Photos: Virginia Bates Zielinski
Joseph Formica has said:
“I’m not a copy cat. I’ve always wanted to do something original.”
Joseph Formica lives under the little hill near San
Francisco Bay a mile from my home. Joseph Formica was born in
New York City in 1911. His father was born in Messina, Italy. Joseph worked as a textile
cutter in the garment trade in NYC. In 1940 Joseph moved to California to work in the
Kaiser Shipyards. He bought La Casa Formica in the 1940’s. He has been working on it for
60 years. I first saw La Casa Formica from the back of the Pacific East Chinese Mall Parking
lot. It occurred to me that it is rare for a house in El Cerrito to have roman statues on the roof. I
drove around the corner. I parked in front of La Casa Formica. Joseph Formica came out on
his porch. I yelled: “Your house is beautiful!” Joseph Formica invited me
in. He is very jolly. Every inch of his house is crammed with all kinds of mementos of his life. He
has had a stroke. His memory is now around him in his creation.
Joseph started with a 3 room
cottage. It is now 13 rooms. La Casa Formica has been called the Hearst Castle of El
Cerrito.
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On the back of
this card, it says: |
