I grew up in the Montclair District of Oakland, CA. I attended Thornhill Elementary School, Montera Junior High, Skyline High School, and spent some time at Merritt College.
My childhood home in Montclair
I lived in Montclair until I was a young adult, and since then, I have lived by Lake Merritt, in the Fruitvale District, on Piedmont Ave, the King Estates Area, and now the Laurel District.
Since going on an Oakland Heritage Alliance Tour of the Fernwood Neighborhood in the Montclair District of Oakland in about 1984, I have been an Oakland history buff ever since. On that tour, I learned a train (Sacramento Northern) ran through Montclair in the early 1900s and that people lived the area as early as the 1860s — been hooked ever since. Since then, I have spent a lot of time looking into Montclair’s history, and I have learned a lot. I feel this will be the best way to get it out of my head and onto paper.
In 2018 I started this blog because I collected so much information on Oakland’s history and couldn’t wait to share. Posting in Facebook groups isn’t the best outlet for me. I love sharing what I know and reading what others share. But things get lost on Facebook.
With my dear friend Phil, I got started, and I was off and running. It should be easy, I say to myself, because, in my mind, I had already laid out actual pages and everything I wanted to say.
But it wasn’t.
I tend to get bogged down in the details. I worry about getting my facts correct. It is hard for me to find a happy medium between too much and too little. So, this is a work in progress, so bear with me.
I hope you will enjoy history as much as I do!
Down The Hole, I Go
But I have strayed from the topic of this post. Often when researching one thing, you find something else that has nothing to do with what you are looking for, but it piques your interest. That happens to me a lot.
You might know this as the “Internet rabbit hole” you see when you try to research one thing, and then accidentally go to Wikipedia, and then you are trying to find out what happened to Jimmy Hoffa? That is it in a nutshell.
One rabbit hole I get sucked into often is I will see a picture like this one and want to know more about it.
Oakland Tribune Apr. 02, 1911
Location
Is it still there?
Those two things can be very hard as sometimes the location is very vague and wrong. Sometimes the location is correct. When looking up the house, I am curious as to who the house was built for, were they famous or rich, maybe both?
I have compiled a lot of these pictures of newly built houses. I decided to create a map using Google Maps. The map I have created is “What was there or still is… Oakland, California”.
I have already added lots of the homes that I have found while down in the rabbit hole.
What was there or still is… Oakland California
Description of the Map
Some from long ago and long gone, but some are still there. Based on clippings, newspapers, and photos. May not be accurate as address numbers have changed, and locations were often vague
Maroon – Still there Black – Gone Yellow – Landmark Green – Berkeley Purple – Piedmont Red – Questions – researching
Here is a link to the map. Click on it to see. Please feel free to share it.
I still have lots of pages in the works; just have to get myself out of this hole.
In 1983, my ex-husband and I were hired by the Montclair Presbyterian Church (where I went as a young child) as custodians. We moved into the house the church-owned next to the Sanctuary. It was at church I started to get the history bug. I found out that the church had celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1980. I was amazed the church had been there so long.
In about 1985, I went on the Fernwood Walking Tour by the Oakland Heritage Alliance, and from that point on, I was on a mission to find out more about the history of Montclair and Oakland.
Originally called “The Famous Clothing Company.” Later it was renamed “Smith’s Money-Back Store and Money-Back Smith.” You probably knew it as Smith’s Department Store.
William Smith founded the first store in Oakland in 1885 (according to the Oakland Tribune)
Unique Nickname
“Money Refunded If Goods Are Not Satisfactory.”
Oakland Tribune
Willam “Money-Back” Smith
His friends, relatives, neighbors, and patrons were so used to the policy of ‘money-back” being associated with William Smith that became his nickname.
First Store
The first store was on Broadway, between 7th and 8th Street, later moving one block to 9th Street.
Brilliant Opening
Oakland Tribune
The Famous Clothing Company proprietors held a grand opening reception on March 16, 1892, at 909 and 911 Broadway.
The Berkeley Gazette March 18, 1904
In 1896, Smith chose a new location at 10th and Washington, where the firm remained until 1912.
They then moved to 12th and Washington, which was enlarged and modernized several times.
1935-Blake Estate Co. building (the Blake Block) W. F. Woolworth, Money Back Smith inM.L. Cohen Co., photographers, for Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc. :Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
Another New Location
Circa 1933 – M. K. Blake building (the Blake Block), southwest corner of 12th Street and Washington Money Back Smith in view. M.L. Cohen Co., photographers, for Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc. Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
By 1912 the store was located at 12th and Washington Streets, and it was called “Money-Back Smith.”
Circa 1935 -M. K. Blake building (the Blake Block),.12th and Washington Money Back Smith in view. Downtown Property Owner’s Association. Volume 4. . M.L. Cohen Co., photographers, for Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc.
