repairing
book bindings on
leather bound
Block Books from
the City, some over
100 years old.
Eugene organizing and
processing paperwork.
Elizabeth
measuring,
describing,
photographing
and cataloging
glass ornaments.
Preserving the Collection
Volunteers with professional backgrounds,
those working on degrees in museum studies,
or have interest in archive preservation have
opportunities to work in the collection.
Anat Gima reviews a blouse
c. 1895 for an upcoming
exhibit and interactive display
on clothing construction.
The newspaper
collection in bound
covers with fragile
volumes wrapped in
dust covers.
Preserving the Collection
Additional flat file drawers are
housing large maps, images,
and blueprints in archival
polyester sleeves.
ARCHIVAL SUPPLIES
Museum funds are used to purchase archival materials
such as cardboard to create PH balanced storage boxes;
archival polyester for maps and leather bound volumes;
custom shelving for heavy ledger books.
Custom aluminum sliding
shelves were designed and
installed for City Assessor
Books, weighing several
pounds, easier to view.
Tova Petersen
Wiley of Alameda
was in the first class
of female officers in
the military.
Featured Exhibits
FLEET FASHION HONORING FLEET WEEK
This exhibit highlighted one aspect of military life:
uniforms and naval connections to fashion trends.
ELECTOR LITTLEJOHN
fought bravely against racial
discrimination. She led the
effort to establish both
Alameda’s Black History
Month and the Martin Luther
King Jr. Celebration.
A park and an
affordable housing
community are
named here in
her honor. RUTH HACKETT
LASARTEMAY was born in
Alameda in 1902. In 1965, Ruth
and her husband Eugene established the East Bay Negro Historical Society, now the African American
Museum and Library at Oakland.
Lasartemay was the first curator, a
role she had for the next 20 years.
Featured Exhibits
WOMEN OF ALAMEDA’S HISTORY
Highlighting the lives of notable women
who contributed to the tapestry that is
Alameda’s history.
Art Imagire and his sister Gloria
visited the exhibit that featured their mother
Shizuko Imagire who started a sewing
school and dress shop here in 1922 after
immigrating from Japan.
Museum Exhibits
Additional train artifacts have been added
to the display now featuring a rotating
photo gallery of stations, plus a map of
their locations.
Willow station on the
display screen with a
map of station locations.
Acc. No. 24.99.1
A railroad crossing
sign from the Belt
Line c. 1970s.
Acquired from the
City of Alameda
Public Works
Department.
Acc. No. 25.102.1
Train and
ferry ticket
from June
1906. Assistance from the Western
Railroad Museum in Fairfield, CA
Acc. No. 01.137.7
Ida Clinton’s 1911 AHS
graduation portrait.
Acc. No. 95.294.1
Ah You sits for a portrait
with his sons who attended
Porter school.
Museum Exhibits
The Victorian Parlor is one of the original
exhibits. The parlor was a place to
display family portraits and the most
treasured possessions.
Bay Farm settlers
Josephine and
George Anderson,
who changed his
name from Miranda
to that of a ship’s
captain upon
immigrating from
the Azores.
Acc. No. 25.49.2
Andrew McIntosh brought the family
clock with him from Scotland when
he came to Alameda in 1923.
New business displays include
artifacts from Alameda’s
immigrant community.
Museum Exhibits
Acc. No.: 00.314.1
Medical cabinet from
the office of Dr. Arthur L.
Guerra (top right).
Acc. No. 81.121.1
Image believed
to be vegetable vendor
Quong Fat whose pipe is
on display.
Acc. No. 81.130.1
A sulpher match
block from the
Chinese run factory
at Blanding and
Oak streets.
Acc. No. 81.147.1
A bootjack from
Alameda growers
Bruzzone Brothers.
Update on Repatriation
Acc. No. 91.1.26
Pierced abalone
shell.
Acc. No. 91.1.69
Obsidian
spearhead
Acc. No. 91.1.167
Large circular stone
hollowed out.
The Alameda Museum has been in discussion with a local Ohlone Tribe and is engaged in the repatriation process. At the same time we are reviewing what cultural materials can be replicated or retained to establish a new display of the Ohlone natural world, culture, and community that was and is present in Alameda.
Acc. No. 91.1.24
Shell necklace
ALAMEDA LIBRARIES
CITY HALL POLICE DEPT. & PRISON
ALAMEDA MOM – PHYLISS DILLER
Community Events:
Once a month Historian Dennis Evanosky leads a museum tour featuring a select display, at times a nearby walk is included.
Community Events:
Museum Sketch Class with
artist Fan Lu.
Watercolor Workshop at the
Meyers House and open
location for the Plein Air
Paint Out with the Frank Bette
Center for the Arts.
In cooporation with
TIMOTHY GARRY
ON SPANISH GUITAR
DREW HARRISON
PLAYING THE
BEATLES AND MORE
ALAMEDA STRING QUARTET
A group of professional local musicians
featured classical selection highlighted
by composer insights.
Meyers House: Music in theGarden
Music in the Garden concerts
started in July 2025 for public
use of the garden.
Meyers House: Walk in theNeighborhood
The tours begin and end at the
Meyers House. Led by historian
Dennis Evanosky these neighborhood walks discusses what brought residents to the area.
October 2025 featured architectural styles
of buildings through the years.
JUNE 2026 showcased Chesnut Station
and the history of St. Joseph’s Basillica and
school.
SEPTEMBER 2026 the walk will be through
the neighborhood established by developer
Joseph Leonard known as Leonardville.
Eleanor Bidema receives
a city proclamation from
Mayor Ashcraft.
Community Outreach
A history presentation celebrating
Eleanor Bidema’s life in Alameda
focused on events that happened
during her lifetime here.
The program was held at Mastick
Senior Center, where Eleanor and
her children attended school.
The celebration was for friends,
family, and the general public
to attend.
Plan for the Future
Indigenous Cultural Materials Repatriation
Complete repatriation of cultural materials in the collection and establish a new exhibit on the Ohlone prescence in Alameda.
Exhibits
Reimagine our gallery space to broaden the stories told and histories displayed.
Lecture Series
Reintroduce an in-person lecture series.
Collaborative Projects
We have relationships with the Western Railroad Museum, Frank Bette Center, Alameda Naval Air Museum, and California Historical Radio Society and hope to continue to strengthen our ties on collaborative projects.
STEPS Museum Assessment
The museum will engage in the STEPS program (Standards and Excellence Program) a self-paced assessment program designed specifically for small to mid-sized history organizations to review their policies and practices.
NARM (North American Reciprocal Museum)
The Alameda Museum plans to join the NARM network which includes an extensive network of cultural institutions including arts, science, history, and more.
Preserving the Past for the Future
Since 1948