It isn't quite right to say that Chevron has been in Richmond for 110 years.

Although there was settlement in the area, the establishment of the facility now known as the Chevron Richmond Refinery came in 1902, three years before the city was founded.

The history of Chevron in Richmond is documented in the new exhibit "Other Days, Other Ways: A Refinery Saga," which opens Tuesday in the Seaver Gallery at the Richmond Museum of History, 400 Nevin Ave.

While its presence has remained constant, the refinery has changed considerably since then, as has its corporate parent.

Documents and artifacts illustrate the evolution of a presence that began in the 1870s as the Pacific Coast Oil Company, an independent concern that had a refinery in Alameda.

The big change came in 1902, when the operation was bought by the growing trust Standard Oil and administrator William Rheem was dispatched to choose a site for a new refinery.

Rheem chose to purchase a large swath of land along the Bay shoreline in Contra Costa County, and a new refinery was built and operating within nine months.

Documents that will be on display at the museum show that the operation kept the Pacific Coast Oil company name until 1906, when it was renamed Standard Oil of California just a month after the great earthquake and fire in San Francisco.

The name was changed to Chevron in the mid-1980s.

Displays will feature aspects of the operation

in its earlier years, including research, marketing, social life, people, products and equipment at the sprawling operation, as well as its role during World War II.

Documents include a 1912 telegram from Rheem to Richmond Mayor E.S. Garrard, a telegram from President Franklin Roosevelt to California Gov. Cuthbert Olson, company publications and early handwritten ledger sheets and receipts.

"One very interesting piece we have is a model for the (steam tanker) ship SS Richmond, built for the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915," said exhibit curator Inna Soiguine.

The model, part of the museum's permanent collection, is upstairs in the main gallery, which is also worth a visit.

Admission is free for the exhibit's opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, when the refinery's 110th anniversary will be celebrated by Chevron and city officials and community dignitaries. That day will also mark the anniversary of Richmond's incorporation in 1905.

Music and light refreshments will be provided.

WEST COUNTY NOTES: The Teens on Stage program at Stage Door Conservatory in Berkeley will present "The Tale of Sweeney Todd" from Aug. 9-12 at the Performing Arts Center at El Cerrito High School, 540 Ashbury Ave.

Simon Kaplan directs the youth cast in the macabre musical about "The demon barber of Fleet Street."

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9, 10 and 11, and 2 p.m. Aug. 12.

Tickets are available online at stagedoorconservatory.org or at the door 30 minutes before showtime.

"Go, Celebrate and Enjoy Together" is the theme of the second annual block party at North Richmond Missionary Baptist Church, 1427 Fred Jackson Way in North Richmond, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The community event will feature live gospel, r&b, and holy hip-hop music, games and contests along with free food and beverages.

Tom Courtney, author of "Walkabout California," will discuss inn-to-inn walks in Northern California and sign copies of his book at a free program from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday in the Edith Stone Room at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave.

A plant-restoration work party on the Bay Trail at Point Isabel in Richmond will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. To participate, RSVP to Tom or Jane Kelly at 510-704-8628, 510-684-6484 or kyotousa@sbcglobal.net.

Volunteers will meet next to the dog park.

The Public Works Department in El Cerrito has come up with short-term steps it plans to take to temper traffic speed on Arlington Boulevard and increase safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The issue was the focus of a July 10 community meeting following the death of a woman crossing the street.

Measures include trimming vegetation to increase visibility, adding signage, striping and other markings, adding a curb and handrail where the street starts to curve, and relocating and enlarging a crosswalk near Brewster Avenue.

The city also formulated possible long-term measures and has applied for a Highway Safety Improvement Program grant to cover design and construction costs.

Meanwhile, the El Cerrito Police Department has announced that its radar trailer, which displays the speed limit and the mph of passing vehicles, is available for deployment by request.

To request the trailer, visit www.el-cerrito.org/index.aspx?NID=251 or call 510-215-4435.

The 1944 feature "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," starring Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson and Robert Walker, will be shown at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 as the next entry in the World War II Home Front Film Festival on the historic ship SS Red Oak Victory, 1337 Canal Blvd. in Richmond.

The movies are free, but there is a $5 donation to board the ship, with the gangplank opening at 6:30 p.m. Popcorn and refreshments will be available.

Bicycling-advocacy group Richmond Spokes has found a nice niche providing valet two-wheeler parking at East Bay events.

The group reports that at the Berkeley Kite Festival last weekend it parked 350 bikes on Saturday and 450 on Sunday.

The 18th annual Dick Dobbins Pacific Coast League Player and Family Reunion, a celebration of the golden age of minor league baseball on the West Coast, is set for 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at Ryan O'Connell Hall, 575 West Estudillo Ave. in San Leandro.

For details or lunch reservations, contact Mark Macrae at 510-538-6245 or mark_macrae@comcast.net.

The spirit of Rosie the Riveter of World War II is carried on through the national Rosie's Girls program, which allows its youth participants to build self-esteem, physical and leadership skills "through an exploration of trades and nontraditional activities."

The closing ceremony for this year's Rosie's Girls of Richmond class will be noon to 2 p.m. Saturday on the SS Red Oak Victory, 1337 Canal Blvd.

To RSVP, send an email to Tariq Norris at tnorris@ymcaeastbay.org or Lucien Sonder at lucien_sonder@nps.gov.

Christian Wimmer, who does videography for the Richmond Fire Department and city cable TV station KCRT, is seeking photos of El Cerrito in the 1970s for a project he's putting together.

Anyone who has snapshots they would be willing to share can contact him at 510-620-6759 or christian_wimmer@kcrt.com.

Contact Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784 or ctreadway@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/christreadway. Stay up-to-date on West Contra Costa news at IBABuzz.com/westcounty.