The Museum is open the first and third Sunday of each month (except for holidays) from 1:00-4:00 pm for a Progress Preview.
Entry is free while we continue to work on displays. Come and see a preview of Concord’s history.

Thanks, Concord Rotary and Concord Disposal Service!

Concord Rotary and Concord Disposal Service Invest in Concord’s History – April 2016

Members of Concord Rotary recently cleared brush and trees to make ready for a paved and landscaped parking lot that will serve visitors to the Galindo Home and Gardens and the future Concord Museum and Event Center (CMEC). Concord Disposal Service hauled the debris away as its contribution to this investment in Concord’s history.

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Before and After

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John Pereira, Concord Rotary

The Concord Historical Society thanks both Concord Rotary and Concord Disposal Service. Support like theirs is invaluable as the Society works to preserve and present Concord’s history.

Would you like to invest as well? Contact the Concord Historical Society.

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Team Concord Rotary

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Alan Hermans, Concord Rotary

[Apologies to Concord Rotary for the misidentification that occurred when this posting first went “live.”]

Mayor’s golf tournament benefits Concord Historical Society

Golf tournament beneficiaries

Mayor Laura Hoffmeister presented the Concord Historical Society with a check for $6,554.91 at the Concord City Council meeting of July 5, 2016. The Society was one of three community groups selected to share in the proceeds raised by the 32nd Annual Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament held on May 6.

Society president Carol Longshore received this gift with much gratitude as did those representing the other beneficiaries, Concord Junior Giants and First Tee Contra Costa Youth Golf Program.

Thank you Mayor Hoffmeister, City of Concord, and tournament participants, volunteers and sponsors!

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CHS board members Jill Endicott, Vivian Boyd, Carol Longshore and Chuck Gabrysiak with Mayor Laura Hoffmeister

All that Jazz 2nd Annual Dinner-Auction

Concord Historical Society’s 2nd Annual Dinner-Auction

What a grand event! Nearly 200 enthusiastic supporters of the Concord Historical Society and its mission — Preserving the Past to Protect the Future — gathered November 12th at Centre Concord for fun, food, and fundraising. Silent Auction. Live Auction. Cake Auction. Games: raffle, “Turkey Tickle,” “Bauble Bangle,” “Pull that Cork!” Singing by Bella Voce from Northgate High School. Delectable dining served by Englund’s Café & Catering. Display of artifacts “unearthed” during the conversion of the Concord Masonic Temple into the Concord Museum and Event Center (CMEC). Let these photos illustrate the highlight evening.

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Plan on attending the 3rd Annual Dinner-Auction.

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A hearty thank you to our event sponsors: Richard & Wrenetta Dortzbach, Concord Iron Works, Hubert Bromma, Richard & Cheryl Buscaglia, Richard Cuneo, Dianda Enterprises, Merle Hall, Komendi Kosasih, Nadyne Motheral, Sheri & Donald Morrison, Jim & Jan Trolan, Better Homes Realty-Brad Morimune.
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Holiday Tours at the Galindo Home

Galindo Home Open for 2016 Holiday Tours

opening the historic Galindo Home, decorated with holiday charm, for special tours on three December Saturdays and Sundays, plus one evening in December.

Tours are December 3 and 4, December 10 and 11, and December 17 and 18 from 1 to 4pm, plus Wednesday, December 14 from 6 to 8 pm.

  • No reservations needed.
  • Fee: $3 for adults and children over 12.
  • Light refreshments.

The historic Galindo House is located at 1721 Amador Street, Concord, CA 94520.

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Docent Isabel Hill leads a Sunday tour through the formal parlor (11/2016)

The Brubeck Collection: University of the Pacific

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Our Board member, Lloyd Crenna, recently visited the Holt-Atherton Special Collections at the University of the Pacific Library in Stockton. Special Collections Assistant, Trish Richards and its Director, treated Lloyd to a view of the stacks and The Brubeck Collection. The Collection was established by Dave and Iola Brubeck as a “living archive” to Dave’s legendary career as a musician and composer, and to pass on the legacy of his music to future musicians. The collection consists of a broad range of materials, taking up over 350 linear feet of shelves with hundreds of boxes. 