“Charge It” Plan
Oakland Tribune 1940
Breaking all precedents, Money-Back Smiths had for 54 years had a “cash only” policy offered a liberal 90-day charge plan. The plan had no downpayment, no interest, and no carrying charge.
More than 10,000 Eastbay residents opened accounts in the first six months.
“Charge it!”
They made the term “Charge it” a common word in the vocabulary. Smith declared September 27, 1940
55th Anniversary
“Founded back in 1886 – literally the horse and buggy days of the city, the store has grown with Oakland.”
Oakland Tribune September 27, 1940
“We Couldn’t possibly cut a birthday cake large enough for all the of our customers, and so were cutting prices instead.”
Expansion
Blake Block [ SW corner of 12th and Washington. Creator/Contributor:Cohen, Moses L., 1884-1975. Downtown Property Owners Association (Oakland, Calif.). Date:1944
In 1941 the store embarked on a program of remodeling and expansion that doubled its size. Two additional floors were added, which gave them three floors for selling merchandise.
Oakland Tribune Dec 1951
In 1945, the store acquired 30,000 Sq.Ft. of additional space in the Blake Building on Washington Street.
M. K. Blake Estate Co. building (the Blake Block), southwest corner of 12th and Washington Streets. Smith’s in view. – 1949, Jun. 27 . Camera Corner, photographers, for Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
First Western Bank Building
Oakland Tribune 1955
In 1955 the old Henshaw Building at 14th and Broadway, built-in 1891, was demolished. The Henshaw building housed the MacDonough Theatre, one of Oakland’s first legitimate showhouses.
The First Western Bank Building was completed in 1958.
In March of 1886, the Board of Supervisors created a new school district. That took from portions of the Piedmont, Peralta, and Fruitvale districts and representing about 44 children.
Hays Canyon Schoolhouse Students pose with their teacher. In this photo and of the 6 children sitting down. Walter Wood 2nd from the left, his brother Alfred Wood is 4th from the left Harry W. Logan is seated on far right and his brother Maurice Logan (the painter) is standing far right. The Logan’s and the Wood’s lived at Lake Temescal. c 1900-1910 Oakland History Room
The new district was called the Hays School District, in honor of the late Colonel John Coffee Hays.
The superintendent appointed the following residents of the area as trustees:
W.H. Mead
J.H. Medau
Mrs. Susan Hays
Land Donated
The land for the school was given to the district from Hetty S. Henshaw. The Montclair Firehouse was built in the spot in 1927, using the front part of the lot.
Oakland Tribune Jul 16, 1886
New School House Built
Requests for bids to build the school were made in July of 1886.
Oakland Tribune July 1886
The completed school was small at only 32×36 feet, with just one classroom. It was Gothic in design with a graceful looking bell tower. It had two entrances, one for the boys and the other for the girls, with each entry having a 6×6 vestibule. The sash bars of the windows are all horizontal, copying the style of schools in Europe.
Oakland Tribune Jul 07, 1886
The construction cost about $2,500 and took about two months to build.
The dedication of the school was held in October 1886. It was attended most of the families that lived in the area. Opening remarks were made by Judge EM Gibson and W.H Mead. Some of the families in attendance:
Entertainment provided by the students from the school under the direction of their teacher Miss Lucy Law. The following students performed:
Clara Gibson
Gussie Gibson
Carrie Mead
Daisy Mead
Susie Mead
Mattie Mead
Edith Medau
Louise Medau
Oakland Tribune Feb 11, 1888Oakland Tribune Nov 23, 1889
Graduation 1901
Hays School was the scene of brightness and beauty on Friday June 14, 1901. Friends and family gathered to witness the closing exercises. The four graduates were:
Jessie Logan
Robert Shepherd
August Carson
Scott Monroe
Oakland Tribune June 1901
School Trustees
In 1904 appointed Mr. S. Morrell and Mr. Johnson to fill the vacancies caused by the removal of George Hunt and G.W. Logan.
Attendance for the year ending 1911 for the Hays School was 11 students.
Oakland Tribune Aug 01, 1911
School Closes
The school was closed around 1913, and the building was demolished. It was probably due to the Oakland, Antioch, and Eastern Railway construction, later known as the Sacramento Northern. For more on the Sacramento Northern, please go here. The East Bay Hills Project
Montclair Firehouse
In 1927, the Montclair firehouse was built on the same site. The storybook style building was designed by Eldred E. Edwards of the Oakland Public Works Department.
Storybook firehouse on Moraga Avenue in the Montclair district of Oakland, California. 1934, ohrphoto.districts.031. Oakland. Buildings Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
The woodwork of the main hall was the beautiful koa from the Hawaiian Islands. By the main staircase, there were carvings of koa. The woodwork in the reception-room on one side of the hall was bird’s- eye maple. Antique oak was used in the library and the dining room.
