Fire destroys rare art collection and Oakland bookstore

Fire in Oakland destroys East Bay Booksellers shop and rare art collection

Oakland's landmark East Bay Booksellers shop in the Rockridge neighborhood was destroyed by fire Tuesday morning, as well as a rare art collection that was in an upstairs investment advisor's office.

OAKLAND, Calif. - A three-alarm fire ripped through a popular Oakland bookstore on College Avenue on Tuesday morning, a tragic loss for the scores of customers who loved to pore over pages and listen to their favorite authors.

The owner of the East Bay Booksellers store, Brad Johnson, was devastated when he arrived to see the store destroyed.

The space used to be Diesel Bookstore for decades, and Johnson was an employee who decided to purchase the bookstore when the previous owners retired seven years ago.

"I'm getting phone calls and text messages from all over the country, from people who shopped here, recently, as well as in the past," he said. "So, it's certainly not just a Rockridge institution. It is definitely an Oakland icon."

The roaring of the fire could be heard on cell phone video recorded on Lawson Avenue, about a half mile away.

Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington said the fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m., and when firefighters arrived, flames were coming out of the second floor.

Firefighters tried to prevent the flames from destroying an apartment building next door which was evacuated.

"There were four units evacuated occupied by approximately 5 people," Oakland Fire Department spokesman Michael Hunt said.

Hunt says one resident and one firefighter suffered minor injuries.

The fire department shared video of the inside of the bookstore, where flames were seen racing through shelves of paper books.

"When I bring my grandkids in here we go to the bookstore. Every time. I love to shop local, so it's heartbreaking to see," said Barbara Stelzriede, who owns the George and Walt's bar next to the bookstore.

Davis and Louise Riemer were also heartbroken.

Their office on the second floor contained a rare art collection. Firefighters were able to save one item, but the rest was destroyed.

"They were able to save a six-foot ladder made out of pennies," Louise Riemer said.

"It was all money art. We are investment advisors so the collection of money art was unique. Each piece is a one-off and had been collected over 30 years, and it's really hard to lose that part of it," Davis Riemer said.

Parts of their collection had been on display at the Lesher Center and they said they always liked to discover and support unknown artists. The Riemers say their lost collection is also a loss for the artists.
"It's also challenging to call some of the artists and say your work is gone," Louise Riemer said.

Hunt says the Red Cross is helping the residents that were displaced.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire and say there is no evidence of any criminal activity.

KTVU photographer Joseph Cousins contributed to this report.

Jana Katsuyama is a reporter for KTVU. Email Jana at jana.katsuyama@fox.com. Call her at 510-326-5529. Or follow her on Twitter @JanaKTVU and read her other reports on her bio page.