When Vice Was King in El Cerrito

Does the name "Black Jack" Jerome ring a bell?

It's a name that still sends shivers through the collective memory of El Cerrito. He ran the dog racing track at what is now El Cerrito Plaza, drawing gamblers from as far away as Reno and Los Angeles – at least until 1939 when Earl Warren, then the state Attorney General, shut the illegal operation down.

Black Jack and his dog track belonged to a very different city then, a place that El Cerrito Historical Society Vice President Dave Weinstein calls a "Mecca of Gambling and Vice."

Weinstein will be bringing the ghosts of El Cerrito's sinful past and their once famous haunts back to life on Sunday, Sept. 30, when he leads a walking tour of "sites of vice" at 1:30 p.m., following by a 3 p.m. talk at the Eagles Lodge, formerly a classy casino called the Wagon Wheel.

Also speaking will be bandleader Hugh White, who played the Wagon Wheel and other local clubs.

Sponsored by the Historical Society, both events are free, and participants are welcome to join either one or both. The 1:30 p.m. walking tour begins at the Eagles Lodge at 3223 Carlson Blvd. in El Cerrito.

Those wishing more information on the program – titled, "When El Cerrito was a Mecca of Gambling and Vice" – can contact Weinstein at 510-524-1737 or davidsweinstein@yahoo.com.

----------------------------------

Other ways to connect with El Cerrito Patch are to "like" us on Facebook and “follow” us on Twitter.