Oakland Tribune May 31, 1891Oakland Tribune May 31, 1891
It was converted into a rooming or boarding house’
Oakland Tribune March 11, 1916
Sometime in the late 1920s the old mansion was razed and the Hotel Lakehurst was built.
Oakland Tribune Feb 02, 1930
It is now called Lakehurst Hall.
Location: 1369 Jackson St now 1569 Jackson Street at the corner of 17th Street.
“Aloha, nui,” or “Love be unto you.” Is carved above one of the entrances
Samuel T. Alexander came to Oakland from Hawaii in the early 1880s. He was one of the founders of Alexander & Baldwin, an American company that cultivated sugar cane.
Oakland Tribune
In 1882 Alexander purchased a lot on the northwest corner of Sixteenth and Filbert for $6,000.
Artistic Homes of California
Artistic Homes of California
The three-story Queen Anne style home was designed by Clinton Day was completed in 1883 at the cost of $20.000
Move to Piedmont
The family lived there until 1912 when Mrs. Alexander moved to Piedmont to be closer to her son, Wallace Alexander.
Rooming House
Sometime after 1912, the mansion was converted to a rooming house renting out rooms until the mid -1960s.
Oakland Tribune 1919
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oakland, Alameda County, California – Vol 1 1903
New Life for Old Mansion
In 1967 the once venerable mansion stood deserted and in despair, its windows boarded or broken was scheduled to be demolished.
Members of the Oak Center Neighborhood Association decided the old mansion could receive a face lift and become a community “Neighborhood House.” The demolition was halted.
Oakland Tribune 1967
The visualized the rehabilted building comprising of office space for the Oak Center Association, a children’s library and study hall, an adult library and reading room, a large all-purpose room for meetings and socials and room for individual and group counseling.
Vandals Strike
The group succeeded in saving the old mansion from the wreckers only to have it nearly demolished anyway –by vandals. The house was broken into and ruined beyond repair and was finally demolished in 1968.
Quinn Home
To make room for Highway 980 the William H. Quinn Home at 1425 Castro Street was moved to 1004-06 16th Street.
William H. Quinn House, 1425 Castro Street, Oakland, Alameda County, CA – Library of Congress – https://www.loc.gov/item/ca0017/
It was built in 1865, the 14-room house of rococo architecture. The barn had room for ten horses and room for 20 tons of hay.
Oakland Tribune
The house had 14 rooms made of redwood. The barn had room for 10 horses
Oakland Tribune
The mansion had a wood and coal furnace, and the radiators are believed to have been the earliest models of that kind in the country. The rooms were paneled with massives doors 9 feet high. Beautiful mirrors adorned the wall.
Oakland Tribune
It was reported that Susan B. Anthony once slept there.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Oakland, Alameda County, California – Vol 2 1903
The house and barn property was purchase by Marston Campbell, Jr, as an investment. It was torn down in 1948.
Edward P. Flint, a land developer, and San Francisco businessman, moved to Oakland in 1860. He lived at 13th and Clay before moving to this house.
Oakland Tribune 1964
The site where he built the house at 447 Orange Street was a part of a larger parcel he subdivided in Adams Point.
After Flint died, Admiral Thomas S. Phelps purchased the property. Phelps was a veteran of the Spanish American War. In 1939 the property was purchased by M.A. Marquard, and lived in the house until 1964.
The house was demolished in 1964 and replaced with a “modern 28-unit apartment building.
The new structure has 15 two-bedroom and 12 one-bedroom apartments, plus a penthouse. The building was designed by Al Colossi. and is located at 447 Orange Street.
Mr. and Mrs. Marquard lived in the penthouse of the new apartment.
The heavy missile, which neighbors said had hurled through the air like a
“shell from a cannon.”
Oakland Tribune October 28, 1931
A 40-pound rock, blasted from the hills above Millsmont, was hurled half a mile and crashed through the roof and dining room ceiling at the home of Fred Bailey, 4017 Altamont Avenue.
The rock was blasted from the nearby Heafey-Moore quarry.
“There is little doubt the rock came from the quarry, where men were blasting.”
A “strange-urge” told Mrs. Bailey to leave their home, and she did go. She left the house at 4:30 with her daughter and went downtown.
“every time I went into the dining room, something told me I shouldn’t be there.” Mrs. Bailey said
Oakland Tribune October 28, 1931
They returned home to find it in shambles. There was an eight-foot hole in the ceiling of the dining room. The rock landed on the couch/bed that their daughter used.
On March 18, 1919, Mrs.George D. Greenwood was killed instantly when a bomb exploded in the family home garden overlooking Lake Merritt. Her husband was the Vice-President of the Savings Union Bank of San Francisco.
Killed Instantly
It is believed that Mrs. Greenwood found the bomb and picked it up, causing it to explode.
Mrs. Greenwood’s body was torn apart and hurled ten-feet across the garden by the force of the explosion. Her clothing was stripped from her body and hung from the trees or was scattered on the lawn.
