A few months ago, there was a call for artworks on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system. The BART Art Program invited local artists to submit their artworks to be shared in various public spaces like train stations. Though I learned about this exciting opportunity too late, I still created an artwork to show my appreciation for the public transit system that I’ve frequented these past several years since coming to the Bay Area.
BART train, September 2025.
Voila! Ladies and gentlemen, I present you, BARTolomew:
BARTolomew, Digital Art by The Time Traveler, 2025.
P.S. Aside from the art event, BART hosts other fun events throughout the year. This September, special stickers were given out for the All Aboard Transit Day on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. But they weren’t handed out at every BART station, and I had to search hard to get one of these:
I traveled to Santa Clara, CA for the first time recently. And while down there, I visited an apartment complex called Mansion Grove. It’s located near the VTA Headquarters, Samsung, Cisco and other big companies.
The gated community features fountains, pools, a community garden, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and a fitness center. It even has a quaint cottage that residents can borrow for their families and friends. (With a fee, of course!)
Mansion Grove’s leasing office.
Little park and fountain by the leasing office.
Community garden and tennis court.
Fountain and the Cottage that residents can rent for their guests.
I was walking around this peaceful and rather large apartment complex when I spotted the following:
On the left is a circular brick building and on the right is a white wooden structure that looks like a mansion.
Even at a quick glance, these buildings didn’t seem like they belonged there. Though they sit right inside the gated community, something about them had too much of that historical charm. But the most I imagined was that they were old facility buildings from a previous apartment company. Never did I imagine that they were buildings of the richest man in California back in the 19th century!!!
When I finally got down to researching about the mysterious buildings, I was surprised to find that they were built and owned by a man named James Lick. According to Wikipedia, he was an “American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences.”
He was born in 1796 in Fredericksburg (née Stumpstown) in Pennsylvania to Pennsylvanian Dutch parents. His grandfather was a German immigrant who served in the Revolutionary War and his father was a carpenter. After learning the family trade and how to make pianos in Baltimore, Maryland, he built his own shop in New York City. In 1821 at the age of 25, he moved to Argentina, where his piano-making business was successful.
Old photo of Main Street in Fredericksburg, Pennsylvania, circa early 20th century. From the Matthews Public Library.
His Early Years
As I researched on, it was astounding to see all the drama he faced so early on in his life! Not only did he fall in love with a woman named Barbara Snavely, have his only child with her and never marry, but he also was taken as a prisoner of war at one point. He was coming back to Buenos Aires from his trip to Europe when the Portuguese captured the ship he was on. He had to escape on foot!
After the dramatic escape, he moved from Argentina to Chile due to the political instability at the time and then from Chile to Peru. He then decided to settle in California. In 1848, just a few days before the historic discovery of gold, James Lick arrived in San Francisco.
How the City’s Mission Bay looked like back in November 1848. Illustration by Bayard Taylor. From the British Library.
What’s also fascinating is that James Lick’s friend and neighbor back from his time in Peru was Domingo Ghirardelli! And apparently, Lick told Ghirardelli to move to San Francisco. Ghirardelli made his name and fortune selling chocolate while Lick made his buying real estate.
Portrait of Domingo Ghirardelli by Gustavo Luzzati. c. 1899. From the National Portrait Gallery.
Feats of the Richest Man in California
Illustration of the hotel Lick House by William Laird MacGregor, c. 1876. Published by the S.F. News Company. From the California History Society.
James Lick was at one point the richest man in California, owning large areas of Santa Clara County and San Francisco, land around Lake Tahoe, a large ranch in Los Angeles County, and all of Santa Catalina Island!
