On Sunday, October 15, from 1-5:30 p.m., the Oakland Heritage Alliance will present a home tour in one of Oakland’s most vibrant and historic areas — the Temescal neighborhood. The tour features a 1903 Classic Revival house that incorporates a water tower, and a circa-1900 house transformed into a mid-century modern home. A 1910 stucco bungalow on the tour displays an unusual collection of antiques such as Chinese cinnabar, antique Chinese children’s hats, beaded handbags, Victorian lace dresses, black paper dolls, and 19^{th century ruby Bavarian glass. The tour will also include an 1880 two-story Italianate, as well as an Eastlake and Arts and Crafts bungalow, both undergoing extensive renovation.}

The house tour is self-guided and easy to walk, though many of the houses do have steps up to front entries. Proceeds from the tour benefit the Oakland Heritage Alliance. Tickets are $30 advance, $35 day of the tour, and $25 for OHA members and include a at one of the houses. The tour starts in front of Acorn Kitchens and Baths, 4640 Telegraph Avenue. OHA seeks volunteers to help with the tour; all volunteers will receive complimentary admission. Contact (510) 763-9218 for information or to make reservations, email info@oaklandheritage.org, or visit www.oaklandheritage.org.

To help people gain a better understanding of the history of the Temescal neighborhood, the Oakland Heritage Alliance is also presenting a lecture by Jeff Norman on Thursday, October 12, part of its ongoing Second Thursdays at Chapel of the Times series. Mr. Norman will present highlights from his newly published book, Temescal Legacies: Narratives of Change from a North Oakland Neighborhood. Donation $8 OHA members, $10 non-members. This event is at 7:30 p.m., Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland.

The Temescal area neighborhood takes its name from Temescal Creek. The Huchiun Ohlone first settled the area; later, it became part of a Spanish land grant to Luis Maria Peralta. In 1836, Vincente Peralta, the youngest son of Luis Maria Peralta, built a modest adobe on Temescal Creek, near the current intersection of Telegraph and 55th Street.

In 1855, Solomon Ellsworth Alden, a successful San Francisco restaurateur, began purchasing property in the vicinity. In 1868, he laid out the town of Temescal and began selling lots. A small commercial district began to form around the site of Vicente Peralta’s adobe. By 1870, the Oakland Railroad Co. extended the Broadway-Telegraph streetcar line to 51st and Telegraph. When the University of California established its Berkeley campus, the Telegraph Avenue streetcar line was extended to reach it.

The Temescal area then began to grow: a Little Italy thrived, and just up the street sat Idora Park, an amusement park of wooden roller coasters, a skating rink and games. Beginning in the 1880s, the area saw the construction of large Victorian houses, still present at 49th and Clark, Shafter and Hudson, Miles and Cavour, and 51st and Shafter, which is on the house tour. Later, people began to build houses, cottages and bungalows in a variety of styles: Arts and Crafts, Shingle, Spanish Colonial revival, and Tudoresque.

Eager to gain the advantages of police and fire services, schools and other institutions, the town of Temescal was annexed to the City of Oakland in 1897.

Today, the Temescal neighborhood still reflects its rich history. After decades of recovering from freeway construction, the Temescal neighborhood is experiencing a renaissance. The main business corridor of Telegraph Avenue is bustling with shops, restaurants and new housing and many neighborhood homeowners are restoring their historic houses. The houses on the 2006 tour show just a small part of the neighborhood’s vitality and resurgence.

The Oakland Heritage Alliance is a non-profit membership organization that advocates the protection, preservation and revitalization of Oakland’s architectural, historic, cultural and natural resources.