Wickman Havens Real Estate Company opened Havenscourt in 1912. Within the 170 acres of Havenscourt are 21 miles of streets and sidewalks.¹
SF Call April 13, 1912
The official entrance was at Havenscourt Blvd and East 14th Street, with a pergola and a gazebo. The Havenscourt station and business district were located on Havenscourt Blvd and Bancroft.².
Photo by Cheney Photo Advertising – Oakland History Room
The entrance to Havenscourt
Havenscourt Blvd at Bancroft looking towards Frick School
Two Schools, 17 Acres Playground, a Civic Center, and a train station
67th Avenue between Arthur St and Avenal Ave
Then and Now – Above and Below
Looking south on 66th Street from Arthur St
Looking south on 65th Ave from Arthur St
Cheney Photo Advertising Company took all the photos, and they are from the Oakland History Room or OMCA.
Rolling Hills of Oakmore circa 1920’s – Oakland History Room
Natural beauty abounds in the 150 acres of wooded, rolling hills that comprise the Oakmore District or Oakmore Highlands. The Walter H. LeimertCompany laid out the subdivision with wide streets and ample sidewalks. See Oakmore Highland History
The Leimert Bridge was designed in 1926, by George A. Posey, to safely accommodate vehicle traffic, Park Boulevard Streetcars, and pedestrians.
The Leimert Bridge during construction and in 1926, Photo by Cheney Photo Advertising
The original subdivision was bordered by Sausal Creek and Dimond Canyon. During the initial sales period, sound design was promoted through a model open house program called the ‘Oakmore Home Ideal’ where buyers could visit a custom home designed by local architects Miller & Warnecke.
Later, in 1934, The Leimert Company teamed with the Oakland Tribune and Breuner’s FurnitureCompany to furnish a demonstration model home that drew 8,000 visitors in three weeks.
Oakland Tribune June 28, 1934
The following year another Breuner’s furnished house was nicknamed “Golden Windows” to highlight the extensive use of glass on the view side of the home and the commanding views from the subdivision.
Oakland Tribune August 1934
Real Estate Developer: Walter H. Leimert Company
Contractors: Park Boulevard Company
Property Managers: Mitchell & Austin
150 Acres, 4 tracts 440 lots
Sales began in October 1926
Photos
Aerial view of upper Dimond Canyon and surrounding, still mostly undeveloped, neighborhoods, Leimert Bridge visible in the foreground. – 1926-1936 Oakland History RoomAerial view of Dimond Canyon – 1926-1936 – Oakland History Room
Broadway Terrace @ Ostrander St. Photo from Oakland History Room.
College Pines is located at the corner of Broadway Terrace and Harbord Drive location(formally Edith), just past the Claremont Country Club. The name of College Pineswas chosen because of the close proximity to the College of the Sisters of Holy Names, a new High School.
Harbord Drive and Broadway Terrace in 1933 – Oakland History Room Photo
Broadway Terrace and Clarewood Drive in 1933 – Oakland History Room photo
The homesites front on along Harbord Drive for about a half-mile or more. The lots were priced at $27.00 per foot. A forty-foot lot would cost $1075.00, with a low down payment and easy terms. Sold by the Claremont Pines Corporation and later Michell & Austin.
Oakland Tribune June 1932
Holy Names Central High School was built on Harbord Drive and opened in 1934.
Display Homes
In December of 1933, the first display home opened at 4339 Harbord Drive. The house had eight rooms with two baths and a 14 x 32-foot rumpus room, and
“pleasing features galore.”
Oakland Tribune Dec 1933
The house was priced at $6850 and was recently sold in 2016 for $1,360,000.
Oakland Tribune Dec 1933
In September of 1934, another display home was opened at 4347 Harbord Drive. The green and white wood and brick cottage and two bedrooms and a den or nursery, and a large playroom. The house was priced at $6500, with just a $75 down payment and $75 a month. The home recently sold for $825,000 in 2012.
Oakland Tribune Sept 1934
Misc. ads for homes
Update:
The stone pillar is still there at the corner of Broadway Terrace and Ostrander Street.
Broadway Terrace and Ostrander St 2018 – Photo from Google Maps
In May 1921, The Key System began operating a motorcoach service. The first line opened to Mills College on May 16, 1921; a week later, on May 21, service to Montclair began.
The Realty Syndicate purchased and paid the bills for the motor coaches to provide transportation for potential customers to Montclair. The coaches were painted to match the streetcars.
There is a little dispute about which line was first, the Montclair or the Mills College lines. I think it’s a tie – they both started in May 1921.
The first tract office was a tent; later, it became a small building. The tract office was then moved to the triangle land at Mountain Blvd, Antioch St, and Antioch Ct. The building later became the offices of Winder Gahan, real estate agents dealing with Montclair. The photo shows that the original site was on the opposite side of Moraga Rd (at LaSalle), now in the middle of the Warren Freeway (Hwy 13).
Oakland Tribune Feb 25, 1940
The Schedule
During the commuting hours, 6 am-9 am and 5 to 7 pm every 20 minutes. During the remainder of the day, a 40-minute service. The fare was 6¢ with transfer privileges to streetcars. In 1924 they offered a service to run until midnight. Before this, bus transportation had been confined to the out-of-town service along the highway.
New Terminal – October 1928
In 1928 a new $18,000 Terminal was built in Montclair. It was located at the corner of Mountain Blvd and La Salle, a short walk to the Sacramento Northern station. Local architect Hamilton Murdock designed the Spanish Style building, the first building structure in Montclair. An Architectural Guide – Pg. 276
The building is still standing and is located at 6206 La Salle Ave.