He built a grand hotel called Lick House, which sadly burned down in the fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Aside from the ostentatious hotel that was destroyed by the fire, Lick had also…
donated to the University of California for the construction of the Lick Observatory,
built free public baths called the James Lick Baths,
founded the California School of Mechanic Arts,
erected bronze statues before the San Francisco City Hall,
built a memorial to Francis Scott Key (author of the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”) in the Golden Gate Park,
and contributed to the Conservatory of Flowers. (Lick had intended the Conservatory of Flowers for San Jose but it ended up being purchased by San Franciscans and placed in the Golden Gate Park.)
Photogravure of the Lick Observatory, c. 1900. From D. Appleton & Company.
The Lick Observatory was “the largest philanthropic gift in the history of science.” It began its operations in 1888 (Regents of the University of California). It was “the first permanently staffed mountain-top observatory” and “the world’s largest refracting telescope” at the time (University of California). There were groundbreaking discoveries and innovations made at the Lick Observatory, including…
“Albert Michelson’s use of interferometry to measure the size of Jupiter’s moons,”
Edward Emerson Barnard’s discovery of Jupiter’s fifth moon,
creation of a “photographic atlas of the moon,”
James Keeler’s study of the spectra of stars,
the discovery of “unimaginably large numbers of galaxies,”
Robert Trumpler’s “confirmation of the general theory of relativity,”
“studies of star clusters,”
and the discovery “that dark matter absorbs light in space.”
The Lick Observatory sits on Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose. Surprisingly, it’s also where James Lick is buried. The observatory sounds like a must-visit spot for historians and scientists alike!
Photo of the Lick Observatory by C. C. Pierce, ca.1904-1909. From the California Historical Society.
The James Lick Mill
Per the City of Santa Clara website, this mill is a “a four-stone, water-powered flour mill” built in 1855.
Here’s a plaque placed by the order of the Santa Clara City Council:
According to the plaque, the flour mill was powered by the water from the Guadalupe River. It was converted into California’s first paper mill in 1873 and in 1882, a fire destroyed the original mill. So, the building standing today isn’t the original built by James Lick. In 1902, the newly-built mill became a plant for alcohol manufacture and in 1987, the building was included in the historic trust zone.
Photo showing how the Lick Mill and its surrounding area looked like back in 1905 on an information board in the Ulistac Natural Area.
The James Lick Mansion
Next to the mill stands the mansion. It was “constructed in 1858 and contains a lovely mahogany interior,” which I could not see as the mansion is not open to the public.
The front door. I SO wanted to get a good tour of the interior! For the time being, I am content with finding these photos shared by the Library of Congress.
It was a well-built, pretty structure with decorative yet simple designs.
And near the mansion was another plaque specifically for the Lick Mansion:
Here’s a close-up of the plaque “placed by order of the Santa Clara City Council”:
Per the plaque, this mansion has been built in “Italianate” style and with native redwood. And all 24 rooms have “imported marble fire places”! 👀
Reason Behind the Mansion
The mansion was large, even by today’s standards. And that got me thinking how, perhaps, James Lick would have felt lonely living in it by himself. When I read about the reason why he had built the mansion, I really think he would have been.
Once the construction of the mill was completed, Lick invited his only son, John Henry, to live with him in a small cabin he had. His son was 37 year’s old and had never met his father before! When he arrived, he let his estranged father know that his mother, Barbara Snavely, had passed away a few years ago.
Portrait of John Henry Lick (1818-1891), only son of James Lick. Dated 1863. From Matthews Public Library.
According to this snippet from James Lick’s biography, The Generous Miser, (shared HERE), James Lick couldn’t marry her because her father, a local miller and farmer, deemed him too poor at the time. The source shares that James Lick sent photos of the mill to Barabra’s father after it was built, which just shows how he never got over the refusal.
So this man couldn’t marry the woman he wanted to marry, met the child they had together when the said-child was 37, and never remarried. What’s all the more sad is that apparently, he built the Lick Mansion “in hopes of improving their [he and his son’s] relationship” (Misch and Stone 1998). It’s heartbreaking to read that their relationship didn’t improve, and so Lick didn’t bother to furnish the house properly.