All windows on two sides of the Greenwood home were shattered.
Threats Sent to Other Families
The Greenwood family wasn’t the only Eastbay family to have received letters threatening death unless specific amounts of money were handed over.
Other families included:
Kenneth E. Lowden – 274 19th Street
Mrs. E.A. Julian – Piedmont
According to the police, a letter demanding $5,000 and threatening to destroy his home with dynamite was sent to Greenwood in January of 1918. The “C.C. of C” signed the letter, which stands for the Cat’s Claw of California.
Oakland Tribune March 21, 1919
The Greenwood explosion was the third in a series attributed to a gang supposed to have dynamited Governor William D. Stephens home and one other.
An unexploded bomb was found in the yard of N. Campagna of Berkeley the week before.
Society Leader
SF Examiner June 12, 1893
Mrs. George D. Greenwood was considered “society royal” in Oakland and San Francisco, where her parents and husbands were pioneers.
Tubbs Hotel
She was one of the Tubbs girls, the daughters of the late Hiram Tubbs, early capitalist, and owner of the famous old Tubbs Hotel.
Oakland Tribune 1891
The daughters were Mrs. Greenwood, formerly Miss May Tubbs, Mrs. William G. Henshaw, Mrs. Grace Tubbs Henshaw, and Mrs. Edward M. Hall.
No Results
Oakland Tribune March 1919
Police investigations, which continued for more than a year after the tragedy, resulted in the clearing of the mystery surrounding the bomb.
Hanford Kings County Sentinel May 08, 1919
The police arrested many suspects, none were charged.
New Wife
Oakland Tribune Sept 1922
Mr. Greenwood married Gertrude Vincent in late 1922.
Greenwood Home
The Greenwood home was located at the corner of 19th Street and Jackson at 1399 Jackson Street (later changed to 1899 Jackson). The Greenwoods lived there from about 1896 to 1920.
The Greenwood Home at the corner of Jackson and 19th Streets. Photo by Frank Rodolph
Oakland Tribune May 12, 1936
In 1936 the house was remodeled and became the new home of the Oakland University Club.
“We are building this clubhouse beyond our immediate requirement but with an eye to the future”
Mrs. E.T. Jepson Nov 08, 1925
A New Clubhouse
Press release
“A very handsome $10,000 structure is planned for the Montclair Clubhouse. It will be 109 by 40 feet and will contain a large auditorium, stage, dressing room, dining room, kitchen, check room, restroom, and basement space, which will be utilized as billiard room.”
Oakland Tribune
Construction Started
The groundbreaking celebration was held in March of 1925 at the junction of Thorn Road (now Thornhill Drive) and Mountain Blvd.
Members of the Montclair Improvement Club inNovember of 1925 and began constructing the new clubhouse.
New Clubhouse Opens
In March of 1926, the Montclair Improvement Club held the $ 20,000 Montclair Community clubhouse formal dedication.
The structure is one-story and is of Spanish architecture. Features included an auditorium with stage and fireplace, dining and reception rooms, an electrically equipped kitchen.
Montclarion
John Perona was the builder who donated his services. Contributions of labor from club members reduced the cost of construction.
They also planned to have tennis and handball courts, a playground for children, and a golf course.
In March of 1926, the Montclair Improvement Club held their first dance at the new clubhouse.
A Bit of History
The beginnings of the Montclair Improvement Club can be traced back to as early as 1923.
Oakland Tribune March 1923
After a few years, it became the Montclair Bussiness Assoc.
Montclarion
Membership was made up of residents of Montclair, Merriewood, and Forest Park.
Copy of Newsletter
The Women’s Auxiliary to the Montclair Improvement Club was also formed in 1923. The name was changed to Montclair Women’s Club in 1925 when it became affiliated with the California Federation of Women’s Clubs
Montclair Women’s Clubhouse
In May of 1928, the women’s club purchased the clubhouse from Montclair Improvement Club.
Oakland Tribune 1928
They held their first dance in August of 1928.
Clubhouse Damaged in Fire
In November of 1928, a fire damaged the interior of the clubhouse.
Oakland Tribune November 10, 1928
Clubhouse is Sold
In 1996 the Montclair Women’s Club was sold. From 1996 until 2015, it was an events center called the Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club.
A bit of history of some of the mansions that once graced the streets of Oakland. More to come at a later date.
Burnham Mansion
Burnham Mansion was at the corner of Lakeside Drive and 17th Street. The three-story mansion was built in 1902 by John Russell Burnham.
Oakland Tribune 1955
The Burnham family selected the site on Lake Merritt’s edge because of its similarity to Lake Geneva.
The distinctive features of the house were the first stall shower in the city and an automobile garage. The Burnham’s were the owners of one of the first two automobiles in Oakland.
Oakland Tribune 1955
At the beginning of WWII, the mansion was turned over to the American Red Cross for a hospitality center. Alcoholics Anonymous occupied the home until 1955.
