I hope to show Then and Now images of Oakland Schools in this series of posts. Along with a bit of the history of each school, I highlight. Some photos are in the form of drawings or postcards or from the pages of history books.
Note: Piecing together the history of some of the older schools is sometimes tricky. I do this all at home and online — a work in progress for some. I have been updating my posts when I find something new. Let me know of any mistakes or additions.
Brookfield Village School
Brookfield Village school opened for the new school year in September of 1944, the latest of Oakland’s 77 schools.
“Brookfield Village Elementary School opened without the benefit of bells.”
Brookfield was Oakland’s newest public school, which opened under wartime handicaps. Money and supplies were tight. Classes were being held in 19 portables that arrived three weeks before school started.
767 boys and girls were enrolled, just 33 less than anticipated in that first year.
New School
In February 1950, they held a groundbreaking ceremony for Unit 1 of the new Brookfield Village School.
Oakland Tribune Mar 13, 1949
The school unit was designed byConfer and Willis. The new building had 11 classrooms, a library, and an auditorium. It was a one-story building of wood frame construction.
Oakland Tribune Apr 24,1951
New Addition
Oakland Tribune Oct 23, 1957
Oakland Tribune Nov 26, 1957
In November of 1957, they broke ground for new addition costing $286,680. The new building will include a cafeteria, ten classrooms, a kindergarten, plus two special classrooms.
Brookfield Today
Brookfield Lions: Learning and Thriving with Pride.
Google Maps
The school is located at 401 Jones Ave., Oakland, CA 94603
Clawson School dates back to the 1880s, as seen in the image below.
Clawson in 1895
Clawson Elementary School was built in 1915. This Neo-Classical design had two stories and utilized extensive terracotta ornamentation. The ornamentation around its front doors. The building was designed by
School Architecture: Principles and Practices
By John Joseph Donovan 1921
The Clawson Elementary School was listed as standing near the intersection of 32nd Street and Magnolia Street in Polk-Husted’s Oakland, California, City Directory, 1918
Kindergarten
Entrance to the Kindergarten Classroom Clawson School pergola, Oakland, California (1916)Â 1
Principal’s Office
Auditorium
School Architecture: Principles and Practices
By John Joseph Donovan 1921
Bathrooms Boys and Girls
Clawson Closed
The building functioned as a school until it was closed sometime between 1971-1973. OUSD closed three schools in 1973 rather than spend the money needed to retrofit them, including Clawson School. Clawson couldn’t meet the new stricter seismic standards that went into effect in 1973.
New Life
Clawson Lofts Today Google Maps
After extensive remodeling and structural upgrading, the building reopened as The West Clawson Lofts in 1999.
Emerson School 1912 John Galen Howard collection of progress photographs, ca. 1905-1910
The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley
Emerson Elementary School was built in 1913. It was designed by John J Donovan and John Galen Howard. The total cost of the school was $163,879. It was located at 49th and Shafter Avenue.
Oakland Tribune Jan 28, 1912
Oakland tribune Sept 20, 1912
Oakland Tribune Mar 29, 1914
School Architecture: Principles and Practices
By John Joseph Donovan 1921
School Architecture: Principles and Practices
By John Joseph Donovan 1921
Emerson Now
The address is 4803 Lawton Avenue. In 1978, it was torn down because it was considered seismically unsafe.
I hope to show Then and Now images of Oakland Schools in this series of posts. Along with a bit of the history of each school, I highlight. Some photos are in the form of drawings or postcards or from the pages of history books.
Note: Piecing together the history of some of the older schools is sometimes tricky. I do this all at home and online — a work in progress for some. I have been updating my posts when I find something new. Let me know of any mistakes or additions.
Durant School
Bids were in to build a new school at the corner of West Street. A bid of $5000 made by J.J. Chaplain was the winner. The new school was called the Durant School in honor of the Rev. Henry J. Durant, the 16th Mayor of Oakland (1873-1875) and one of the founders of the University of California.
Durant School opened in August of 1875. It was reported by the Board of Education that all grades were formed and that they had over 400 pupils with eight teachers.
In 1878 a 6-room addition was added.
Durant Elementary School
Plans for a new Durant School to be built were accepted in 1912. The old school was sold. The new building was constructed at the corner of 29th and West Street and was to exceed $160,000.