John Henry went back to Pennsylvania in 1863 and only returned just before his father passed away.
Next to the Guadalupe River
Various sources mentioned that the Lick Mill and Mansion were located next to the Guadalupe River. I didn’t know just how close the two actually were to the river! They’re literally right next to it:
The Guadalupe River and the Lick Mansion in 2025. There’s a biking trail and gates of the Mansion Grove apartments in between.
The Rich Yet Lonely Man
Guadalupe River up close.
Despite the wealth and opportunities James Lick had, he lived such a lonely life. He had someone he wanted to marry but couldn’t and a child he couldn’t become close to.
After reading about the reasons behind the construction of the mill and mansion (and the negligence of the latter), I can’t help but think how affected James Lick was by the things that weren’t granted to him.
One might say he would have had his friends. But apparently, many of his contemporaries thought him eccentric. On top of that, rich people are fully aware that most people approach them for their money. So I think it’s likely that he didn’t really have deep friendships.
James Lick was granted uncommon wealth, power and influence but not what he may have truly longed for: a family.
Ephemerality of the World
Chancing upon James Lick’s mill and mansion in the middle of the Mansion Grove apartment complex just made me realize, again, how transient everything in the world is. Yes, there are schools (i.e. James Lick High School, James Lick Middle School, and Lick-Wilmerding High School), as well as a street, park, freeway, and light rail station (i.e. Lick Mill Blvd, Lick Mill Park, James Lick Freeway, and Lick Mill Station) named in his honor.
VTA light rail station.
I mean, there is a crater on the Moon, an asteroid, a village, and even a species of lizard commemorating him! But most people don’t even know who he was. I chanced upon his mansion and mill in the middle of a modern apartment complex and only found out about his life after doing research on my own.
It doesn’t matter if someone was or is the richest person in California. Everyone fades into obscurity, albeit some leave behind names and/or contributions. James Lick did both, leaving behind his name and making big contributions to the public and to the sciences. And yet, he had also become a part of the oblivion of everyone and everything that once was and were.
Lick Monument, ca. 1876. In Cedar Hill Cemetery in Fredericksburg, PA. From Matthews Public Library.
As a practicing Christian, this reality affirms my belief: nothing in this world prevails except for God’s Word that continues to change minds, hearts, and souls:
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”
Isaiah 40:8
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Matthew 24:35
Historical Site Neglected
And as a historian, seeing the mill and mansion of someone so significant to California’s history left as they are in the middle of the apartment complex (next to a parking lot!) is just sad to say the least.
Well… At the very least, the mansion and mill are noted in the apartment map.
P.S. I just realized – it’s called “Mansion Grove” because of the Lick Mansion! 🤯
P.P.S. Here are more posts where history and travel intersect:
One thing I’ve noticed after moving up to NorCal is that bakeries here are infinitely better than the ones in SoCal. What I mean is, bakeries in the Bay feel more authentic and artisanal, and often times they are. I think there are better options for bread here than in the south. Please correct me in the comments below if I’m mistaken, but I can’t think of SoCal equivalents to The CheeseBoard Collective Bakery, The Acme Bread Company, Arsicault Bakery, and Tartine Bakery (spots all deserving separate posts of their own!)
Anyways, this post is solely on Fournée Bakery in Berkeley, CA – and the gem of a French bread they make: fougasse.
Front entrance of Fournée Bakery
Fournée Bakery
The Claremont Club & Spa that you see outside the bakery.
Facing the tennis courts of the historic Claremont Club & Spa, Fournée Bakery is located in the small cluster of restaurants and stores at the intersection of Claremont Ave, Russell St, Domingo Ave and Ashby Ave. Its neighbors include Peet’s Coffee, Tulipan Floral, and Rick & Ann’s.
Fournée Bakery and its neighbors.
On a busy day, the line can go all the way down almost to Rick & Ann’s! As you can see in the photo above, there are some parking spots with meters. But this area can get crowded as this area is shared by other restaurants and stores, along with guests and visitors from the Claremont hotel and its tennis courts.