In 1956 construction was to begin on ne 60-unit apartment building. The new structure was expected to cost $2.5 million. Each of the 60 apartment ran completely through the building with views of Lake Merritt. Other features included parking on two levels, the elimination of corridors, extensive elevator system, individual patios, and a roof top garden.
The old home of Anthony Chabot, founder of Oakland’s modern water system, was torn down in 1952. The city declared the house a fire and health hazard.
Lake Merritt – Anthony Chabot’s Home – circa 1886
The Chabot family hadn’t lived there for some time. Ellen Chabot Bothin still owned it.
The building had been used as a rooming house for years, taking in enough money to pay the taxes.
The home was a modest one considering the owner was a millionaire. The house was two-stories with an attic, its rooms with high ceilings, marble mantels, and velvet embossed walls.
The Chabot’s name is a part of our history, with the following named after them.
Chabot Road
Chabot Observatory
Chabot School
Lake Chabot
Goodall Mansion
Edwin Goodall built an elaborate mansion in 1880. The house was located at 1537 Jackson Street.
The home had paneled walls, and a bed carved out of mahogany, a small theater with dressing rooms.
In 1918, Dr. M.M. Enos purchased the home, operated it as the St. Anthony Hospital until 1923, when it became theJackson Lake Hospital.
Oakland Tribune 1960
In 1960 the hospital was razed to make room for an apartment building called the Jackson Lake Apartments.
Oakland Tribune Sept 23, 1960
King Mansion
Charles H. King built his mansion in about 1884.
King City a rural community in the Salinas Valley was named in 1886 for Oakland’s Charles H. King.
In 1971 the old and neglected King family Mansion still stood at 1029 Sixth Avenue and East 11th Street. The home at one time had 38 rooms. Not sure exactly when the home was razed.
Mein Mansion
Oakland Tribune 1964
The mansion of Capt. Thomas Mein was located at the corner of Jackson and 15th Street.
Oakland Tribune 1964
The three-story 16-room Victorian was built in 1899, included a winding staircase and marble fireplaces.
Oakland Tribune 1964
In 1964 home was razed to make room for a new 34-unit apartment called the Delphian.
Oakland Tribune 1965
Palm Knoll
Oakland Tribune
Palm Knoll, was the home of Governor (later Senator) George C. Perkins (1839–1923). The 24-room mansion Vernon and Perkins Street, was built in 1890.
Palm Knoll was razed in 1947 to make room for apartments.
Oakland Tribune
Playter Home
Ely Welding Playter, a successful hardware merchant in San Francisco, built a mansion in 1879 at 14th and Castro Streets. The area was the center of Oakland’s elite.
Playter was the 24th Mayor of Oakland. He served two terms, 1885 and 1886, and was a Republican.
In 1906, the house became a refuge for “working girls” after being purchased by the YWCA.
It was a three-story structure with long narrow windows.
The house was torn down in 1948 to make room for a service station.
The hospital was Once a Mansion.
The original home of the Solomon Ellsworth Alden family, then the John Edgar McElrath family. It officially opened as the Baby Hospital in 1914.
The nation’s first federally assisted rehabilitation project.
Oakland Tribune
Federal Housing Act of 1954
In 1955 a 125 block area bounded by E. 21st Street, 14th Avenue, E. 12th Street, and Lake Merritt was chosen as the “study area” for urban renewal.
Clinton Park urban renewal plan (project no. Calif. R-2), City of Oakland, California -November 1957-HathiTrust
In October of 1955, Oakland applied to the Federal Government to formally designate an 80 block area of East Oakland bordering Lake Merritt as its first urban renewal project.
First in the West
The area was Oakland’s first concentrated action against blight and substandard housing.
Clinton Park was a conservation project, the first of this type in the Western United States.
When the project began in July 1958, the area covered 282 acres contained approximately 1,358 structures and 4,750 dwelling units. Clinton Park Project is bounded by Lake Merritt, 14th Avenue, East 21st. and East 14th Streets
The field office for the project was located at 1626 6th Avenue. The field office, an example of urban renewal in action –was a 50-year old house that was located at 1535 10th Avenue.
Oakland Gets U.S. Grant
In December of 1955, the Federal Government earmarked $1 210,000 for Oakland’s Clinton Park Urban Renewal Program. This amount was two-thirds of the anticipated total cost.
New School – Recreation Center
“heart of the Clinton Park urban renewal area.”
The new Franklin School served as an educational and recreational facility and the nucleus of the project. The revised plans for the site called for the additional area and a recreation center to be added. The school replaced the old school building condemned as an earthquake hazard.
Oakland acquired property to double the playgrounds of Franklin School.
The new school opened in September of 1956.
Oakland Tribune September 1956
Franklin School Today – 2020 by Littledots
Due to many problems in acquiring property for the expanded facility, the Recreation Center and Playground area’s completion was delayed until the summer of l 961.
