The Company Town – Legacy Businesses in Richmond

Richmond has one of the last remaining Carnegie Libraries in California. Designed by Canadian-American William H. Weeks in 1910, the library hosts the Richmond Museum of History’s expansive collection of documents, artifacts, and folklore.

The Richmond Museum is developing an exhibit to celebrate Richmond’s legacy as a company town – hosting a multitude of iconic businesses. Businesses and community partners interested in participating in this exciting opportunity to attract new visitors to Richmond’s iconic museum should contact museum director Melinda McCrary melinda@richmondmuseum.org.

How do museums contribute to the economy?

• Arts and Cultural Production Contributed $704.2 Billion to the U.S. Economy in 2013 (4.24% of National GDP)
• Museums make up 3.7% of the national GDP
• The annual growth rate for arts and culture as a whole (1.8 percent) was on par with that of the total U.S. economy (1.9 percent). But it grew faster than other sectors such as accommodation and food services (1.4 percent), retail trade (1.3 percent), and transportation and warehousing (1.1 percent).
• Areas with highest potential in arts and culture include encompass the information industry – publishing, broadcasting, and streaming services, with a growth rate of 12.3 percent

Jobs and Employment

• In 2013, arts and cultural sector employed 4.7 million wage and salary workers, earning $339 billion. Industries employing the largest number of ACPSA workers include government (including school-based arts education), retail trade, broadcasting, motion picture industries, and publishing.

Consumer Spending

• Consumer spending on the performing arts grew 10 percent annually between 1998-2013.

Learn More

National Endowment for the Arts. (2016). The Arts and Cultural Production Satellite and the Performing Arts Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/ACPSA_fact_sheet_feb2016.pdf

National Endowment for The Arts. (2016). U.S. Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account: Issue Brief #2 Trends in Arts and Cultural Production (1998‐2013). Retrieved from https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/ADP%239-Brief2.pdf

National Endowment for The Arts. (2016). U.S. Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account: Issue Brief #3 Workers Engaged in Arts and Cultural Production. Retrieved from https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/ADP%239-Brief3.pdf

Upcoming Events

American Poetry of WWI

WWI, Resistance, and the New Negro in California

Agenda

Report from the City Manager

The Wendell Park Project, sponsored by KaBOOM! and a grant received by the Friends of Wendell Park was a success, hosting several hundred volunteers. The one-day park rebuild occurred on March 17, 2016.

Open Forum for Public Comment

National Library Week is April 9-15, 2017. Libraries are an immense asset to the Richmond business community, providing access to information and research tools to local SMBs as well as encouraging the growth of complementary industries – transportation, retailers, food businesses, etc.. Libraries, along with parks and museums increase quality of life for citizens by encouraging regular maintenance of city services i.e.roads, security, and blight management.

I-1. ADOPT an urgency ordinance, pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, extending for a period of 10 months and 15 days a temporary moratorium on certain uses in General Plan 2030 Change Area 12 (North Shore), which was adopted by the City Council on February 7, 2017 (Ordinance No. 4-17 N.S.) – Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin (620-5431).

Amid accusations of property owner abuse and egregious fines, council defended the extension of a moratorium on development in North Shore, citing a need to research the most sustainable forms of development in the area as well as providing ample opportunities for general public comment and meetings with stakeholder groups.