Bread Galore!
Baked goods at Fournée.
Fournée Bakery offers an array of delectable baked goods, including morning buns, scones (fruit, walnut & coriander), croissants (fruit, veggie, chocolate almond, almond, traditional butter, egg & ham, ham & manchego cheese), cheese rolls, pains au chocolat, pains au raisin (says it’s “pain aux raisins” online), and this marvelous French bread called, “gougère” that I fell in love with! It’s this savory puff of a bread that tastes like cheese and egg. Simply delicious!
They also have these sandwiches that seem to be popular amongst visitors. I always see at least one person in front of me order one. I haven’t tried them still, as I’ve already developed my go-to items and always end up ordering them instead. I’ll have to try them soon!
But I did try their Farmer’s Bread and can say with confidence that it’s good!
Pastries Galore!
I sure can’t forget to mention Fournée Bakery’s excellent pastries!
The pastries behind the glass display vary from day to day, but the selection usually consists of Meyer lemon shortbreads, cookies, brownies, and quiches. Often times, they have these seasonal items – I HIGHLY recommend that you get them. I don’t remember regretting getting their seasonal items, like ever! Some seasonal items that I’ve seen include seasonal fruit scones, bûche de Noël (during Christmastime), fruit tart, and my favorite, the rhubarb tart. I fell hard for it last summer and am currently waiting for it to come out again.
The rhubarb tart that I fell for. I didn’t know how delicious a plant could taste in a tart!
Oh…How I miss the taste of the sweet, fruity, cool crunchy bite of Fournée’s rhubarb tart! 💗
The Gem of a Bread: Fougasse
Yet, the item that truly, truly shines the brightest of ’em all at Fournée is fougasse. You may ask – what is “fougasse”? Pronounced “fu-gas,” it’s a bread from Provence, France that’s shaped like a flat leaf. Per online sources, it’s related to the focaccia of Italy, hogaza of Spain, fogassa of Catalonia, fügassa of Liguria, pogača of the Balkans, and pogácsa of Hungary.
Fougasse from Fournée. It’s huge!
Until Fournée, I had never heard or seen of a fougasse. And even to this day, I don’t see fougasse often in other places in the Bay. So when I first laid my eyes on fougasse with its ingredients listed as in the photo below, I had to try it. I mean, it was a bread made with duck fat!
Ordering the strange bread called, “fougasse” was one of the best decisions I made last year. No joke – the first bite was heavenly: a harmonious blend of salty and savory, with just the right amount of the perfect seasoning.
Ever since that fateful day, I’ve shared fougasse with everyone around me, including my sister who also fell in love with the beautiful French bread. I became Fournée Bakery’s unofficial patron & ambassador of fougasse, visiting the bakery almost every week for it and spreading news of its exceptional taste to everyone I meet.
Conclusion
To tell the truth, I thought about gatekeeping Fournée Bakery and its gem of a bread, fougasse. But it’s too good of a spot to keep to oneself, and besides, it’s already well-loved by its frequent visitors and fans like me!
On a final note, not only is the bakery stocked with delectable bread and pastries, but also, they’ve got a nice seating area to enjoy: in front of/behind Peet’s and Tulipan Floral.
Taking a sip of Peet’s and admiring the flowers of Tulipan while taking a bite of Fournée’s gems is such bliss! 😊
P.S. Note: Fournée Bakery is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. For hours and other info, visit their website HERE or their IG account HERE.
P.P.S. FYI, the front window of Fournée is under renovation. I think I overheard someone say that a car had crashed into the store front or something. So be aware that the front of the bakery will look slightly different!
