Sakai and Oishi Nurseries - Part 3

This is the third post in a series; you should read the first post before this chapter. Since 2004 several studies have been completed for the Sakai and Oishi Nurseries. They have focused primarily on the history of the site, the significance of the cut-flower industry in the Bay Area, and the buildings and structures on the two sites. What has not been studied in detail are the various systems that were needed to operate the nurseries – these will be illuminated as part of the HALS work that PGAdesign and Denise Bradley are currently completing.

In part two, I wrote about the pedestrian circulation systems and how they differed on the two sites. I’ve mentioned the other systems. Part 3 is about those systems.

Water Sources and Distribution
Both nurseries have several wells on site, which were the primary source of water. In later years Oishi nursery had a connection to the city main. Pumps drew water up into wooden storage tanks – both on grade and elevated. Water was drawn out of the tanks to supply water lines for irrigating or was routed to the boiler room where it was heated to produce steam.

Water lines fed a manifold of galvanized pipe at the center of each greenhouse that branched at each flower bed and was connected to a plastic pipe and drip or soaker type lines spaced about 8 inches apart in each raised planter. These were used to water the flowers, initially manually and later the operation was automated

Fertilizer was mixed in large steel or plastic tanks and was injected into the water lines when needed. Manually controlled valves would release or shut off the fertilized water as needed.

Water Collection
Irrigation water was collected and channeled into concrete swales or curbed trenches that run outside and parallel to each greenhouse. These trenches, typically 19” wide, are found throughout both nurseries. There are small, wooden bridges where pathways cross these trenches. The water collection system of swales and curbed trenches includes collection pits of varying sizes, typically 36” by 24” and 30” deep. Some of these pits still have pipes running into or over them. These pits collected water or silt.

Steam Distribution
Steam was used to heat the greenhouses and to provide optimal humidity for the flowers.
Steam from the boiler room was pumped into insulated pipes that was routed to each greenhouse. Many of these pipes run overhead, about 10 feet in the air, and were supported on 4 x 4 posts spaced about 15 feet apart. The steam was released inside each greenhouse and the condensate was collected and returned to the boiler for re-use in smaller diameter pipes, also insulated.

Pesticide System
A separate and parallel set of small diameter pipes was used to distribute water that included pesticides or herbicides. These pipes extended to the center of each greenhouse, and from there one of the nursery workers would attach a special hose to a valve and apply the pesticides with a spray nozzle.

Air Circulation and Greenhouse Cooling System
Maintaining optimal temperatures and humidity inside the greenhouses was critical. The components of this system include roof and side windows, large diameter fans, and swamp coolers. Each greenhouse has both roof and side windows with manually operated wheels and pulleys used to open or close the windows. In later years some of these were automated.

Large fans, housed in 5’ by 5’ square box structures were built into the sides or ends of the greenhouses. These would draw air into and out of the greenhouse. To cool the greenhouses large mats were attached to the end or sides of the greenhouse. An overhead PVC pipe with 1/8” diameter holes drilled every 5” was mounted above the mats. Water fed into these pipes then dripped onto the mats to wet them. As the fans drew in air through the dampened mats it cooled the air inside the greenhouse.

In part one I mentioned that at one spot on the Oishi site we counted 9 parallel pipes. Tom Oishi, who met us on our first day on site, was able to identify what six were for: fresh irrigation water from the tanks, out-going steam, returning steam, pesticides, city water, and water that fed the pipe for wetting the mats. I’ll let you know if we figure out what the last 3 were for.

Left: Cooling mats at Oishi Nursery

Right: Raised beds with soaker type irrigation at Sakai Nursery

Sakai and Oishi Nurseries - Part 2

This week, between rainstorms, I finished the bulk of my field work at the Sakai and Oishi Nurseries in Richmond. In total it took most of four days to walk and record the landscape features on the 6.44 acre Sakai site and the 5.94 acre Oishi property. Each day I took 100+ field photos, printed color contact sheets, and labeled them. I’ve started transferring my field sketches onto clean base sheets, and conferring with James Stockham who is helping with the project. James will transfer the field notes onto the electronic site survey.

While in the field I mostly photographed buildings, paths, trenches, pumps, pipes, sheds, plants, etc. – things that it was obvious what they were. I also took pictures of features that I don’t know what they are or what their purpose is – this is part of the puzzle to be solved. For example, on the Oishi property there are several shed structures measuring about 4’ x 8’ with sloped roofs. They are located throughout the nursery and no doubt had a specific purpose, but I don’t yet know what that was. There are an assortment of carts and wooden containers - how were they used in the operation of the nursery?

