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Oakland Heritage Alliance 22nd Annual Summer
Walking Tours 2002
These tours are based in part on the research of the Oakland Cultural Survey, a project of the City of Oakland Strategic Planning Division, and the resources of the Oakland History Room, Oakland Main Library.
Reservations are not required for tours – except
for the Eichler Tour, Sunday, August 4th. This tour is limited
to 30 people. Please make your reservations through OHA office by Monday July
22nd. Please meet promptly at the listed times and locations.
Comfortable walking shoes are recommended as some walks are hilly; particularly
on the afternoon tours, bring water.
Take a walk into the past in California's most historic
cemetery to meet some of our state's early movers and shakers and the monuments
that preserve their memory. Charles Crocker, Domingo Ghirardelli, Samuel
Merritt are among those you'll encounter. A hilly walk; wear comfortable shoes,
bring water. This tour celebrates the installation of artist-created
historic markers which highlight St. Elizabeth's Church, Fruitvale Hotel,
Cohen-Bray House and six decades of banking "temples." The markers, sponsored by
the Rotary Club and the Fruitvale Main Street program, commemorate locations
which made Fruitvale Oakland's "second downtown" by the '20s. Reception to
follow the tour. Learn about the history and architecture of the Upper Rockridge
neighborhood from two longtime residents. Along these streets you will see old
homes left unscathed by the firestorm and learn about those lost. You will see
new houses that embody modern versions of their original styles, and other homes
whose addresses are the only feature they share with the ones that preceded
them. A hilly walk; wear comfortable shoes, bring water. West Oakland became the terminus of the transcontinental
railroad in 1869 and Bay View Homestead Tract (South Prescott) was subdivided
that same year. The tour will look at the South Prescott neighborhood, the
remaining fragments of the Seventh Street business district, and the regional
railroad yards that were its economic base, and visit some of the artists'
studios that are its hallmark today. Once an area of dairies and vegetable gardens, the Laurel
district began life in 1910 when local streetcars extended service up 38th
Avenue and Hopkins (now MacArthur). With growing industry in East Oakland,
homes sprouted and businesses thrived by the 1920’s. This tour highlights
Laurel's history and architectural heritage - with its fine examples of 1920’s
brick and tile commercial buildings. Follow in the footsteps of city planners who, starting in the
1930s, envisioned the south end of Lake Merritt as a grand civic center
district. The tour includes highlights such as the WPA Moderne Alameda County
Courthouse, the Fire Alarm Building, Main Public Library, Henry J. Kaiser
Convention Center. A visit to the historic 12th Street corridor will
include a discussion of its future with the Lake Merritt Master Plan. Tour of the Camron-Stanford house after the walking tour: $4 adults/$2 seniors/children under 12 free. Please call (510) 444-1876 for reservations. F. M. "Borax" Smith Estate Saturday, July 27, 10 am
- 12 noon Visit the remnants of Arbor Villa, Francis Marion "Borax" Smith's palatial
estate. Smith founded an international borax industry ("20-Mule Team Borax"),
established the Key Route System, and became one of Oakland's most famous,
colorful entrepreneurs. The tour visits the 9th Avenue palm trees,
the Mary R. Smith Cottages and several historic houses, including ones by
Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan. A hilly walk; wear comfortable shoes. The tour focuses on apartment and store buildings of the 1910’s. Buildings converted to new uses will also be highlighted, including a former bowling alley, silent movie theater, auto repair shop, supermarket, and a banking "temple."
This tour focuses on the downtown buildings that exhibit the unique design
features of the Art Deco style (1925-1940) and embodies the rich and varied
qualities of Art Deco architecture in Oakland. Scattered over several blocks,
the tour presents a variety of building types which form an impressive and
important legacy worth preserving. Tour limited to 30 people - $15 members, $20 non-members. Includes reception at the end of the tour. Please make reservations with OHA office by July 22. Riverside, Pullman, Green Belt, Levittown can evoke images for some
preservationists.
But what's an Eichler? Oakland has its own residential district of modern
houses (1964-65) by Joseph Eichler that match the modernist buildings of
downtown. This tour will focus on this enclave and why it is significant in
oh-so-many ways. Tour leader Michael Crowe will reveal the wonders of modernism
as applied to the family home. Lots of sun - bring water. Mills College Campus Saturday, August 10, 10 am - 12:30 pm In the spirit of celebrating Mills' 150th anniversary, the tour will
include anecdotal history of the campus’ evolution as well as viewing many
distinct architectural phases of its development: the 1870’s, post World War I
and the 1960’s – 90’s, with works of Julia Morgan and Walter Ratcliffe, Jr. Learn the history of Oakland's Creek Route -- from the first ferries that served
Rancho San Antonio to the modern port. Join us as we explore the estuary from
the former site of the Alice Street Bridge to the Port of Oakland. Dennis Evanosky, who created the 2002 calendar "On the Creek Route: Celebrating the Oakland Estuary," will lead the tour. Walk along Glen Echo Creek, one of Oakland's living creeks, whose charming
residential neighborhood was developed between 1895 and the 1920’s and has
structures by Frederick Reimers, Julia Morgan, A. W. Smith and C. M. MacGregor
with surviving elements from the "City Beautiful" movement. Although scarred by
freeway incursion, it remains a unique, tranquil setting in our city and boasts
fine examples of California bungalows, Mission and Mediterranean style homes. San Francisco's Chinatown may be a tourist attraction, but Oakland's is a vital,
vibrant economic force, ever changing in social dynamics, and culturally
diverse. Learn about this fascinating neighborhood and its evolution to "Asiatown"
with many recent immigrants from different countries in Southeast Asia. Tour the commercial district that developed around the
Oakland Street Railway car barn built in 1870. Discover Victorian and early 20th
century stores and the sites of a hotel and a brewery. Visit lovely residential
streets with intact collections of period homes; though close to the commercial bustle the setting is remarkably
peaceful. Designed specifically for families with children, this tour will visit Fairyland
and the Lake Merritt Garden Center, Lawn Bowling Club, Rotary Science Center and
other nearby features in Lakeside Park, and will discuss the history and
development of this recreational area of the lake. Please stay afterwards for an optional lunch together. |
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Fruitvale Historic
Markers Sunday, July 7, 10 am - 12:30 pm