P.P.P.S. IMPORTANT UPDATE: Fougasse is currently unavailable! ☹ The bakery staff told me that they don’t have the duck fat to make them and they don’t know when they’ll have their duck fat again…
Well, Game of Shrooms has come and gone! It was my very first time (ever!) participating. As expected, it was exhilarating and exhausting to join in as both artist and shroom hunter. For this year’s game, I created one mushroom-themed artwork titled, Shroompoleon (aka Napoleon Shroomaparte), which was claimed by a mystery hunter within a few hours.
Shroompoleon before and after getting wrapped.
Shroompoleon out in the wild.
I don’t exactly know how long it took Shroompoleon to find his forever home, as I wasn’t notified. Meanwhile, I ran around the East Bay for over 4 hours looking for shroom arts but found 0 to keep! 😭
*6/12/23 Update: I found a shroom art two days after the Game of Shrooms officially ended! Special shoutout to my colleague for notifying me of the lovely shroom art created by Tina Banda:
Beautiful shroom art by artist Tina Banda. Click HERE to view the artwork on her Instagram page.
Needless to say, I was so unprepared for this event despite hearing about it from my colleague months before. My colleague had successfully found multiple shrooms in the previous Game of Shrooms. Allow me to share what I learned from her and most importantly, from experiencing the games firsthand.
But before I share any lessons/tips, here’s a brief overview of Game of Shrooms 2023!
Game of Shrooms 2023 Review
The anticipation was quite exhilarating. As the day drew nearer and nearer, more red mushroom pins started to pop up on the Artist Map. This was what the map looked like in the evening on Friday June 9, 2023, just a few hours before the game officially began:
Screenshot of the Artist Map (global view). Note: There was a shroom pin in Antarctica! 😂
🍄 Limited to a Few
Although there were so many mushroom pins on the map, the number of shrooms you can actually look for is way fewer as you are limited to where you live and the areas around it. You also need to be lucky to be living in the same area as the talented artist(s) whose work(s) you want to find and keep. For instance, I loved the shroom arts created by Dana Paints Co., especially this artwork shown on Instagram HERE. (If I remember correctly, the official Game of Shrooms Instagram account featured this artwork!)
Alas, the paintings were going to be hidden away in Old Town Fort Collins in Colorado while the earrings were all the way in New Zealand..
🍄 Shroom Art by Bay Area Artists
Shroom pins that showed up in the East Bay.
Luckily for me, there were several artists in the East Bay whose works I really adored and wanted to find:
Sombean – I mean, who wouldn’t want to find and keep these cute little shrooms felted by Sombean??? 😭💕💕💕
Lea Zalinskis: I adore her whimsical shrooms made of paper! Love their expressions and the way the artist described her shrooms: the purple shroom was called “Accidental Rasputin,” the orange one “Migraine Mushroom” and the blue one was referred to as the “sassy fella”! 😂
🍄 Experience as a Hunter: 4 Hours of Desperate Search 👀
So the day before the hunt began, I made a list of artists whose works I wanted to find and keep (see above). Then I followed their Instagram accounts for the latest hints shared and wrote them down on my phone. I thought this was enough preparation. Boy, was I wrong!
When the day of the Game dawned, I leisurely ate breakfast and headed outside. To my utter surprise, when I opened Instagram on my phone, I saw that many of the artworks had already been found! I tried to keep my calm as I went on to look for other artworks. But as I made my way to the locations hinted at by the artists, those shrooms were being claimed as well!
I began to panic a little as I desperately tried to find remaining shrooms. But as I walked around the East Bay huffing and puffing in search of shroom art, I was notified by the artists that all their works had been claimed.
After over four hours of searching and finding nothing, I resigned and admitted my defeat.
Photo by Bacila Vlad. This was me looking out the window after coming back home. I had completely failed as a shroom hunter.
🍄 Experience as a Participating Artist: Consolation & Gratitude 🎨
I utterly failed as a shroom hunter this year, finding not a single shroom art even after over 4 hours of searching. But I was glad to know that my shroom art, Shroompoleon, had been claimed with all its packaging and message. Knowing that Napoleon Shroomaparte had found his forever home was a consolation. If it weren’t for the art I had hidden, I don’t think I would have felt like I participated in this year’s Game of Shrooms.
