In researching Montclair (a district in Oakland), I have come across many interesting stories. Here is one of them.
“Montclair was wild as a hawk,”
Walter Wood
In a 1976 article in The Montclarion entitled “Old Timer Reminisces,” Walter Wood talks about growing up along the shores of Lake Temescal.
Walter was born in 1887 in a small four-room house near the corner of 51st and Broadway, built by his father and torn down to make room for the widening of 51st. His father died in 1886 before Walter was born.
When Walter was attending school, he lived with his mother and stepfather, George W. Logan. They lived on a farm alongside Lake Temescal, where Logan was the caretaker/superintendent for Contra Costa Water Company’s filtering plant that supplied Oakland’s drinking water.
Oakland Directory 1889-90
Walter started school at the age of 8 in North Oakland. Wood attended Peralta until fourth grade. From 1899 to 1904, he went to Hays Canyon School for the fifth through ninth grades.
Walter and his seven brothers and sisters walked from Lake Temescal to Peralta School in North Oakland.
Walter Wood’s Report Card – The Montclarion 1976
The Hays Canyon School (where the old Montclair firehouse is) was located two miles from the lake when they walked there in the early 1900s. Sometimes, remember Wood, they rowed a boat to the other end of the lake and walked from there.
The Montclarion 1976
The school was a beautiful Victorian one-room building with a bell and cupola. There was room for forty students and one teacher.
When Walter was 11, he was a mule driver with the crew that dug the first tunnel(Kennedy Tunnel) from Oakland to Contra Costa County. He spent a summer working on the project, earning him the honor of being the first person through the tunnel. He was near the front when they broke through, and a man who looked after Walter gave him a shove and pushed him through.
The Montclaron 1976
A Day in the Life
On a typical Day in 1899, Walter Wood would wake up on the farm and, after breakfast, do an hour’s worth of chores.
Lake Temescal in 1898 – The Monclarion 1976
In addition to their regular chores, the Wood and Logan children were assigned the duty of weed-pulling on the Temescal dam. If weeds grew on the side of the dam, squirrels would dig into the barrier and cause damage.
Oakland Tribune Nov 1902
Playtime came on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. Wood and his siblings had run the area, as it was completely undeveloped except for a few farms.
One of the few farms was the Medau Dairy, where Montclair park is today.
Medau Dairy– Alameda County: The Eden of the Pacific
Superintendent Logan
Oakland Tribune Feb 1889
George W. Logan started working for the Contra Costa Water Company (now EBMUD) as the Superintendent of the Lake Temescal dam in 1888.
Oakland Tribune 1889
Logan worked at Lake Temescal for 18 years; he transferred to Lake Chabot in 1904 and retired from the company in 1916.
Bubbles Vol. II July 1918
George William Logan (1842-1928)was born in Canada in 1848. He came to California in the late 1880s.
Logan was married twice, first to Elizabeth Robinson (1845-1886)in 1884, and they had two children a daughter, Jessie, and a son Maurice. Elizabeth died in about 1886 or 87.
Oakland Tribune Feb 1906
His second wife was Mary Jane Hayden Wood (1860-1958); they raised eight children, her five children, his two and their one together.
Jesse Logan (1884-1961)
Maurice Logan (1886-1977)
Harry Logan (1889-1959)
Ann Wood (1880- ?)
Josephine Wood(1882-1970)
Juanita Wood(1883-1934)
Alfred Wood (1885-1920)
Walter Wood (1887-1990)
Oakland Tribune 1913
Maurice Logan
Maurice (1886 -1977) was an American watercolorist, commercial artist, arts educator, a member of the Society of Six, and a professor at the California College of the Arts in Oakland.
Oakland Tribune 1977
Logan grew up on the shores of Lake Temescal, his father, George Logan, stepmother, and brothers and sisters.
The Logan Family – The Society of Six
Later in life, he lived on Chabot Road, close to Lake Temescal.
In March 1886, the Board of Supervisors created a new school district. That took from portions of the Piedmont, Peralta, and Fruitvale districts representing about 44 children.