School Architecture: Principles and Practices By John Joseph Donovan 1921
In 1971 (probably before), it was determined that the school was structurally unsafe in the event of an earthquake. Bids were requested for the construction of a new school. I don’t know what happened with that. I couldn’t locate any pictures of a newer Durant School.
Views of Oakland California’. Oakland: Pacific Press Publishing Company, 1893
Lafayette School was located at 17th and West Street and was built in the late 1860s.
The Lafayette Grammar School was one of the first schools built in Oakland. Lafayette even housed Oakland High School in 1869.
Oakland Tribune 1905
Lafayette Grammar School was named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette, a French military leader and statesman who fought on the side of the colonists during part of the American Revolution.
Lafayette Grammar School later changed its name to Lafayette Elementary School.
A brand new school was dedicated in October of 1949. Constructed at the cost of $594,825, the new school has 22 classrooms, a kindergarten, and an auditorium.
The school was established in 1909 as an annex of Grant School, which was overcrowded. The Board of Education built a temporary structure of two rooms at the corner of Van Buren and Perry Streets. They called the school the Grant Annex.
Oakland Tribune Sept 1913
With the rapid growth of the surrounding area, it soon became necessary to build a permanent school.
Oakland Tribune 1913
In 1913 a large red brick building was built in a modern style of architecture opposite the Grant Annex at the corner of Grand Avenue and Perry Street. The new school was called Lakeview.
Construction of Lakeview School – circa 1913-14
Lakeside School
John J. Donovan was the architect of Lakeview Elementary. The estimated cost of building the school was $75,000.
Lakeview was situated on a high terrace with ivy-covered banks. Two flights of broad steps lead from the main building to Grand Avenue.
Lakeview School is situated at the head of Lake Merritt and surround by the beautiful Piedmont Hills. In one of the most attractive districts of Oakland.
Oakland Tribune Oct 1917
Across the street from the main building were two attractive smaller buildings that could not be seen from Grand Avenue.
There were manual art portables and a playground complete with equipment.
It appears that Julia Morgan designed an addition to Lakeview in 1915
Oakland Tribune Feb 1915
By 1917 Lakeview had an enrollment of 768.
Lakeview School circa the 1930s
Fire at the Lakeview School Annex – May 1937
Oakland Tribune May 03, 1937
MacArthur Freeway –
In 1926 a group of Lakeview district residents appeared before the Board of Education to advocate steps to protect the area behind the school from future development. See below
 I hope to show Then and Now images of Oakland Schools in this series of posts.  Along with a bit of the history of each school, I highlight. Some photos are in the form of drawings or postcards or from the pages of history books.Â
Note: Piecing together the history of some of the older schools is sometimes tricky. I do this all at home and online — a work in progress for some. I have been updating my posts when I find something new. Let me know of any mistakes or additions.
Updated December 26, 2023
E. Morris Cox School (Elmhurst Annex)
The new Elmhurst Annex Elementary School was completed in Oct 1926. Howard Schroeder designed the Italian Renaissance-style building. The new school contained thirteen classrooms, a kindergarten, and an assembly hall. It cost $140,000 to build. The school is located at 98th Avenue and Sunnyside Street.
Oakland Tribune 1926
E Morris Cox School. Graham Photo, Courtesy BAERA, Western Railway Museum Archives
Renamed
The Elmhurst Annex school was renamed to honor E. Morris Cox, who died in 1925. Cox was the Assistant Superintendent of Schools.
In 1960 a new building was added to the school.
Located at 9860 Sunnyside Street
E.Morris Cox School Dedicated – Oakland Tribune November 10, 1926
Garfield Grammar School opened in March of 1887 with two seventh and eighth classes. The teachers will be Miss Murray and Miss Ellen Gibbs.
The school was named after the 20th U.S. President, James A. Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881.
Oakland Daily Evening Tribune March 24, 1887
The school was designed by John & T.D. Newsom (Newsom Brothers)
Garfield School 1893
In 1910 Miss Ellen Gibbs retired after 16 years as the principal of Garfield Grammar School.
Garfield School circa 1905
OMCA Harry Courtright | Commercial Photo View
Fire
In 1926 a suspected arson fire destroyed the school built in the 1890s. The school was a combined elementary and junior high. This was the fourth school to be destroyed by fire in nine months.