It not only documents Dave’s musical career, but also the history of jazz from the 1920s to the present as the collection continues to grow. It contains business correspondence, business papers, personal correspondence, biographical materials, clippings, concert programs, promotional materials, memorabilia, photographs, musical scores, sketches, audio materials and video and film materials. It is initially overwhelming but soon begins to reveal the humanity of this wonderful couple and tremendous accomplishments of Dave and Iola. If you go, to start your experience, I recommend that you ask to see MS-4-Collection, Series II-1A-Photos 1890-1939, which contains photos of the Ivey family in Concord (Dave’s mother’s parents), the backyard of the Ivey Brubeck Home in Concord, Dave’s parents Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck and Pete Brubeck, Dave with his brothers in Concord, and early Concord ranching and parade photos.

The Brubeck Collection is open to the public for onsite viewing in the Special Collections reading room at the University of the Pacific Library, 3601 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA, Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm. Although seeing objects and photos relating to Dave’s life in Concord and as a musician is rewarding in and of itself, that’s not all that you can learn from the Holt-Atherton Special Collections. It also contains 75% of all know John Muir documents, including correspondence, journals, notebooks, drawings, photographs, articles and books.

Also kept there is the Japanese-American Internment Collection, which documents the 1942-1946 forced relocation of over 100,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from Pacific Coast states to War Relocation Centers at Manzanar, California, Tule Lake, California and Rohwer, Arkansas.

The images in all these collections, and other interesting subjects, can be accessed at https://www.pacific.edu/university-libraries/find/holt-atherton-special-collections. You can access the inventory at www.oac.cdlib.org.

Around Town – #2

CMEC Tour

Tamara Steiner of the Concord Pioneer is given a personal tour of the inside of the new Concord Museum and Event Center (CMEC) on June 18, 2015. Chuck Gabrysiak, project manager from the Concord Historical Society, is describing the new stage and the sound & lighting room for the first floor of the CMEC.

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Tamra Steiner, editor Concord Pioneer, and Chuck Gabrysiak, project manager
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CMEC stage
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Framing of sound & light booth (top) and restroom (bottom)

When you’re “around town” with your family, please send your picture with the location and the family name to the Concord Historical Society via mail or email. Mention “Around Town.” We’ll see you in print and on our website.

Note: By submitting your photo and description to the Concord Historical Society, it will be understood the Concord Historical Society has your permission to include these in the one, two or all three of the following locations: Historian, Society website, Society Facebook page – as space and circumstances permit.

Grand time – Dinner Meeting

Annual Concord Historical Society Dinner Meeting: a grand time

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Just over 150 members and friends of the Concord Historical Society gathered at the Oakhurst Country Club on March 16, 2017, for the Society’s annual dinner meeting.

We were enriched and engaged through presentations by both Glenn Anaiscourt and Jill Endicott.

We were thrilled by news regarding the progress on the Concord Museum and Event Center (CMEC).

We look forward to great things–remembering the contributions of everyone make these possible and productive.

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Vice Mayor Edi Birsan
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Paul Larson and Vivian Boyd

Thank you, Concord Rotary!

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Team Concord Rotary
For the second year in a row, the Concord Historical Society’s history campus was the focus of Concord Rotary’s annual “All Hands On” Community Service Workday.

Over 30 enthusiastic members and friends of Concord Rotary distributed 40 cubic yards of wood chips–that’s some 400 wheelbarrow loads–among the flower beds and open areas of the Galindo Home and Gardens and the Concord Museum and Event Center. All this in under 3 hours this recent Earth Day, April 22,

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40 cubic yards!
In addition to Concord Rotary, the Concord Historical Society is pleased to acknowledge Concord Disposal Service, which donated the supply of wood chips, and Cresco Equipment Rentals, which supplied a number of the wheelbarrows.
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Rotarians as work
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Tour of Concord Museum and Event Center

The End is in Sight!