Hays Canyon Schoolhouse Students pose with their teacher, in this photo and of the six children sitting down. Walter Wood is 2nd from the left, his brother Alfred Wood is 4th from the left, Harry W. Logan is seated on the far right, and his brother Maurice Logan (the painter) is standing on the far right. The Logans and the Woods lived at Lake Temescal. c 1900-1910 Oakland History Room
The new district was called the Hays School District in honor of the late Colonel John Coffee Hays.
The superintendent appointed the following residents of the area as trustees:
W.H. Mead
J.H. Medau
Mrs. Susan Hays
Land Donated
Hetty S. Henshaw gave the district the land for the school. The Montclair Firehouse was built on the spot in 1927, using the front part of the lot.
Oakland Tribune July 16, 1886
New School House Built
Requests for bids to build the school were made in July of 1886.
Oakland Tribune July 1886
The completed school was small at only 32×36 feet, with just one classroom. It was Gothic in design with a graceful-looking bell tower. It had two entrances, one for the boys and the other for the girls, with each entry having a 6×6 vestibule. The sash bars of the windows are all horizontal, copying the style of European schools.
Oakland Tribune July 07, 1886
The construction cost about $2,500 and took about two months to build.
The dedication of the school was held in October 1886. It was attended by most of the families that lived in the area. Judge EM Gibson and W.H Mead made opening remarks. Some of the families in attendance:
The students from the school provided entertainment under the direction of their teacher Miss Lucy Law. The following students performed:
Clara Gibson
Gussie Gibson
Carrie Mead
Daisy Mead
Susie Mead
Mattie Mead
Edith Medau
Louise Medau
Oakland Tribune February 11, 1888
Oakland Tribune November 23, 1889
Graduation 1901
Hays School was the scene of brightness and beauty on Friday, June 14, 1901. Friends and family gathered to witness the closing exercises. The four graduates were:
Jessie Logan
Robert Shepherd
August Carson
Scott Monroe
Oakland Tribune June 1901
School Trustees
In 1904, Mr. S. Morrell and Mr. Johnson were appointed to fill the vacancies caused by George Hunt’s and G.W. Logan’s removal.
Attendance for the year ending 1911 for the Hays School was 11 students.
Oakland Tribune August 01, 1911
School Closes
The school was closed around 1913, and the building was demolished. It was probably due to the Oakland, Antioch, and Eastern Railway construction, later known as the Sacramento Northern. For more on the Sacramento Northern, please go here. The East Bay Hills Project
Montclair Firehouse
The Montclair firehouse was built on the same site in 1927. The storybook-style building was designed by Eldred E. Edwards of the Oakland Public Works Department.
Storybook firehouse on Moraga Avenue in the Montclair district of Oakland, California. 1934, ohrphoto.districts.031. Oakland. Buildings Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.
The nation’s first federally assisted rehabilitation project.
Oakland Tribune
Federal Housing Act of 1954
In 1955 a 125 block area bounded by E. 21st Street, 14th Avenue, E. 12th Street, and Lake Merritt was chosen as the “study area” for urban renewal.
Clinton Park urban renewal plan (project no. Calif. R-2), City of Oakland, California -November 1957-HathiTrust
In October of 1955, Oakland applied to the Federal Government to formally designate an 80 block area of East Oakland bordering Lake Merritt as its first urban renewal project.
First in the West
The area was Oakland’s first concentrated action against blight and substandard housing.
Clinton Park was a conservation project, the first of this type in the Western United States.
When the project began in July 1958, the area covered 282 acres contained approximately 1,358 structures and 4,750 dwelling units. Clinton Park Project is bounded by Lake Merritt, 14th Avenue, East 21st. and East 14th Streets
The field office for the project was located at 1626 6th Avenue. The field office, an example of urban renewal in action –was a 50-year old house that was located at 1535 10th Avenue.
Oakland Gets U.S. Grant
In December of 1955, the Federal Government earmarked $1 210,000 for Oakland’s Clinton Park Urban Renewal Program. This amount was two-thirds of the anticipated total cost.
New School – Recreation Center
“heart of the Clinton Park urban renewal area.”
The new Franklin School served as an educational and recreational facility and the nucleus of the project. The revised plans for the site called for the additional area and a recreation center to be added. The school replaced the old school building condemned as an earthquake hazard.