Oakland Tribune October 1960
1010 East 15th – today
Our City Oakland
In 1956 the Oakland Junior Chamber Committee of the Chamber of Commerce produced a movie on Oakland’s urban renewal program. The movie, entitled ” Our City Oakland.”
Our City Oakland – American City Dedicated to Oakland Urban Renewal program for the elevation of human and property values of its neighborhoods .
The film (in color with sound)shows examples of Oakland’s slum dwellings, and census figures at the time showed Oakland more than 15,000 such structures (Wow!)
The film also tells of the work in Clinton Park.
Project Launched
In July of 1957, a wrecking crew started the demolition of eight houses near the new Franklin School. This would be the location of the new recreation center.
Oakland Tribune July 1957
Oakland Tribune June 30, 1957
Older Home Gets New Life
In 1956, the Greater Eastbay Associated Homebuilders purchased a 50-year-old home at 1535 10th Avenue.
Oakland Tribune April 1956
Oakland Tribune April 1956
Home and Garden Show
The house was moved from its lot to become an exhibit at the Home and Garden Show.
Oakland Tribune April 1956
It was completely remodeled as a part of Oakland’s Operation Home Improvement Campaign.
Oakland Tribune April 1956
Following the show, the home was moved to and used as the Clinton Park Project field office.
The office was located at 1621 6th Avenue.
Oakland Tribune 1963
Looks like the house was moved sometime in the mid 1960s. A church is there now.
A Rehab Project
The homes at 624 and 630 Foothill Blvd
Many New Apartment Buildings
From 1956 to 1962, 57 new apartment buildings were constructed. By 1960 $4,000,000 had been spent on new apartment construction.
First Project
The ground was broken in May of 1956 for the first significant construction project for Clinton Park.
Robert A. Vandenbosch designed the 32-unit apartment building at 1844 7th Avenue and East 19th Street.
The three-story structure was built around an inner court that has balconies overlooking the court from every apartment.
Now called Casa Simone –
New Apartment Project
Looking from East 18th towards 12th Avenue Photo by Cheney Photo Advertising 1919
A new 12-unit apartment building replaced a “dilapidated” single-family dwelling at 12th Avenue and East 18th Street.
Oakland Tribune
The old structure was located at 1755 12th Avenue, was built in 1900. It had been converted illegally to an eight-unit apartment.
The structure costs $75.000 to build.
1133 East 18th Street
Garden Type Apartment
In 1958 a new $400,000 apartment was built at 1125 East 18th Street.
Oakland Tribune 1958
Two old homes and their outbuildings were razed to make room for the 40-unit two-story building with parking for the 24 cars on the ground floor.
1125 East 18th – Google Maps
An eight-unit apartment building at 645 Foothill Blvd was under construction at the same time.
Clinton Park Manor
Clinton Park Manor, a 144-unit complex, was built in 1958 at the cost of $1,400,000.
24 efficiency units
50 one-bedroom units
46 two-bedroom units
24 three-bedroom units
Architect Cecil S. Moyer designed the four three-story structures with a landscaped courtyard in the middle.
It is now called Oakbrook Manor – 1229 East 19th Street
The complex is bounded by 12th and 13th Avenues and East 19th and East 20th Streets.
Google Maps
One of Oakland’s first schools, Brooklyn Grammar School, was built on the site in 1863. It was renamed Swett School in 1874, and in 1882 a new school Bella Vista was built there. Bella Vista School was razed in 1951.
The Valhalla Apartments
In March of 1960, a three-story 48-unit apartment building was built on the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and East 17th Street at the cost of $556,000.
Architect Cecil Moyer also designed this building. The new building contained (it might still have the same layout):
3- bachelor apartments
24- one-bedroom apartments
11- two-bedroom apartments
10- three-bedroom apartments
The courtyard had a swimming pool.
1720 12th Ave –Google Maps
Six old homes, some dating back to the 1890s, were demolished to clear the site.
Today it is call Cambridge Terrace Apartments
Apartments
A partial list of the new apartment buildings
2225-7th Avenue – 1957
1618-6th Avenue – 1957
1640 -6th Avenue -1957
602 Foothill – remodeled
1925-35 10th Avenue – 1960
New Supermarket
In 1960 Safeway Stores Inc. built a new 20,000 square foot building and a parking lot on 14th Avenue.
The Architects were Wurster, Bernardi, and Emmons of San Francisco.
1711 14th Avenue – Today – Google Maps
Loops’ for Traffic
To meet the problem of through traffic on a residential street, which caused neighborhood deterioration. Forty-seven intersections were marked to be altered, either to divert automobiles to through streets by way of traffic “loops.” or slow them down with curb extensions.
The traffic-diverting “loops” will be landscaped areas extending diagonally across intersections.
