OHA Walking Tours

Oakland Heritage Alliance TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL WALKING TOURS
 
 

We encourage the use of public transportation; call BART at 510-465-2278 or AC Transit at 510-839-2882 for information.

Led by Sharon Moore • Meet in front of Genova Delicatessen, 5095 Telegraph Avenue (inside the Temescal Shopping Plaza)

You’re in the commercial district that developed around the Oakland Street Railway car barn built in 1870. Visit the sites of pioneering enterprises, including a hotel and brewery. See Victorian and early 20th century stores, still in use. Discover residential streets with period homes that are remarkably tranquil yet close to the commercial bustle.

Led by Kathleen diGiovanni & Betty Marvin • Meet at Glenview Elementary School, corner of Hampel and LaCresta

Enjoy a walk through Oakland’s charming Glenview district, tucked between Trestle Glen and Dimond Canyon. From its earliest years as a ranching district to development as Fourth Avenue Terrace and beyond, we will explore Glenview’s lively period revival commercial strip and its lovely residential streets adorned with houses representing a variety of architectural styles. A hilly walk.

NEW! Shaking City Hall —Earthquake Impacts: How the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes changed Oakland

Led by Annalee Allen & David Nicolai • Meet at historic Fire Alarm Building on Lakeside Drive (opposite the Main Library) • Tour ends at Pardee House, not at starting point.

Learn how Oakland was affected by the ’06 and ’89 earthquakes. Tour proceeds through downtown highlighting earthquake stories about the Hotel Oakland, City Hall, the Tribune Tower, and the Greene Library, (now the African American Museum and Library of Oakland). Concludes with refreshments in the garden of Governor George Pardee’s home (672 11th St.). By special arrangement, Gov. Pardee will make an appearance!

By Reservation Only! Tour is limited to 20 persons. Led by Jason Patton

Free parking is not readily available at the tour meeting place. Participants should either take transit or be prepared to pay for parking. The tour ends in Grand Lake, not at the starting point in downtown. Participants will be given instructions and a map on how to return to downtown by either foot or transit.

Oakland has over 200 off-street pedestrian routes that provide short-cuts through long street blocks. This tour highlights pathways designed to connect homes to streetcars, schools, shops, and parks. Ride the bus along a former streetcar line to the Glenview neighborhood and learn the history of Oakland’s streetcar suburbs as we walk through Trestle Glen to Grand Lake. A long hilly walk of over 2 miles and at least 500 steps.

NEW! Along “The River Macarthur”

Led by Dean Yabuki • Meet at the Farmer’s Market, Splash Pad Park, corner of Grand Avenue and Lake Park (across from the Grand Lake Theater)

During the 1960s, the MacArthur freeway (Interstate 580) cut through the heart of Oakland, separating two active historic neighborhoods; the Rose Garden and Adams Point. Discover the surviving institutions and houses along Santa Clara Avenue and along MacArthur Boulevard. Visit the historic Grand Lake Theater and the El Mirador Apartments, the Japanese American Lake Park United Methodist Church, the Beth Abraham synagogue, a bungalow court and other historic houses. This is a long and hilly walk.

NEW! The Redwoods Of Oakland tour is full, but will be repeated in September.

Led by Steven Lavoie • Meet at Arroyo Viejo Recre­ation Center, 7701 Krause Ave. (at 77th Ave.)

Explore Alameda County’s agricultural past, now at the heart of the inner city. Visit the restored Arroyo Viejo Amphitheater, a relic of the New Deal. Explore the site of the Domoto Bros. nursery, which introduced a new industry to California. Find the birthplace of the greatest minor league baseball player of all time and the childhood home of Hollywood’s first bodybuilding movie star. Travel a major thoroughfare in the history of the hot-rod, outlaw-motorcycle, funk, gospel and hip-hop cultures. Revisit the legacies of the Black Panther Party and the city’s largest African-American churches. Learn of plans for a new school library to serve this dynamic neighborhood.

Led by Pamela Magnuson-Peddle & Betty Marvin • Meet at the Fruitvale Hotel, 3221 San Leandro St.