Oakland acquired property to double the playgrounds of Franklin School.
The new school opened in September of 1956.
Oakland Tribune September 1956
Franklin School Today – 2020 by Littledots
Due to many problems in acquiring property for the expanded facility, the Recreation Center and Playground area’s completion was delayed until the summer of l 961.
Oakland Tribune October 1960
1010 East 15th – today
Our City Oakland
In 1956 the Oakland Junior Chamber Committee of the Chamber of Commerce produced a movie on Oakland’s urban renewal program. The movie, entitled ” Our City Oakland.”
Our City Oakland – American City Dedicated to Oakland Urban Renewal program for the elevation of human and property values of its neighborhoods .
The film (in color with sound)shows examples of Oakland’s slum dwellings, and census figures at the time showed Oakland more than 15,000 such structures (Wow!)
The film also tells of the work in Clinton Park.
Project Launched
In July of 1957, a wrecking crew started the demolition of eight houses near the new Franklin School. This would be the location of the new recreation center.
Oakland Tribune July 1957
Oakland Tribune June 30, 1957
Older Home Gets New Life
In 1956, the Greater Eastbay Associated Homebuilders purchased a 50-year-old home at 1535 10th Avenue.
Oakland Tribune April 1956
Oakland Tribune April 1956
Home and Garden Show
The house was moved from its lot to become an exhibit at the Home and Garden Show.
Oakland Tribune April 1956
It was completely remodeled as a part of Oakland’s Operation Home Improvement Campaign.
Oakland Tribune April 1956
Following the show, the home was moved to and used as the Clinton Park Project field office.
The office was located at 1621 6th Avenue.
Oakland Tribune 1963
Looks like the house was moved sometime in the mid 1960s. A church is there now.
A Rehab Project
The homes at 624 and 630 Foothill Blvd
Many New Apartment Buildings
From 1956 to 1962, 57 new apartment buildings were constructed. By 1960 $4,000,000 had been spent on new apartment construction.
First Project
The ground was broken in May of 1956 for the first significant construction project for Clinton Park.
Robert A. Vandenbosch designed the 32-unit apartment building at 1844 7th Avenue and East 19th Street.
The three-story structure was built around an inner court that has balconies overlooking the court from every apartment.
Now called Casa Simone –
New Apartment Project
Looking from East 18th towards 12th Avenue Photo by Cheney Photo Advertising 1919
A new 12-unit apartment building replaced a “dilapidated” single-family dwelling at 12th Avenue and East 18th Street.
Oakland Tribune
The old structure was located at 1755 12th Avenue, was built in 1900. It had been converted illegally to an eight-unit apartment.
The structure costs $75.000 to build.
1133 East 18th Street
Garden Type Apartment
In 1958 a new $400,000 apartment was built at 1125 East 18th Street.
Oakland Tribune 1958
Two old homes and their outbuildings were razed to make room for the 40-unit two-story building with parking for the 24 cars on the ground floor.
1125 East 18th – Google Maps
An eight-unit apartment building at 645 Foothill Blvd was under construction at the same time.
Clinton Park Manor
Clinton Park Manor, a 144-unit complex, was built in 1958 at the cost of $1,400,000.
24 efficiency units
50 one-bedroom units
46 two-bedroom units
24 three-bedroom units
Architect Cecil S. Moyer designed the four three-story structures with a landscaped courtyard in the middle.
It is now called Oakbrook Manor – 1229 East 19th Street
The complex is bounded by 12th and 13th Avenues and East 19th and East 20th Streets.
Google Maps
One of Oakland’s first schools, Brooklyn Grammar School, was built on the site in 1863. It was renamed Swett School in 1874, and in 1882 a new school Bella Vista was built there. Bella Vista School was razed in 1951.
The Valhalla Apartments
In March of 1960, a three-story 48-unit apartment building was built on the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and East 17th Street at the cost of $556,000.
Architect Cecil Moyer also designed this building. The new building contained (it might still have the same layout):
3- bachelor apartments
24- one-bedroom apartments
11- two-bedroom apartments
10- three-bedroom apartments
The courtyard had a swimming pool.