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel

The Concord History Museum and Event Center (CMEC), formerly the Concord Masonic Temple, has a projected opening date of October 2016. Much of the serious engineering improvements and renovation of this 1928 building has been completed but significant work remains to be done. Because the City’s approval of the master plan included a drainage system for both the museum parcel and the Galindo Home and Gardens property a new drainage system had to be designed along with some street improvement for Marina Court. Also, a terraced entrance to the building and a parking lot, to be used by both the CMEC and the Galindo Home, are being designed and constructed. The most significant construction will be a new three level addition to the rear of the building with an ADA/freight elevator in its basement, a caterer’s kitchen and storage on the first floor, and more museum storage and the Museum’s Resource Center and office on the third floor.

The final touches will include installing a fire suppression system, and connecting all the utility lines, refinishing all the windows and the floors, painting the interior walls, and painting the exterior of the building. We will also improve the original stage by installing lighting and audio/visual equipment. The kitchen appliances and museum storage shelving and computers will be installed. We will then be in position to hold a grand opening of this wonderful building and provide Concord with not only a first class local history museum but also an event and cultural center. The opening is projected for October 2016 with two grand parties celebrating the completion of the renovation and dedicating its performance stage to Dave Brubeck where he performed in the early 1930’s. Members of the Brubeck family and the Brubeck Institute Quintet from the University of the Pacific will be performing.

Why is the Society committed to this wonderful project?

To celebrate the heritage and history of Concord and its surrounding area and to preserve it for the generations to come. The business plan is a solid one. The CMEC will not only function as a history museum but also be the venue for cultural events and various fundraising opportunities. It will be available for rental for weddings, family reunions, dance schools, and business and social club meetings. The Society and other non-profits will use it for their fund raisers and cultural presentations. The rental fees for these events and events held in the Galindo Garden with its new gazebo will make both the CMEC and the Galindo Home self-supporting.

What does the Society need now to achieve its goal?

The Society’s current Museum Building Fund balance should be sufficient to complete the drainage, the parking lot and street improvements, and the front entrance terrace. The Society needs to raise the remainder which is projected to be $600,000. It has a three pronged strategy. It has arranged a long term interest only loan of $200,000 at a very low rate. It has obtained a commitment from a sponsor who will match any donation of over $50 to a total of $200,000. And, it is seeking grants from foundations and government funders.

You can help by making a tax deductible gift of over $50 or more, which will be matched. The Society will be grateful for whatever you can do to be a part of this grand project. Donate to the Concord Museum & Event Center fund. And gifts by way of Wills and Trust are encouraged.

75 Years of Service to Our Nation: US Armed Forces at Concord

Armed Forces Half Marathon & 75th Anniversary

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During the early morning hours of Saturday, May 27, 2017, some 1000 runners assembled in Todos Santos Plaza for the first annual Armed Forces Half Marathon at Todos Santos Plaza. Your Concord Historical Society was honored to staff a booth in the plaza expanding the race planner’s intent to honor the US Armed Forces by sharing local military history.

US Naval Magazine Port Chicago was established on June 27, 1942. Later it was known as Naval Weapons Station Concord. This legacy continues to this day through Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) and the US Army’s 834th Transportation Battalion. That’s 75 years of service to our nation here at Concord. Together with two active reservists from MOTCO, our staff of volunteers presented this history and shared information about Society activities.

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The half-marathoners’ 13.1-mile course went out Willow Pass Road, wound its way around the former weapons station’s Inland Area, and returned via Willow Pass Road. The overall winning time was 1:11:28! From all accounts it was a success.

The Concord Historical Society extends compliments to the organizer, Team Blue Sky Events. Last but not least, heart-felt thanks to the men and women of the US Armed Force, active and retired.