John J Donovan and Washington J Miller designed Jefferson School. The school was built in 1912.
School Architecture: Principles and Practices By John Joseph Donovan 1921
School Architecture: Principles and Practices By John Joseph Donovan 1921
In 1959 bids were open to build a new school at the same site. The demolition of the old building was in 1960.
Oakland Tribune May 27, 1959
Dedication ceremonies were held in January 1961 for the new $560,000 school. Jefferson was the 31st project to be dedicated of the 51 proposed in the 1956 school bond issue.
Jefferson School – 2035 40th Avenue, Oakland, CA
It is now the Global Family Elementary, a TK – 5th-grade dual immersion school located in the East Oakland-Fruitvale corridor near Foothill Avenue. Our dedicated staff prepares students to be bilingual and bi-literate to meet the challenges of the 21st century.Â
Lazear School, designated initially as the Park and Division School, was built in 1913-1914. The school cost $75 595. Fred Voorhees was the Architect.
The school was named after Dr. Jesse Lazear, an American physician and commission member that proved that a mosquito transmits the infectious agent of yellow fever.
New School
In 1959 a new school with 12 classrooms, a kindergarten, a library, and offices was built to replace the old one. The new school cost $162,456.
I hope to show Then and Now images of Oakland Schools in this series of posts. Along with a bit of the history of each school, I highlight. Some photos are in the form of drawings or postcards or from the pages of history books.
Note: Piecing together the history of some of the older schools is sometimes tricky. I do this all at home and online — a work in progress for some. I have been updating my posts when I find something new. Let me know of any mistakes or additions.
Campbell Primary School
Campbell Primary School started put as the Grove Street School. The name was changed in 1906 to Campbell School for Fred Campbell, the superintendent of Oakland schools from 1870-1870 and 1886-1890. He was the state superintendent of schools from 1880-1883.
Campbell School looked in 1887 – Oakland Tribune June 09, 1926
His daughter Mary Campbell was the school’s principal from 1898-1926.
Miss Mary Campbell – Oakland Tribune Jun 9, 1926
In 1907 a new school was built. The Mission Style school was designed by Architect F.E. Voorhees and cost $38,000. It had seven classrooms and an office for the principal.
Oakland Tribune Mar 1907
1954 the school was closed because it was not earthquake-safe, and the students were sent to Tompkins School. The school was sold and demolished in 1954. A commercial building was built on the site.
In 1912 the first drawing for a new Peralta Heights school was submitted to the school board. John J. Donovan and Shafer & Wilde were the architects. Donovan designed many schools for the district.
Bids to build the school were submitted in 1912, based on the below photo. They held a formal opening of the school in Jan of 1914.
Oakland Tribune Jan 6, 1914
Oakland Tribune Mar 29, 1914
The old school building stood in 1973 and was finally replaced with a new facility in 1977.
Oakland Tribune March 26, 1973
Cleveland Today
Cleveland School Today – Google Maps
More Info:
California Distinguished School for 2020
“serves the very diverse and historically underserved city of Oakland, with a large percentage of students living in poverty and a large percentage of English learner”
Cole Grammar School was opened in 1878 in West Oakland on 10th Street between Union and Poplar Stree. The plans called for a two-story, 14-room building.
Cole School – Oakland and Surroundings 1885
It was named for Rector E. Cole, an early Oakland dentist and member of the city council, and member and then president of the Oakland Board of Education.
Jack London attended Cole starting in 1887. He graduated 8th grade in 1891.
Front Doors of the Cole School Building with several children standing on the sidewalk in 1908 Huntington Digital Library
Class of 1909
Class of 1910
School Fire
In Dec 1923, the school was destroyed in a six-alarm fire where one fireman lost his life, and six others were injured. The fire was deliberately set by a”firebug.” A suspicious fire was a reporter at Garfield School at 23rd and Foothill Blvd.
The cornerstone for a new school was laid in May 1925, and the new two-story school was dedicated in April 1926.
More Info:
Cole School was the headquarters of the Chief of Police from 2013-2021 (?.) As of 2023, a new OUSD administration building in under construction.
The Piedmont Avenue School, as seen below, was built in 1891.
Oakland Tribune February 13, 1892
Before that, a two-room schoolhouse was closer to the Mountain View Cemetery. Classes we held for a time at the home of G.W. Hume, who lived in a large estate where the school is located now.