1720 12th Ave –Google Maps
Six old homes, some dating back to the 1890s, were demolished to clear the site.
Today it is call Cambridge Terrace Apartments
Apartments
A partial list of the new apartment buildings
2225-7th Avenue – 1957
1618-6th Avenue – 1957
1640 -6th Avenue -1957
602 Foothill – remodeled
1925-35 10th Avenue – 1960
New Supermarket
In 1960 Safeway Stores Inc. built a new 20,000 square foot building and a parking lot on 14th Avenue.
The Architects were Wurster, Bernardi, and Emmons of San Francisco.
1711 14th Avenue – Today – Google Maps
Loops’ for Traffic
To meet the problem of through traffic on a residential street, which caused neighborhood deterioration. Forty-seven intersections were marked to be altered, either to divert automobiles to through streets by way of traffic “loops.” or slow them down with curb extensions.
The traffic-diverting “loops” will be landscaped areas extending diagonally across intersections.
The result of these intersections was that through traffic in the project area is limited to 5th, 8th Avenues, north and south, East 21st Street, Foothill Blvd, and East 15th Street, east-west.
The Diverters -Google Maps
Diverters were placed at East 19th Street and 6th and 11th Avenues and East 20th Street at 7th and 10th Avenues. Also at East 20th Street and 12th Avenue.
Discouragers were also placed at East 20th Street and 13th Avenue and East 19th Street and 13th Avenue.
New Mercury Lights and Traffic Signals
Excerpts of articles fromthe Oakland Tribune 1960
Other features of the program included:
New Recreation Center
Widening of several streets and the installation of curbs and sewers.
Planting of 1,600 trees about 20 per block.
Construction of pedestrian overpasses over Foothill Blvd and East 15th Street for safe access to Franklin School.
Installation of new street lighting, street signs, and traffic signs.
Beautiful Homes of Clinton Park
Project Report
By March of 1962, 1,081 structures, containing 3,056 dwelling units have been repaired to eliminate all code. Violation. There have been ll7 structures demolished during the same period.
Final report of Oakland Renewal Foundation, Inc. on Clinton Park Project, Oakland, California. – @HathiTrust
During this same period, 57 new apartment buildings were constructed within the project area, adding l,l08 new units to the existing housing supply.
I love Oakland with much of my heart. I look forward to Oakland’s change, growth, virtue, and beauty in the years of the future, glorifying past and forgone years.
My dream is that people who read this book of our city will also strive for a more wonderful Oakland.
By: Jacqueline Taylor
Oakland Tribune 1969
Oakland, The Mellow City Week
By official proclamation of Mayor John Reading Sunday, October 12, 1969, was the first day of:
“Oakland, The Mellow City Week.”
Oakland Tribune Oct 1969
The observation honored more than 200 eighth-grade authors and artists who produced a book about their home city.
“The Mellow City” was researched and illustrated in the spring of 1968 under the guidance of teachers from Hoover Junior High.
Oakland Tribune Oct 1969
Students were asked to base their work on the response to one question:
“If you were to develop a book to help other students learn about Oakland, what would you include”?
Oakland Tribune
After six weeks of intensive work, they had 76 pages of essays, poems, and more than 50 original watercolors and pen and ink illustrations.
Oakland Tribune Feb 1969
Financing
Money for the project which required field trips, camera equipment, and teacher time was available through Elementary Secondary Education Act funding.
The Oakland Junior League voted to underwrite the expense of printing 2,500 copies.
Sample Page
The students also worked with printers in selecting the paper, typeface and cover design, including
The Cover
Jacqueline Taylor
Wanda White
Valerie Hickman
Marvin Miles
LaTanya Johnson
Glenda Walker
Coynell Smith
Oakland Tribune Oct 1969Sample Page
More Info:
The book is still available (July 2020) to purchase at:
The schools were single-story buildings with integrated gardens and pavilion-like classrooms, which increased children’s access to the outdoors, fresh air, and sunlight. They were primarily built in areas away from city centers, sometimes in rural locations, to provide a space free from pollution and overcrowding.
