Barbara Brown on sat 10 sep 05
If you live in the San Francisco bay area and are going to the Pomona til=
e conference, you can have a preview by making a short trip to Oakland (a=
nd have a nice lunch or dinner).
You will find Sabina's Indian Cuisine restaurant in the former showroom o=
f the Howden Tile Co in Oakland. Robert Howden Sr operated his tiles sal=
es company in this city from 1893 to 1923 when ceramic tile made a signif=
icant contribution to the architectural style of the bay area.
Upon his retirement, Howden erected this building as a monument to his ca=
reer as well as an encouragement to his sons to carry on his business. T=
he building was finished in 1925 when Mr Howden was in his early 60's. Ti=
les were provided gratis by manufacturers and Mr Howden, with the assista=
nce of one other tile setter and two helpers, did a major part of the wor=
k himself to tile the entire exterior of the building. I do not know how=
long his sons kept Howden's tile company alive, but after business cease=
d, several restaurants have occupied a main portion of the show room. Sab=
ina's is the most recent and fits well into its tile decor.
The floor of the dining area is tiled with the work of the famous Ernest =
Batchelder who made tiles in Pasadena and Los Angeles from 199 to 1932. =
Batchelder also created the unglazed tiles decorating the fountain and th=
ose on the fireplace. Salon and Schemmel who worked in San Jose from 192=
1 to 1936 made the tiles ornamenting the interior of the fountain and the=
decorative tiles on the staircase.
American Encaustic Tile Company (1876-1934) made most of the tiles used o=
n the exterior of the building.
Sabina's cuisine is Northern Indian. It specializes in mildly spiced Ind=
ian comfort food, tempting tandoori dishes, curries, as well as vegetaria=
n dishes. There is an upstairs dining room with no tiles so be sure you =
ask to be seated downstairs so my view and enjoy all the tile work
Sabina Indian Cuisine
1628 Webster Street
Oakland, Ca 94612
510-268-0170
Hours:
Mon-Sat 11:30-2-30
5:30-9:30
Barbara
Barbara Brown
1225 Manzano Way
Sunnyvale, Ca 94089
408-736-3889
bbrown3@webtv.net
www.silverhawk.com/crafts/bbrown97
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