Bill's Trading Post ca.1981, all photos courtesy Casey family.
BERKELEY HISTORY
A.W. Smith, Architect and Builder, 1923
Bill Gulley started “Bill’s Model Shoe Shop” here in 1934, after his previous business enterprise of bootlegging ended with the repeal of Prohibition. When he died in 1966 his daughter, Mary Jane “Peggy” Casey, and her daughters created Bill’s Trading Post and an adjacent Gem Gallery. The business became nationally known for its handcrafted Native American jewelry, textiles, ceremonial objects and art, as well as its support of Native American causes. Mary Jane Casey (1925-2017) was a leading Berkeley businesswoman and a president of the Elmwood Merchants Association.
A.W. Smith was a prolific designer and builder of residential and commercial properties in Berkeley and Oakland during the early part of the twentieth century. This one-story building follows the pattern of the two-block long Elmwood commercial district with traditional inset storefronts and clerestory windows above.
2018
Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
Bill's Trading Post, photo Michael Several (2023).
Elmwood resident Burl Willes at Plaque Dedication 2018, photo R. Kehlmann
Bill's Trading Post, photo Michael Several (2023).
Bill's Trading Post and Gem Gallery (2015), photo R. Kehlmann.
Paul and Peggy Casey (1979), photo courtest Casey Family
College Ave. Street Fair (1975), photo courtesy Casey Family
Elmwood Street Fair (2013), photo courtesy Casey Family
Bill’s Model Shoe Store (ca.1940s), courtesy Casey family
Photo credit abbreviations:
BAHA: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assn.
BHS: Berkeley Historical Society