Vallejo is experiencing a revitalization.
Listen to the latest episode of "Bay Current" below.
On Friday, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the city unveiled a breathtaking mosaic on its refurbished historic Capitol Street Steps, symbolic of the waterfront town's revival and unrelenting spirit.
The refurbishment project took eight years to complete and was entirely led and financed by its residents. The 100-year-old stairs are an iconic landmark in the city, connecting its downtown to its historic district.
"They have just designed this incredible and amazing love letter to Vallejo," Dalia Vidor told KCBS Radio's "Bay Current" on Monday. She is the chair of the Vallejo Arts and Culture Division, and was on the Capitol Stairs working group, which spearheaded the project.
The mosaic represents the continued rebirth of a town which filed for bankruptcy 13 years ago. KCBS Radio's Mallory Somera, a Vallejo native, remarked that the city has undergone significant changes since that time, when she last lived there, and many of the businesses around now have taken over storefronts that were empty back then.
James Cooper, President and CEO of the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce, said time is the biggest reason why this vibrant city has been rejuvenated.
"What you have in Vallejo… is passion," he told KCBS Radio's "Bay Current." "This community is just so passionate about itself, so desirous of that better tomorrow. Very much recognizing we’ve had a lot of people working a long time at various efforts, lot of starts that didn’t finish, a lot of false starts, a lot of failures, a lot things that didn’t happen along the way, but the accumulation of that has just been building up and building up."
He said the city "was really getting close" before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Even after the pandemic, a lot of the work continued, and now people are going to see some of these new projects become a reality, such as the development of the downtown region.
"The downtown area is in this constant state of flux, but there seems to be slow but steady momentum going toward this side, where you’re going to see it more populated," he said. "Populated by businesses, but more importantly, by people walking around to make it feel like a downtown."
Related