Both children from Piedmont and Oakland used the school at that time. The building was designed by William Kirk and cost about $10,000 to build. The school had a bell tower with a 350-pound bell. There was a large assembly room, a library, a hothouse for plants, classrooms on both floors and a large lighted basement where the children could play during wet weather.
Oakland Tribune February 20, 1892
The school was dedicated on Washington’s Birthday in 1892.
Engraving of the Piedmont District School at Webster Avenue in Oakland, Alameda County, California, from the book “Illustrated album of Alameda County, California” by Jos, 1893. Alex Colquhoun. Courtesy Internet Archive. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
School Fire
July 25, 1938July 25, 1938July 25, 1938
In July of 1938, while the students were on summer break, the school was destroyed by an arson fire. Ten firemen were injured, four of them seriously.
This Art Deco school building has an auditorium, library, kindergarten classroom, kitchen, offices, and regular classrooms. There is still a WPA sidewalk marker in front of the school.
Prescott School was established in 1866 as a one-room primary school. It was named after William H. Prescott, a historian, and was located at Ninth and Campbell Streets on dirt roads surrounded by woods.
Oakland Tribune 1877
In 1869 a new two-story building with four classrooms on each floor, ‘the largest, and it was the most up- to- date school building in Oakland,’ with C. W. Brodt as principal, with a salary of $150 per month.
Prescott school building was heavily damaged in the historic 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
Prescott School with damage from the 1906 earthquake UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/hb1m3nb284/
New School
Prescott Primary School was constructed in a record time of 187 workdays by Lawton & Vezey, a local contractor.
Oakland Tribune October 24, 192
Oakland Tribune October 24, 1916
The new school was a two-story Spanish-style steel-framed building with a basement and seventeen classrooms.
“accepted by the school board, who considered it one of the best in the recent school buildings”
Oakland School Board – October 05, 1926
The exterior of Prescott School circa 1918 Towns (Royal E.) Papers Oakland Public Library, African American Museum
Prescott School 9th & Campbell Streets – Cheney Photo Advertising Company c 1919
Ida Louise Jackson, Oakland’s first African-American teacher, taught there in 1925 — 13 years before any other school hired a black teacher.
Unsafe and Condemned
Oakland Tribune 1958
In 1954 Prescott Junior High (name change?) was condemned for being dangerous to the students. At that time, there was no budget to replace it.
Prescott Today
Prescott is located at 920 Campbell St.
Prescott School Today – Google Maps
The school has been operating under the name PLACE @ Prescott (Preparatory Literary Academy of Cultural Excellence @ Prescott) since 2006, serving Kindergarten through 5th-grade children
Woodrow Wilson Junior High started as Mosswood Junior High in August of 1923. It was located at the corner of 48th and Webster Streets. In 1924 the school’s name was changed.
Oakland Tribune Feb 19, 1924
In 1926 they laid the cornerstone for a new school.
Oakland Tribune Oct 28, 1926
Oakland Tribune Aug 20, 1927
Woodrow Wilson Junior circa the 1970s
In the early 1970s, Woodrow Wilson Junior High School was demolished, and a new school was built. In the mid-1970s, the school was renamed the Verdese Carter Middle School.
Demolition of Woodrow Wilson School in the 1970s from Adrienne Broach
Demolition of Woodrow Wilson School in the 1970s from Adrienne Broach
Woodrow Wilson Today
The School Today Google Maps
In 2007 the Oakland Unified school district opened its first school that enrolls only immigrant students. The Oakland International High School is modeled after international high schools in New York City for newcomers to the United States. The school was still open in 2019.
The world’s largest and fully mechanized mail handling facility designed to serve central California and the Pacific ocean area
Postmaster General – Aug 1959
It was announced that the facility would be built on a 12-block site in West Oakland bounded by Peralta, 7th, Wood Streets, and the Southern Pacific railroad yards.
Oakland Tribune August 26, 1959
The postmaster general officially named the Oakland project “Project Gateway”
Oakland Tribune August 26, 1959
Major Problems
City officials were excited that construction would begin in about one year. They expected an Oakland payroll of 750 workers and the clearing of some 20 acres of sub-standard homes for a significant redevelopment project.
Oakland Tribune August 30, 1959
Oakland Mayor Clifford E. Rishell noted that the post office project presents some significant problems, chiefly relocating 300 families (about 1000 people) in the project area.
