File:Fleming Point in the 19th Century.png

English: A 19th century map showing the Point, the (now-removed) hill, the (now-disintegrating) pier, the (now-filled-in) slough, and the town or area then known as Fleming.

Wikipedia says, "Fleming Point is a rocky promontory in the U.S. state of California. It is situated in Albany, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. Albany Bulb is an extension of the point, having been formed in the 1960s from construction debris. Fleming Point is named after John T. Fleming who lived in the area in 1853, having bought the land from Jose Domingo Peralta. In the 19th century, it was the site of the Judson Dynamite and Powder Company; the Point Fleming Powder Plant exploded in 1883. By the early 20th century, it was used by residents of Berkeley as a garbage dump. It is currently the site of Golden Gate Fields. Coordinates: 37.8858°N 122.3144°W" The city of Albany website says "A large area of the East Bay, including what is now the Albany waterfront – consisting mostly of a large salt marsh and an island called El Cerrito del Sur – was granted to Luís Maria Peralta in 1820 by the Spanish governor who controlled the region at the time. The Peralta family sold the island (which is now the site of the Golden Gate Fields grandstand) to John Fleming and what is left of that parcel is known today as Fleming Point. In 1879, the Giant Powder Company, suppliers of dynamite to the gold miners of the Sierra, selected Fleming Point as the company’s location after frequent accidental explosions made the company unwelcome in San Francisco. Dynamite factories dominated the Albany waterfront until 1905 when they were replaced with less explosive chemical factories." John CoastRanger on flickr.com writes, "1879 A plant opened on Fleming Point to produce explosives for use in gold mining. The operation was notorious for numerous accidental explosions...Late 1930’s A horsetrack operator was granted a lease from the State to build a track on Fleming Point. The Point’s bedrock hill was blasted away during construction of the track and the northern parking lot. The lot was created by filling marsh with rock and soil removed from the Point. Fleming Point is one of the only remaining segments of San Francisco Bay’s original shoreline." A photo of the pier and the Powder company on the now-removed hill in 1880, along with a description of the 1882 blast ("so large, that most of the plate glass windows were broken in Berkeley and at the University") is at www.berkeleyhistoricalsociety.org/uploads/newsletters/201.... A "people's history" of the area with this map is at patch.com/california/albany/a-peoples-history-of-the-alba...

UPDATE 11/6/18 They are now bulldozing a trail by Fleming Point. "Now, a bright yellow bulldozer and a trampled dirt road indicate that change is afoot." -- Berkeleyside: www.berkeleyside.com/2018/11/05/construction-begins-to-cl...