There are many similarities between the two operations. They both have complex systems of pipes and trenches to move fresh, recycled and waste water, plus fertilizers, pesticides and steam. They both have wells with pumps, tanks, and boiler houses, and each property includes modest homes that housed the families – two on the Oishi site and four at Sakai. Plants around these homes are mostly typical for the era and locale. Both include species found in traditional Japanese gardens – camellias, Japanese maple, fern pine, and they also include an assortment of other common plants, like geraniums, calla lilies, magnolia and fruit trees – cherry, plum and citrus. An assortment of boulders found near three of the Sakai homes hint at Japanese-style rock gardens, but little is left to decipher.

There are also differences found on the two nurseries – some attributable to differences in what was being grown. The Sakais specialized in roses and the Oishis grew carnations, so the planting beds inside their greenhouses have different construction styles. The pedestrian circulation system around and between the greenhouses is different. At Sakai there are narrow concrete walks that run between parallel greenhouses and 21” wide paths that tee off at each door. The longer greenhouses have 2 sets of doors that subdivide each greenhouse into thirds. These doors and paths are aligned to allow one to walk through one to the next. On the Oishi property I noted only one such concrete path between greenhouses. Another difference is that at Sakai I found remnants of raised planters outside and between the greenhouses suggesting that they were maximizing efforts to utilize growing space wherever possible.

Now that most of the field work is complete, I am reading more of the previous research. The “Historic Architecture Evaluation” prepared in 2004 by Donna Graves, Historian, and Ward Hill and Woodruff Minor, Architectural Historians explains that, “The Sakai and Oishi properties are the only extant cut-flower nurseries begun by Japanese Americans before World War II in the entire Bay Area and are also the last remaining of Richmond’s community of Japanese American flower growers.” The report goes on to say, “The properties are rare surviving Bay Area nurseries, a once prominent industry in the Bay Area.” Their conclusion is that both nurseries appear to be eligible for the National and California Registers of Historic Properties.

Sakai and Oishi Nurseries

I started a new HALS project this week. My firm, PGAdesign was hired to prepare the HALS drawings for the Sakai and Oishi nurseries in Richmond, which are two of three remaining wholesale flower nurseries. Years ago there were several nurseries in this area owned by different Japanese families. Most were closed and demolished when Interstate 80 cut through this neighborhood.

These nurseries ceased operation a few years ago and since that time the buildings and structures have been vandalized and deteriorated from lack of use and maintenance, but the site is still an important cultural resource with a story to tell about a somewhat unique community of businesses and families.

PGA is working with a team of professionals that includes architectural and landscape historians to complete the HALS documentation. The HALS photography was done a few years ago by Brian Grogan – the same photographer we worked with at the Presidio on Doyle Drive. A separate group of architects is measuring and recording several of the buildings and structures that will be saved on site or moved to new locations. The remaining buildings will be demolished to make way for new housing.

Starting a project like this is much like doing a jig saw puzzle. You dump the pieces on the table, turn them over, and sort them by color, culling out the edge pieces. I had reviewed the background material before my first site visit, so I knew what I was looking at, but on day one, the site appears like a lot of loose pieces that one has to quickly sort and assemble.

My first task is to record what is existing in the landscape. The land survey depicts the property lines, locations of the buildings, greenhouses and other major structures. It also shows some of the paving, spot elevations and shrub masses. I look to see what does not appear on the survey, measure it and sketch it onto my plan. Sounds easy. Well, imagine that most of this site is covered in knee-high grass under which are open trenches, holes, thousands of broken panes of glass from the vandalized greenhouses, and pipes of various sizes and materials running everywhere – sometimes 10 feet overhead, sometimes buried, and often just on the surface – there for you to trip over. Walkways that need to be measured are buried under soil, some of the plants that need to be identified have no leaves, and in places the vegetation mass is so dense it is impenetrable. If you can imagine all that you begin to get the puzzle metaphor.

While in the field I measure and sketch, and I also take field photographs that help me confirm what I saw once I am back in the office. Sometimes I see things in the photographs that I had not really noticed in the field. I also use a digital recorder to describe details – this saves time because it is faster for me to record lengthy notes than to write them out. One recorded note explained, “there is a large diameter, red, rubber hose between greenhouses 12 and 13. It has heavy-duty, industrial-grade nozzles. We need to find out what this hose was used for.” I also photographed the hose placing my pencil in the image for scale.

This kind of detail is essential because one of our charges from the National Park Service is to explain not just what the nursery looked like, but how it functioned. This site is all about systems – circulation, watering, heating and cooling, fertilizing, spraying, and it is also where the Sakai and Oishi families lived. The system of pipes that traverse this site is a complex maze. In one location I counted 9 pipes – galvanized and PVC, some insulated, some not – all running in parallel, each with a different function – a three dimensional puzzle. I’ll tell you more about that, and more about the process in subsequent posts.