My Trails into the Past

When my mother lived in Walnut Creek, California, as a young girl in the 1940s and 50s, there were not many stores in town where one could shop. Broadway Plaza had not yet been built. Instead, what people did was take a trip into the city, either to Oakland or San Francisco. It was a big deal to go into the city to shop. Shoppers would get dressed up. Some traveled there by car, some by streetcar over the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and others by bus. I never asked my mother, but we have a photo of her and her mother shopping outside stores in downtown Oakland. It was probably taken by a street photographer who left their card and for a small fee, they got a copy of the photograph. My mother looks about high school age. In Oakland, there were many department and specialty stores. Capwell’s was located at 20 th Street, facing both Broadway and Telegraph. It was a large department store with men’s and women’s clothing, household goods, and furniture.  Sears was on Telegraph at 26 th...