Oakland Tribune July 25, 1965
The Oakland Redevelopment Agency was in charge of the relocation. A survey at the time determined that half of the 300 families had moderate incomes, permitting them to rent or purchase a home in other sections of the city. The other half will probably require public housing.
The job we face isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible
Arthur Hoff – Oakland Redevelopment Agency
One of West Oakland’s most revered landmarks was lost when the New Century Recreation Center and the adjoining school property at Atlantic, Pacific, and Peralta Avenues were razed.
The project would also destroy a junkyard, a few businesses, and McFeely School, which opened in 1949.
Evictions
In a March 1960 special meeting of city and postal officials, 34 families were told they had already received eviction notices. The families lived in homes already sold to the government by Southern Pacific. Twenty-one families had already found new homes.
August 01, 1960, was when they were to begin clearing the site.
Oakland Tribune July 19, 1960
A squadron of bulldozers was set to plow into the 12-block block of buildings. Twelve parcels of the 187 total had been acquired in negotiation. Commendation orders were entered for the holdouts.
12 Blocks Cleared For the Postal Center
Oakland Tribune Nov 30, 1960Oakland Tribune Nov 30, 1960t
Sherman Tank
The postal officials were perplexed when building wrecker Aldo S. Allen submitted a low bid of $64,000 to clear the 20-acre site for Project Gateway. He was $10,000 lower than the next lowest bid and $50,000 lower than the highest bid.
“I got an idea” Allen a one time midget car racer explained.
Aldo S. Allen – 81st Ave Oakland CA
He planned to spend $2,000 on a surplus Sherman Tank of World War II vintage, a 73,000-pound dreadnaught powered by a 500 horsepower engine. The tank would be much more powerful, faster, and safer.
He was Right!
Aldo climbed into the tank in front of a row of six houses. He first practiced on a tree.
SNAP! Down went the tree.
Oakland Tribune August 16, 1960
Without pausing, he went towards the first house and bore a tunnel through it. The second story remained intact. Again, he aimed for the home. There was a roar, and the second story came down, burying the tank momentarily.
10 Minutes Flat! The time to clear the first house
Oakland Tribune August 16, 1960
It took 90 minutes to flatten and remove all six houses
Oakland Tribune August 16, 1960Oakland Tribune August 16, 1960Oakland Tribune August 16, 1960
Oakland Tribune August 16, 1960
Before and After
Oakland Tribune August 17, 1960
The Daily News Texan August 16, 1960
The post office Site is Now A Dump
Oakland Tribune July 15, 1963
1963, after five years of post office promises, the city demanded action. The site had become a 12-block dumping ground, and the city was losing $22,000 in tax dollars and $50,000 in additional school taxes. They were told that construction was set to begin in 1964. By July 1967, the building was nearly one-third complete. The belated Effects of a Long Wet Winter moved the opening date to March 1969.
This is the first in a series of posts on Oakland Schools.
I hope to show Then and Now images of most of the schools and a bit of the history of each school I show. Some photos are in the form of drawings, postcards, or from the pages of history books.
Note: Piecing together the history of some of the older schools is sometimes tricky. I do this all at home and online — a work in progress for some. I have been updating my posts when I find something new. Let me know of any mistakes or additions.
Updated September 20, 2020
Castlemont High School
In 1863, Frank Silva purchased 73 acres of land for a farm. Castlemont High now stands on his land.
Oakland Tribune Oct 19, 1965
Castlemont High School is in Oakland, California, United States, formerly known as East Oakland High School. The Castlemont name was selected by a vote of the students. Castlemont High School was founded in 1929 in a medieval-style building. The school is located at 8601 MacArthur Boulevard.
On August 12, 1929, East Oakland High School opened at the cost of $670,000. Still, the name was short-lived; by a vote of the students and faculty in 1930, the name Castlemont was officially brought to prominence before being nationally designated the most beautiful school structure in the country.
Oakland Tribune July 7, 1929
The building’s main entrance is accessed from Foothill Blvd down six steps to the reflection pool, then ascends six steps to the extended terrace and the four-entry solid redwood doors. The full length of Castlemont grounds adjacent to Foothill had been magnificently landscaped.
The building was replaced in 1961 as the old one was not earthquake-safe.