A Reunion
In September 1961, a forty-year-old photo led a reunion between two former drivers who pioneered local motorcoach service in the East Bay.
J.L. “Marty” Martin started working in May 1921, and C.E. Pehrson began in September of that same year. They met in Montclair at the approximate site of the first terminal and discussed new verses or coaches and how much things had changed.
Various from the Oakland Tribune
Sept 1961 – Reunion – Please see link ( 2) below to read the online version of this
More Info:
Historical Photo of Early Bus Found Transit Times April 1975
In the 1940s, Montgomery Ward, through its building services department, sold pre-fabricated homes to be built by local contractors. They would supply everything necessary to build your home.
“The Ward Way method of building and furnishing is a simplified system of obtaining built to order home,” states Ralph Jarvis Ward-Way representative
Oakland Tribune Oct 27, 1940
I found information on ten or so homes built “The Ward-Way.” I am basing this solely on what I see in the Oakland Tribune. With that in mind, my list may not be perfect due to errors in the paper. I am not perfect, either. If possible, I have included a picture of the house as it is today. All these homes were built in 1940.
The Montclair Observation Tower was a two-story tower constructed by the Realty Syndicate in 1925 to aid in the sale of homes in the newly developed area of Montclair Highlands.
Every night, the Observation Tower was illuminated by the Idora Park searchlight – “the most powerful searchlight in the world.”
“On a clear day, it is said you could see points as far away as the Farallon Islands.”
Oakland Tribune June 25, 1925
Oakland Tribune June 25, 1925
Oakland Tribune August 16, 1925
Oakland Tribune Jun 21, 1925
The tower was still standing in July 1929. I don’t know when the tower was removed. I have heard that the was heavily damaged in a late-night fire in 1929 or 1930. But I have no proof.
Location of the tower
Near the intersection of Asilomar Drive and Aztec Way.
The name Le Mon Park comes from R.F.D. Le Mon, a New York capitalist, who made his home there after purchasing a large amount of land to develop and build beautiful residences.
Taken from Le Mon Park for the Oakland Tribune Year Book 1938
Trip to Oakland
In 1935 R.F.D. Le Mon (Lemon), a retired Capitalist from New York, came to Oakland searching for real estate to develop and build fine homes. He found the perfect site high up in the Oakland hills with a magnificent panorama of Oakland, the bay, and beyond. He called it Le Mon Park.
Oakland Tribune June 20, 1937
Le Mon purchased 60 acres of panoramic view property in the heart of Piedmont Pines on Castle Drive and Cornwall Court.
From Google Maps
” With an elevation ranging from 1300 to 1400 feet, Le Mon Park in Piedmont Pines commands a view of which its residents can never be deprived.”
Oakland Tribune July 18, 1937
Oakland Tribune
“it’s only a 15-minute drive to the center of things.”
Oakland Tribune
Oakland Tribune June 1937
I’ll take it.
In a 1937 interview, Le Mon recalls his trip to Oakland.
“I was rambling through the pine clad hills,” Le Mon relates when I came across a residence in the course of construction and occupying a magnificent site and commanding view on Ascot Court. In the spur of the moment, he said, “I’ll take it,”
“Atop one of the knolls, commanding full advantage of the ever-changing vistas, is Casa Altadena, the distinctive exhibition home of Realty Syndicate. Company”
Casa Altadena is of Spanish architecture. It occupies a knoll overlooking beautiful wooded vistas and canyons on one side and a panorama of the bay on the other.
Oakland Tribune – January 29, 1928
Opening Day
SF Examiner February 11, 1928
SF Examiner February 11, 1928
Over 500 people attended the opening on January 29, 1929.
Oakland Tribune February 5, 1928
Casa Altadena reflects the discerning taste of its decorators, who sought to incorporate the romance of the Peraltas into its furnishings.
One of the rooms in Casa Altadena – Oakland Tribune January 29, 1928
Details include its tiled roof, arched doorways, decorative tiles, wood trims, antique wall sconces, and decorative wrought-iron work.
“The Casa Maria Luisa,” the first of the “Daughter of Peralta” homes, will open an exhibition residence with imported furnishings in Smith Reserve (now the Piedmont Pines section of Montclair in Oakland) after January 1, 1930. It was fully decorated by the H.C. Capwell Company and sold by the Realty Syndicate.
Oakland Tribune, April 27, 1930
Casa Maria Luisa, when completely furnished, represented an investment of $50,000.
“Master craftsmen have been employed in building and furnishing this usual home”
Oakland Tribune January 19, 1930
One of the noted Cathedral Artists stenciled the beams and ceilings, lighting fixtures from rare old-world patterns, and overhanging balconies with heavy doors reminiscent of early Spanish California. Oriental rugs of Spanish design are made to order. The house had numerous 1930s state-of-the-art features, including a Walker Electric Sink in the kitchen.
Oakland Tribune January 12, 1930
Casa Maria Luisa occupies three wooded lots with a panoramic view. They surrounded the home with rare shrubs, plants, and Monterey and Cypress Trees.
Casa Maria Luisa opened to rave reviews, claiming to be
“the most beautiful and popular home ever shown in Oakland.”
SF Examiner, April 5, 1930
Forty-six thousand people toured Casa Masa Luisa through April 1930.
Oakland Tribune, April 13, 1930
In 1931, the Oakland Tribune Yearbook named it one of the most beautiful homes of that year.
Oakland Tribune January 19, 1930
William and Cordelia Wanderforde purchased the home in about 1931.
In 1987, a couple bought the home from its original owner, Cordelia, who had lived there for some 50 years. They spent a lot of money repairing and updating the house.