The result of these intersections was that through traffic in the project area is limited to 5th, 8th Avenues, north and south, East 21st Street, Foothill Blvd, and East 15th Street, east-west.
The Diverters -Google Maps
Diverters were placed at East 19th Street and 6th and 11th Avenues and East 20th Street at 7th and 10th Avenues. Also at East 20th Street and 12th Avenue.
Discouragers were also placed at East 20th Street and 13th Avenue and East 19th Street and 13th Avenue.
New Mercury Lights and Traffic Signals
Excerpts of articles fromthe Oakland Tribune 1960
Other features of the program included:
New Recreation Center
Widening of several streets and the installation of curbs and sewers.
Planting of 1,600 trees about 20 per block.
Construction of pedestrian overpasses over Foothill Blvd and East 15th Street for safe access to Franklin School.
Installation of new street lighting, street signs, and traffic signs.
Beautiful Homes of Clinton Park
Project Report
By March of 1962, 1,081 structures, containing 3,056 dwelling units have been repaired to eliminate all code. Violation. There have been ll7 structures demolished during the same period.
Final report of Oakland Renewal Foundation, Inc. on Clinton Park Project, Oakland, California. – @HathiTrust
During this same period, 57 new apartment buildings were constructed within the project area, adding l,l08 new units to the existing housing supply.
The Acorn or Acorn Projects are a series of housing projects in the Acorn Redevelopment Project Area of West Oakland.
They were original three housing units, Acorn 1, Acorn 2, and Acorn 3.
Acorn Housing Project model, April 7, 1966. – The Acorn Housing Project promised sleek, modern architecture — concrete-block units with sharp angles and crisp white exteriors
The project started in 1962. The first housing unit contained 479 units and cost $9 million; it was completed in 1969. A second 98-unit called Acorn II was completed in 1971 at the cost of $3.7 million.
Oakland Tribune 1959
Slum Clearance Project
“Oakland’s first slum clearance undertaking will be called The Acorn Project.”
Oakland Tribune March 9, 1959
The Oakland Redevelopment Agency selected the name Acorn for the project area (about 45 Blocks) flanking the Nimitz Freeway between Union and Brush Streets.
Agency member Carl O. Olsen said the“Acorn is symbolical for the future and growth.”
Oakland Tribune February 24, 1965
Acorn’s Amazing Progress
It was reported that Project Acorn was shaping up as one of the most successful blight clearance projects in the nations’ history in 1964.
In 20 months, they had accomplished the following:
Purchased 90% of parcels
Relocated 83% of families
Demolished 75% of structures
Sold four lots for new plants
Oakland Tribune
Property Owners Sue
Thirteen West Oakland property owners sued to block the Acorn Project. They sued the Federal Redevelopment Agency and the City of Oakland, claiming that the Acorn Project “would deprive Negroes of their properties.”
They said the slum elimination project would, in effect, deprive them of homeownership because they have limited access to other residential areas. They told the court they have no objection to urban improvement, but object to being evicted from their homes without a place to go,
The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled against them in May of 1963.
Acorn: Acres of Vacancy
In the land cleared for the project, there were rats, ants, and sparrows lived. But no people.
Oakland Tribune 1967
The Oakland Redevelopment Agency had spent $ 13 million by 1967. But still no housing.
It was described as a slum clearance project, and it was a success. Some 4,300 people lost their homes as wrecking crews smashed aging buildings.
Acorn SIte 1966 By the time this picture was taken, 90 percent of the Acorn project-area had been “cleared,” and 86 percent of residents had relocated — many to the neighborhood of East Oakland and the northern East Bay city of Richmond.*
It took from April 1962 to May 1965 to reduce all but 610 old structures to splinters. In their place was acre upon acre of empty fields in the area between 10th and First and Brush and Union Streets.
Thirty-two were set aside for industrial redevelopment, thirty-four acres for new, moderate-priced housing.
Since 1962 when the Acorns were approved, 12,000 rental units were built in other parts of Oakland.
Acorn Project Aims to Attract Whites
The Acorns, a middle-income development featuring sophisticated townhouses and apartments, was one of the nations’ first attempts at “reverse integration.”
To attract whites to the project, the Building Trades Council tried to put the finest housing it can afford into the project and charge the lowest rents possible.
Rents ranged from studios at $67 up to four-bedroom two-story townhouses at $145. (The upper limit on income was $11,225)
Remember Acorn? It’s Dedicated
After sitting empty for ten years, the Acorn Project was finally dedicated in 1967.
Groundbreaking ceremony for Acorn construction, November 10, 1967 –John B. Williams (kneeling) holds a sign for the Acorn Urban Renewal Project as it is hammered into the ground by Robert C. Weaver, Secretary of the newly founded Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Construction did not begin in Acorn until five years after demolition was completed, leaving a giant barren area in the middle of West Oakland, about 50 blocks, including parts of the historic heart of black Oakland, 7th Street. By the mid 60s, the demolition policies of the Oakland Redevelopment Agency (ORA) would create deep scars in the black neighborhoods close to downtown.
