At Alameda Museum in the island city’s downtown, volunteer help wanted

Stroll down one of Alameda’s main drags, and it’s hard to miss the Alameda Museum with its prominent sign on Alameda Avenue just off Park Street.

Crammed with Alameda-sourced artifacts, the downtown museum is a treasure trove for anyone wanting to do research — especially about the city’s many Victorian houses, one of the museum’s more popular services. However, due to a lack of volunteer docents, it’s only open on weekends.

This has been the case since the COVID-19 pandemic, says Valerie Turpen, the museum’s board president who notes that it had previously been open Wednesdays through Sundays. The lack of volunteers also means that programs such as the museum’s lecture series focusing on Alameda history have been put on hiatus.

Another museum staple, the Meyers House and Garden, a near