Castlemont is demolished
Castlemont is gone.
Castlemont Today
Google Maps
Google Maps
From 2004 to 2012, the large school housed three separate smaller schools called the Castlemont Community of Small Schools for eight years. The smaller schools were known by the names:
Castlemont Leadership Preparatory High (10-12)
Castlemont Business and Information Technology School (10-12) (CBITIS)
Dewey School was established as an elementary school at 38th Avenue and East 12th Street in 1899. It was a part of the Bray School District and the Fruitvale School District.
Oakland Tribune April 28, 1899
It was named after Admiral George Dewey, who was a hero in the Spanish-American War that was being fought at that time.
Dewey School circa 1916 Cheney Photo Advertising
Dewey School circa 1916 Cheney Photo Advertising
In 1964, Dewey became the first continuation high school in Oakland. Below is how Dewey looked in 1964. In 1913, an addition was added to the original school, which was still in use in 1964.
The Brooklyn School was a two-story building built in 1863-64 at the cost of $5,000.
Oakland Tribune Jan 20, 1887
Brooklyn was annexed into Oakland in 1872. After the annexation, the nine-year-old school was renamed Franklin Grammar and Primary School.
Oakland Tribune Dec 30, 1874
An addition to the school was added in 1879 at the cost of $3,217.
Oakland Tribune Dec 30, 1902
On December 02, 1902, the school was destroyed by fire.
Oakland Tribune Nov 30, 1904
Oakland Tribune April 18, 1906
The new school building was almost complete when the SF earthquake of 1906 struck. The brick and steelwork were done, and the building was ready for the roof. When the school was finally done, the total cost was $204,343,45.
Franklin Grammar School – Cheney Photo Advertising circa 1912
In 1923, an oblong-shaped assembly hall was built at the rear of the school on 10th Ave and E16th. The cost is $40,000.
Oakland Tribune Nov 7, 1926
In 1943, the school’s address was 1530 Ninth Avenue.
In 1953, the 1906 brick building was declared unsafe. In 1955, it was demolished to make way for a new building. The new school was a principal part of the Clinton Park Urban Renewal Project. The school opened in Sept 1956 and was dedicated in Jan of 1957. The new school cost $467,000.
In 1956, a man, while remodeling his store, found an old report card from 1875.
Frick was built on the Boulevard between Baker and Bay View (now Foothill and 62nd). The school takes its name from W.P. Frick, who donated the lot the school is to be built on. It was then part of the Lockwood District. The school was dedicated on March 17, 1909.
Oakland Tribune Sept 20, 1908
The first school was kindergarten through the seventh grade. The building had eight rooms. With the rapid growth of the area around Frick School, it was decided to make Frick School a junior high in 1923.
Frick Grammar School circa 1915 – Cheney Photo Advertising
New School
Oakland Tribune May 30, 1926
In 1927 a new school was built on adjoining land and was called Frick Jr. High School. The style of the new building is Spanish and Moorish architecture.
Oakland Tribune June 05, 1927
Another New School
In 1953, it was determined that the 1927 building was an earthquake risk. In 1957, the was broken for a new school fronting Brann Street. The old building was razed during the summer of 1960. The present school has been in use since 1960-61.
Horace Mann was built in about 1910-1912. The school is located at 5222 Ygnacio Avenue. It was known as Melrose Heights School first.
Horace Mann Grammar School
Groundbreaking for the new Horace Mann school after it was determined to be not earthquake-safe was in 1959. The new school was formally dedicated in 1961.
Sequoia Elementary School is located on Lincoln Avenue at Scenic Avenue. It was built in 1910. Ida M. Hammond was the first principal. The building below is facing Scenic Avenue. The address of the school is 3730 Lincoln Avenue.
Original Sequoia School Lincoln Avenue and Scenic Street
Cheney Photo Advertising Company circa 1910
In 1926, a new school building was built adjoining the original. The new building will have 13 to 14 rooms and an auditorium. It will face Lincoln Avenue, as seen below.
The original building is razed to make room for a new $235,880 addition. The addition added seven classrooms and a cafeteria.
In 1858, Miss Julia Aldrich was contracted to run a small private school on Isaac (Issac) Yoakum’s farm. Yoakum had built his house on the site of the present Lockwood School.The house was moved and replaced with a small building to be used as a school (see above).