Ready for the Public
The first units of Oakland’s $8 million modern apartment complex opened for inspection in September 1968.
Source: San Francisco Examiner 9/16/68 “Oakland’s Redevelopment Project Ready for Public” (available at Oakland History Room)
Studio – $67.00 a month
4-bedrooms – $145.00 a month
By December of 1968, 106 families lived in the Acorns.
SF Examiner Sept 1968
Award for Acorn
Architects Edmund Burger and Patricia Coplans won the 1970 Holiday Award for the design of the Acorn Projects.
The Acorns Today
SF Examiner May 1998
The property underwent extensive redevelopment in the 1990s due to four years of collaboration among HUD, The City of Oakland, BRIDGE, the Acorn Residents Council, and the West Oakland community.
SF Examiner May 1998
Like many other projects, Acorn was known as a dangerous place for residents and nearby neighbors. The new Acorn will have several safety features. Density was reduced by half from the 700 units that made up the old project, and a series of courtyards with locked gates to limit access.
The Linden Branch Y.W.C.A. and the Filbert Street Y.M.C.A. developed programs during the 1930s that helped the Black community survive the Depression years. They emerged at a time when the national Y’s both encouraged separate branches for Black members.
Linden branch of the YWCA in Oakland, California. circa 1940 Clubhouses–California-Oakland. Young Women’s Christian Associations–California–Oakland. Neighborhoods–California–Oakland–West Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
Linden Center got its name from its location at 828 Linden Street in West Oakland. It achieved the “branch” status in 1924 due to increase membership. It was then known as the Linden Branch Y.W.C.A or the Linden Y.
Young Women’s Christian Association Collection – African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
The Linden Y functioned as a job placement center and welfare agency during the Depression years.
Linden Street Y.W.C.A. interest groups, clubs, classes Young Women’s Christian Association of Oakland. African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
The branch operated as a community center, offering members religious training, recreational activities, counseling, vocational training, and music and art programs.
Linden Street Y.W.C.A. interest groups, clubs, classes Young Women’s Christian Association of Oakland. African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.) MS110_B01_F03_019
Y.W.C.A. yearbook Young Women’s Christian Association of the U.S.A.–History. African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
By 1938 the Linden St. Y had a membership of over 750.
For almost 25 years, the Linden Branch existed as a segregated facility. Following a national policy change, the board of the Oakland Y.W.C.A. integrated the Linden Street Y.
“to make its program available to all women and girls irrespective of race, creed or color”
The name was changed to West Oakland CenterYWCA.
Group of men and women sitting on wall in front of Linden Branch Y.W.C.A – circa 1930s African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.) Joseph, E. F. (Emmanuel Francis), 1900-1979
Group Photo 1940 African American Museum and Library at Oakland, MS189_0809
Linden Street was described as ” a two-story framed building with four club rooms, a reception hall, office for the business and industrial sections, and two rooms rented to accommodate working girls.”
The facility and the entire surrounding neighborhood were razed in the early 1960s to make room for the Acorn Projects.
Linden Street Y.W.C.A. 828 Linden Street circa 1940 Young Women’s Christian Association of Oakland. African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Oakland’s Black Y.M.C.A.
Organized by Rev. L.A. Brown of the First A.M.E. Church, opened on June 6, 1926. It was initially located at 3431 Market Street in West Oakland, and William E. Watkins, an attorney, was the first director. In 1927 the organization had a membership of 160, 134 seniors, and 26 boys.
3431 Market St -Today Google Maps
In 1929 they moved to 804 Filbert Street and became known as the Filbert Street Branch, Y.M.C.A. In 1935 they moved to 805 Linden Street and became the Eight and Linden Branch, Y.M.C.A.
The Filbert Street Y promoted a competitive sports program. Its annual track meet annual athletic contest attracted competitors from all over the Bay Area.
Oakland Tribune Mar 19, 1934
They sponsored a variety of classes and activities. Members could attend classes in Bible and woodworking. A boys’ orchestra, organized by C. E. Brown, preformed for the public. Some of the boys were invited to summer camp.
In 1936 Mr. Watkins resigned as the director and was replaced by R.T. Smith. The directory lists the BLACK YMCA at 836-36th Street. After the move to 36th Street it became known as the North Oakland Branch. It probably integrated about the same time as the Linden Branch.
Exterior of Y.M.C.A. building African Americans–California–Oakland–History–Pictorial works. source: Joseph (E. F.) Photograph Collection circa 1930s : MS126_2499
836 -36th Street today – Google Maps
804 Linden Street burned in 1960 and then was razed for the Acorn Projects.
More Info:
Oakland Heritage Alliance Newsletter – The Black Y’s of Oakland – Winter 1987-88
