Barbara Franke Boyle came to Lafayette from Oakland in 1937, when she was 10. Her family had been using the ranch in the Happy Valley area as a summer place only prior to the that. They raised pears, and Barbara’s father operated the Walnut Creek Cannery. In the years that Barbara was going to grammar […]
From the Archives: Dedication of Peter Thomson’s Anvil
This is a recording of the dedication of Peter Thomson’s anvil that was conducted on May 22nd, 1970. If you stop by the history room, you can see it in person.
Oral History: Gloria Duffy – April 2006
Summary: Gloria Duffy had an illustrious career. She was a pioneer of Bay Area radio, involved in the arts, and was part of a flourishing real estate business in Lafayette from the 1950s to the 1970s. Oral History: Interviewer: This is the interview of Gloria Duffy, broadcasting in real estate, lady of Lafayette, given in […]
Oral History: Patricia Boyer – April 2006
Patti grew up in the Lafayette Horse Show. Her father, George Brooks, was the horse show announcer for many years. Patti won a trophy in the 1939 horse show riding her paint horse Pagero. After growing up in Richmond, Patti moved permanently to Lafayette 1957. Her recollections of early Lafayette are significant in the development […]
A short film called The Park Theatre by Joel Braunstein
Last week we received a short film from Stanley school student Joel Braunstein. He talks and does a couple of interviews about the past and future of The Park Theatre. In case you have seen this somewhere else and the audio was a problem for you, we went ahead and fixed that issue. It should […]
Upcoming Speaker Series: Ships, Bombs and Steel
Stuart Swiedler will be speaking for LHS again! Board a plane or ride the rails to experience the industrial transformation of the north coast of Contra Costa County. We’ll witness the scheme to produce warships, the struggle of a community to fend off the import of bombs and other nuclear weapons, learn the new names […]
Oral History: Russell & Joan Bruzzone – October 2006
Summary: Joan and Russell Bruzzone remember Lafayette in the 1950s. They discuss their ongoing residential and commercial real estate activities which created housing for hundreds of Lafayette families and gave the town its major commercial shopping center. To create the Plaza Shopping Center in the 1960s the Bruzzones removed 200,000 cubic feet of dirt from […]
What’s New: Come See Our OLD SHOES Display!
Upcoming Speaker Series: Lafayette: “Then and Now in Photographs”
You Won’t Want to Miss Our Speaker on November 22nd! Steve Hobbs, local photographer, is now creating a new pictorial history of Lafayette Please join the us when we welcome Steve Hobbs on November 22nd at 1:30 in the Lafayette Library & Learning Center’s Community Hall. Steve says “everything I learned about photography […]
Upcoming Speaker Series: Growing Grapes & Making Wine in Lamorinda: History & Present
Please join us for our October 25, 2015 Speaker Series Program From the Rossi Family Vineyards in 1917 To Sophisticated Winemakers Today The Lamorinda microclimate and topography has long been an ideal location for grape growing and now winemaking! Please join the Lafayette Historical Society in welcoming Leslie Ward, president of the Lamorinda Wine Growers […]