Below is the reel I made for shroom hunters looking for Shroompoleon:
Here are some useful tips for artists who want to participate in the next Game of Shrooms:
Start Early. I’d say you should take ample time to create artworks that people would want to find and keep. This is an excellent opportunity to share your passion, your creativity, to the public! Make the most out of it.
Make more than one artwork. You can certainly create just one shroom art, but I’ve noticed how popular artists make more than one. I think it’s great for them to do that, as it creates more chances for those who want to find and keep their works.
Create good marketing materials. Utilize social media to build anticipation leading up to the day of the game, and prepare business cards/flyers to hide with your work. Again, this is your chance to share your art and bring joy to others via your art!
Beware that your art will be found very quickly. As I found out this year, shroom hunters are very competitive and eager to find artworks! This will be especially true if you are a talented artist. I know one artist whose shrooms were claimed minutes after they were hidden!
Understand that people might not tag or mention you. Although I’ve asked hunters to tag me if they found Shroompoleon, I wasn’t tagged/messaged that my art was found. And I’ve heard from other artists that they also didn’t get notified. Though some hunters most definitely will tag you in Instagram or send you a message to let you know and thank you, understand that not everyone will for one reason or another.
Game of Shrooms Tips: For Hunters
They say failure is the mother of success. Here are the most important things I learned this year for a more successful hunt next year:
Know thy neighborhood. You will have the most advantage in the neighborhood you are familiar with, whether that be the town you grew up in or lived the longest in. One might think this won’t matter but it does, when there are numerous hunters vying for shroom art.
Vehicle, vehicle, vehicle. You need wheels for this event! Unless you want to walk around cities on foot like me and dejectedly watch everyone find shrooms before you do. Public transit won’t get you far either. At the very least, get an electric scooter, with which you can race to shrooms before others.
The game is no joke. I had no idea people were this passionate about shroom art! The competition is fierce, especially for popular artworks. So set out early, have a plan, keep tabs on artists and follow them to get the latest hints.
If you feel comfortable, please do let the artist(s) know. Please do let the artist(s) know that you’ve found their artworks! It helps them keep count of their works yet to be found and keeps others from looking for shrooms already found. Also, it just makes the artists’ day if you let them know and show appreciation. 💜
Comfy shoes are a must!!! The reason why I survived the approximately five hours of walking and running was my tennis shoes. If it weren’t for them, my feet would have been covered with blisters. Even if you plan to drive around, I say comfortable shoes are a must – you never know when you’ll have to run to your destination!
Divide & conquer. Work as a team with friends/family members interested. With different shroom artworks hidden across an entire neighborhood/city, it’s best to divide and conquer.
Final Words
Last but not least, stay safe! As it says on the official Game of Shrooms page, it is an “at your own risk event” in which you will be participating with total strangers. Practice safety!
Equally important, watch where you’re going! Due to the excitement and fear of losing yet another art to another shroom hunter, I was impatient to cross roads and sometimes running to get to places. Beware of cars, pedestrians, and whatnot!
There you have it – tips for hunters and artists for the next game of shrooms. And guess what? Attaboy, the creator of Game of Shrooms, announced the date of the next game already! Game of Shrooms 2024 will be on June 8, 2024.
🍄 Let the countdown begin!!! 🍄
P.S. To view my post on the Game of Shrooms before the 2023 event, click HERE (feat. all the excitement & anticipation).
P.P.S. Did you know that Tina Banda’s shroom art glows in the dark? It’s stunning! 🤩
The Time Traveler is an upcoming author who holds great appreciation for both classic literature and history. The author aspires to publish historical fictions and other written works in the near future, in hopes of creating works that entertain, inform, and inspire.
The author also appreciates all things aesthetic and enjoys traveling around the world to learn and observe.