The schoolhouse remained in use for another 42 years, with a small addition in 1892.
The school was located at the intersection of East 14th Street (County Road No. 1525 and now International Blvd), Mary Street, then 68th Avenue, and later 69th Avenue.
Map from 1912 – the red line is East 14th (now International Blvd)
In the first year, Lockwood had twelve students enrolled.
Twenty-eight boys and ten girls were enrolled in the school in February 1876. Alonzo Crawford was the teacher.
Oakland Tribune Mar 1, 1876
In August 1876 (typo in the newspaper), 20 boys and 21 girls were enrolled.
Oakland Tribune Aug 22, 1876
The Damon Family owned a general store at the corner of E.14th & 66th
The Kinsell Family lived on 94th Avenue just below E. 14th
The A.H. Merritt family lived on 66th Avenue
The Moss home was at 82nd and Foothill
The Silva’s owned a saloon at 84th and E. 14th
New School – 1902
The new school was built on the corner of East 14th Street and 68th Avenue in 1902. Charles H. Greenman was the principal. The school was demolished (I need to verify this) in 1936.
Across from the school was the 282-acre dairy belonging to William Manchido. The big pasture was later used as the landing field of Weldon Cooke,an early Oakland aviator. In 1910, Wickham Havens subdivided the land into what we now know as Havenscourt.
Oakland Tribune Nov 03, 1957
Old School is Sold – 1903
Oakland Tribune Feb 3, 1903
Class of 1904
Oakland Tribune May 1948
Lockwood Junior High
In 1913, Supervising Architect J.J. Donovan announced that a new Lockwood school building would be built at East 14th between 66th and 68th Avenues.
The school was to be one story in height, built in the early California style around a courtyard and Mission architecture. The wings were arranged to house a social center, a neighborhood meeting place, a cafeteria, and other modern innovations.
Old Timers Reunions
For many years, the former students of the school held an annual reunion for all graduates.
Oakland Tribune Feb 18, 1932
Oakland Tribune Jul 16, 1951
Oakland Tribune May 13, 1959
The Lockwood Quill
Oakland Tribune May 11, 1919
Lockwood School Band
Oakland Tribune May 1947
Oakland Tribune May 1947
Oakland Tribune Aug 5, 1909
Traffic Reserve
The first traffic reserve unit was formed at Lockwood in February 1928.
The Toler Heights subdivision changed hands so many times before the 1930, it seems they never really got around to selling the area with photos of new homes being built. The following is all I could find.
Lawlor Street
9703 Lawlor Street
Oakland Tribune Oakland Tribune Oct 27,1913 Address now is 9703 Lawlor St
The William M Stephens family was a successful African American family from Oakland. They owned the Stephens Restaurant, and Virginia, their daughter, won acclaim at the age of fourteen when her name Jewel City was selected for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition buildings in a competition sponsored by the San Francisco Call-Post. Virginia was the first African American woman to receive a law degree from the University of California Berkeley’sBoalt School of Law in 1929.
Stephens Restaurant at 200 East 14th Oakland Circa 1925 – photo by M.L. Cohen Stephens Family papers, MS 5, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
The Stephens Family
William Stephens Circa 1901 Stephens Family papers, MS 5, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California
William Stephens was born in 1870 in Accomack County, Virginia. He moved out to California while still a child and attended school in Oakland and San Francisco. After graduation, Stephens completed Heald College coursework before working with the Southern Pacific Railwayin 1886. Beginning as a Sleeping Car Porter, he worked his way up to a clerkship under H.E. Huntington, assistant to the company’s President.
In 1894 he lived at 1132 Linden Street in West Oakland.
In 1898, Stephens resigned from Southern Pacific and took a position with the Crocker family, traveling with them throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Through these travels, Stephens learned about the hotel and restaurant business.
In 1901, he married Pauline Logan (1874-1929) of Tehama, California.
Pauline Stephens circa 1898 Stephens Family papers, MS 5, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
Pauline gave birth to one daughter, Annie Virginia (who went by Virginia), on April 7, 1903. Due to his daughter’s health problems as a young girl, Stephens resigned from his post with the Crockers and began working at an Oakland social club. He moved on from this position in 1915 to manage the clubhouse at the Hotel Del Monte Golf and Country Club in Monterey County.
Pauline died in May 1929.