Explore Fruitvale’s rapid change from Victorian garden suburb to the commercial center of East Oakland. After the 1906 Earthquake, the area experienced explosive population growth, rapid subdivision, and annexation to Oakland, earning it the nickname, “Mushroom City”.

NEW! Philbrick Boat Works

By Reservation Only! Sign up for a tour at 10 am or at 1 pm. Each tour limited to 50 persons.

Led by Russ & Debra Donovan •

Step back in time to a world of mahogany, hand tools, and sawdust. Visit a business that’s unchanged since 1946, the last of the twenty wooden boat builders that once graced the Oakland Estuary. Meet Russ Donovan, master wooden boat builder, and learn from him about the craft of wooden boat building. His hand-made boats are nationally recognized for their superb craftsmanship and design. See the beautiful mahogany runabout boats that are in various stages of construction and repair. Please note: There are no restrooms, no heat, no air-conditioning.

NEW! West Oakland’s “Big One”

Led by Betty Marvin & Steve Vigeant • Meet at 14th Street & Nelson Mandela Parkway.

Start at the Oakland Earthquake Memorial on the site of Cypress Structure collapse. We will investigate this tragic moment in Oakland’s history with a series of stunning photographs of the wreckage. The tour will make a loop through the historic Oakland Point district including the neighborhood around the Southern Pacific Wood St. Station. A moderate walk.

Led by Bert Gordon & Karen Fiene • Meet in front of Mills Hall on the Mills College campus

Enjoy a walking tour of the eucalyptus tree-lined Mills College campus. Stops include Mills Hall, one of California’s earliest buildings to have gas, built in 1871. See the Susan Mills room, furnished with artifacts from one of the founders of the College. Tour the President’s House, dating to the 1860s. See Julia Morgan structures including the Campanile, which withstood the 1906 earthquake, and the Margaret Carnegie library. Architectural and historical commentary provided by specialists. A moderate walk. Wheelchair accessible.

NEW! The Redwoods Of Oakland

By Reservation Only! Tour is limited to 30 experienced hikers.

Led by Dennis Evanosky and Richard Schwartz

Take a hike through Leona Heights and enjoy breathtaking views of Oakland to Mount Tamalpais. See the workings of the tramway that once carried stone from the quarries where Merritt College now stands. Learn about the birth, growth, and harvesting of the redwood trees on the York Trail along Horseshoe Creek. Have a peek at the oldest tree still standing in Oakland. Historian and author Richard Schwartz will talk about the Native American presence in the Oakland hills. This is a moderately difficult hike. Wear your hiking shoes and don’t forget binoculars, cameras and water.

Join us and discover 16 different Oakland neighborhoods this summer! In this anniversary year of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, we have new tours that examine how Oakland was affected then and again with the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.  Other new tours include a hike among Oakland’s oldest trees, and a visit to the workshop of one of the last wooden boat builders. Perennial favorites such as Borax Smith’s estate, Mountain View Cemetery and Uptown Art Deco are reprised by popular demand. Join us on eight summer weekends as we walk through historic areas of Oakland and learn more about Oakland’s storied past and how it informs its future. With 5 new tours this year, OHA’s summer walks explore the city’s natural, social and cultural history, diverse neighborhoods and architectural styles.

These tours are based in part on the research of the Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, a project of the City of Oakland Strategic Planning Division, and the resources of the Oakland History Room, Oakland Main Library.

 

By Reservation Only! Tour is limited to 20 persons. Led by Jason Patton

Free parking is not readily available at the tour meeting place. Participants should either take transit or be prepared to pay for parking. The tour ends in Grand Lake, not at the starting point in downtown. Participants will be given instructions and a map on how to return to downtown by either foot or transit.

Oakland has over 200 off-street pedestrian routes that provide short-cuts through long street blocks. This tour highlights pathways designed to connect homes to streetcars, schools, shops, and parks. Ride the bus along a former streetcar line to the Glenview neighborhood and learn the history of Oakland’s streetcar suburbs as we walk through Trestle Glen to Grand Lake. A long hilly walk of over 2 miles and at least 500 steps.