From El Cerrito Avenue to the Exedra: The Story of Piedmont's Fourth of July Parade

Lori A did the summary below of this week’s walk that Sherry J led. Excellent jobs by both of them! - Dick

The Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group had an excellent holiday week turnout of forty-seven walkers and five K-9 best friends last Wednesday at the Exedra.

Dick Carter kicked off the walk by introducing the new participant and asking the assembled walkers what was special about July 1. After a few incorrect guesses, he informed the group that it was halfway through 2026, or Happy Half New Year. Walkers exclaimed they couldn’t believe that the year was already half over. Dick also announced that the upcoming Second Thursday movie will be “American Graffiti.” Those who want to watch the film can attend on July 9th at 1:00 PM at the Piedmont Center for the Arts.

Announcements completed, Dick handed the reins to Sherry J, dressed in a sequined red, white and blue jacket, which she would wear when leading the Wednesday Walkers in three days in Piedmont’s 4th of July Parade. Sherry was the first in a series of longtime Wednesday Walkers who will be helping Dick by taking turns to shepherd the weekly walk through the streets of Piedmont. Sherry explained to the group that they would be the first in this year’s 4^th of July parade to walk the route. She outlined the morning’s walk and then led the group from the Exedra across Magnolia Avenue, turning left on Vista Avenue, and down to Bonita Avenue, then turning right. The group stopped mid-block with a view of the Frank C. Havens Elementary School playground across the street.

On Bonita Avenue, Sherry explained that the City of Piedmont is reconfiguring this busy street during the summer before school starts up again towards the fall. The plan is to turn Bonita Avenue into a one-way south-to-north thoroughfare with seventeen diagonal parking spaces and two disabled parking spaces on the west side of the street. The current loading zone on the east side of Bonita Avenue will be discontinued. A new loading zone for T-K and Kindergarten students will be located on Oakland Avenue, while two loading zones will be located on either side of Highland Avenue for older students in the first through fifth grades. Sherry challenged the group to guess the estimated cost of the Blair Avenue reconfiguration. Although a couple guesses were in the millions, she reassured the walkers that the initial budget was $181,000. After a lively discussion of Piedmont’s downtown traffic congestion during school drop-off and pick-off times, the group headed down Oakland Avenue to El Cerrito Avenue.

Sixty years ago, in 1965, Piedmont’s citywide parade started. Dick J, who was then chairman of the Recreation Commission, initiated the parade. His El Cerrito Avenue neighborhood had been celebrating July 4th since the mid-1950s with its own bicycle parade, a watermelon eating contest, and a water balloon toss. Mary Ellen Sherry and Dorothy Carter, who lived on the block, had experienced 4th of July block celebrations on the East Coast, wanted one for their street, and created the El Cerrito Avenue celebration. Patty Edmonds, the parade’s long-time announcer, and Wednesday Walker Dick Carter were El Cerrito Avenue kids at the time.

In the 1960s Johnson thought Piedmont was too quiet in the summer and was instrumental in consolidating all the Piedmont neighborhood parades to one overall city event. The 2026 Piedmont 4th of July parade is a celebration of America’s 250^th year of independence. It has a focus on community spirit, family fun and civic pride. There are neighborhood floats, antique cars, and bands. The event also includes pancake breakfast and a big band concert in Piedmont Park.

After visiting El Cerrito Avenue and learning its history as the birthplace of the city’s 4^th of July parade and celebration, the group headed up across Highland Avenue to 25 Mesa Avenue where the Wednesday Walkers had assembled for last year’s parade. This lovely, shaded side street was not too far from the grand meeting place for the 2026 Wednesday Walkers’ meeting spot. This year the walkers will assemble between 16 and 20 Highland Avenue, which is where the group headed next. They took their group photo in the driveway between the two homes.

While on their return to the Exedra, the group marched along Highland Avenue (on the sidewalk) and thus was the first to lead the parade down the street, albeit a little early. However, they were not as early as the people who had put out their chairs over the weekend, a whole week before the parade. The walkers would repeat this portion of their Wednesday walk in three days in front of a large audience, including those early birds who had already claimed their viewing spaces with their chairs along the parade route.

Piedmont was incorporated in 1907 as a city in response to the threat of annexation by Oakland after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Albert Farr designed the first civic buildings, including City Hall and the fire station, which were completed in 1910. The buildings reflected the Mission Revival architectural style popular at the time. In the 1920s, a more elaborate civic center plan was developed, including a new City Hall, a library, and other facilities, but only the Community Hall and Exedra were realized. The lively celebration following the 4^th of July parade takes place on the lawn in Piedmont Community Park between these two landmarks.