Oakland Tribune May 29, 1929
William died on November 21, 1932
Oakland Tribune Dec 2, 1932
Stephens’ Restaurant
Stephens worked at the Del Monte Hotel for about nine years. It was there he learned more about the restaurant business. His first venture was known as the Joy Lunch Room. From his very first business, he was successful, and in 1927 the old Joy Lunch became known as Stephens Restaurant.
Group of men standing in front of Stephens’ Restaurant & Lunch Room at 110 East 14th circa the 1920s Stephens Family papers, MS 5, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California
The restaurant soon became the dining rendezvous of the ultra-fashionable folk of the city and gave lucrative employment to young African American men and women.
California Eagle Dec 1930
Stephens’ Restaurant grew from small quarters into an ample establishment seating over 200 people, occupying three locations near Lake Merritt.
William Stephens (right) and employee inside Stephens’ Restaurant circa the 1920s Stephens Family papers, MS 5, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
The restaurant enjoyed great success during the 1920s and 1930s and was usually filled to capacity. Stephens took great delight in employing African American high school and college students so they could earn money for their education.
Oakland Tribune 1927
The final location of the restaurant was 200 East 14th (now International Blvd) at 2nd Ave and was in business until 1938 when Narcisi’s Italian Restaurant opened.
Stephens Cocktail Lounge
In 1936 it was announced that the restaurant added a cocktail lounge and was under the management of George Devant and Charles Simpson (Stephens’s nephew.) Charles inherited the recipes that made the restaurant famous.
Known to gourmets for years as the
“home of real Southern cooking”
Oakland Tribune Mar 27, 1936
Oakland Tribune 1936
Virginia Stephens
Born in Oakland on April 7, 1903, Annie Virginia Stephens was the only child of William and Paul. She attended public schools in Oakland until the family moved to Pacific Grove, where she graduated from high school.
In 1915 the San Francisco Call-Post held a naming contest for the buildings within the Panama-Pacific International Exposition – Virginia won the competition (1300 titles were submitted) when her name “Jewel City” was selected; she was twelve at the time.
“We regret to say that when it was discovered that Miss Stephens had colored blood there was a sudden silence on the part of the press and the recognition ever given her was a season ticket to the grounds.”
Virginia attended the University of California at Berkeley and received a bachelor’s degree in science in 1924.
While at Berkeley, Virginia and Ida L. Jackson was charter members Rho Chapter in 1921 and Alpha Nu Omega, a graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. These were among the first Greek sororities for African American women west of the Mississippi.
Members of Rho Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, University of California, Berkeley (left-right): Virginia Stephens, Oreatheal Richardson, Myrtle Price (in back), Ida Jackson (sorority president), Talma Brooks, and Ruby Jefferson (1921), African American Museum and Library at Oakland.
Encouraged by her father to attend law school, she enrolled in the Boalt School of Law at UC Berkeley and earned a degree in 19 9. At that time, she was only the second woman to receive a law degree from the school and the first African American woman to complete the progr m. Virginia passed the California Bar in the same year, the first African American female Attorney in California.
California Eagle 1930
Virginia married attorney George Coker (1906-1970) The Cokers helped tutor African American students for the State bar exams They moved to Virginia and maintained a private law practice there for almost a decade.
In 1939 after working in private practice for ten years, they moved back to California, settling in Sacramento. Virginia was appointed Attorney in the State Office of the Legislature Council in Sacramento in May 1939 In this capacity, she helped with drafting and amending legislative bills and worked under four different legislative councils:
Upon her retirement in 1966, Virginia attained the position of Deputy of the Indexing Section Virginia died in Sacramento at 83 on February 11, 1986.
In December 1943, there were winds up to 75 MPH and many fires in the hills and the East Bay. There were at least 10 brush and grass fires reported all over Northern California.
The smell of burning eucalyptus hung over the city for hours
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 19443
The fire in the Oakland hills started near Broadway Terrace and Skyline, in the area above the Broadway Tunnel (Caldecott Tunnel). There also was a fire on Snake Road.
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
The fire started just after midnight and burned for about 3 hours. The fire was most likely started by down wires knocked down by gale-force winds. There were over 30 fires reported all over Oakland.
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Wind and Fires Wreck Havoc
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Oakland Tribune Dec 09, 1943
Fire destroyed the garbage facility at the end of Davis Street