The first open-air school in Oakland was established at Fruitvale School No. 2 (now Hawthorne School) on Tallent Street (now East 17th). When it opened, forty students from grades third through seventh were enrolled. Miss Lulu Beeler was selected as the teacher because she had prior experience working in an open-air school in the East.
The school was designed to help cure ill and tubercular children. Its focus was on improving physical health through the infusion of fresh air into the classrooms and into the children’s lungs. The school was established as a medical experiment. It was reserved for children judged to be of “weak” disposition.
It was constructed at the rear of the playground, one hundred feet from the existing main building.
“Fruitvale School. The Fresh Air School, 5-18-13.” The negative shows a group of children, boys and girls, posing in front of what looks like an enclosed porch on the back of the building. Two adult women and a man are standing with the children on a set of stairs leading up to this room. OMCA
The square, the wood-framed building, was raised to prevent underfloor dampness.
Fruitvale School. Saluting the flag, 5-18-13.” Negative shows a group of children with their right hands to their foreheads. One girl is standing in front of them, holding an American flag on a pole. OMCA
Each side had a different treatment to reflect the sun. The southern side had tall windows that, when open, didn’t seem enclosed. The east side was opened to the elements with only half of a wall. A screen protected them from insects. In case of storms, awnings could be pulled down to protect the students.
Fruitvale School.” The negative shows schoolchildren hanging out the school’s windows, posing for the photo. A male teacher is standing on the ground outside the windows, looking up at the first-floor windows filled with students. OMCA
The school was to be the first in a series of open-air schools installed on the grounds of Oakland’s existing city schools.
Objections
Fruitvale School. The outdoors brought indoors 5-18-13.” OMCA
There were some objections to opening the school, both from the parents of the selected children and the children themselves. The parents did not want their children singled out; the children worried they would be teased as being “sick.” These fears were realized, and the teachers struggled with how to deal with the repeated taunts
The open-air classroom idea was incorporated into many of the new schools built in the 1920s. I don’t know how long the Fruitvale Open Air School was open. I will update you if I find more information.
In the first 36 years, the school changed location five times and gone by eight different names.
A Bit of History
In January 1915, McClymonds High School started in a small building formerly occupied by Oakland Technical High School at 12th and Market with sixty students. Originally called the Vocational High School and was the first public school in California to offer vocational training.
J.W. McClymonds directly inspired the organization of the school, superintendent of the Oakland Schools between 1889-1913 (Oakland Tribune Mar 09, 1924), and the name was changed to McClymonds Vocational School.
In 1924 the school was moved to a new building at 26th and Myrtle, and its name was changed to J.W. McClymonds High School.
It became just plain McClymonds High in 1927. The building was condemned in 1933, and classes were moved to Durant School.
In 1936 McClymonds High School and Lowell Junior High School were merged to form a new high school on Lowell Site at 14th and Myrtle Streets. McClymonds High thereby became a four-year high school.
In 1938 the name changed from J.W. McClymonds to Lowell-McClymonds, then in July of the year to McClymonds-Lowell High School.
Finally, in September 1938, they moved back to the old site at 26th and Myrtle Streets after the buildings were reconstructed at the cost of $330,000. The alumni won out, and once again it was McClymonds High School as it is today.
Dedication
The new high school occupying the entire block at 26th and Myrtle Streets, erected at the cost of $660,000 was dedicated in March of 1924.
The school was named in honor of J.W McClymonds, who had died two years earlier. The ceremony was held on Mar 09, 1924.
Oakland Tribune 1924
McClymonds High School was completed in 1924 as a part of the school building program of 1919. The new building contained 35 classrooms, 11 shops, administrative offices, storerooms, science, millinery, and art rooms and an auditorium with a seating capacity of 1000. There were shops for forge work, auto repair, machine work, pattern making, woodworking, electrical engineering, and printing. The machinery in the shops costs several thousands of dollars.
Mcclymonds High School – undated Oakland History Room
Millinery Courses
The milliner’s art “so dear to the hearts of the fair sex” was introduced as a course for girls in schools of Oakland. Mcclymonds had a shop with machinery for fabricating and molding the millinery.
“The girls are virtually flocking to the new course, which teaches the latest in chic, feminine headgear.”
In 1954 a new three-story reinforced concrete structure was dedicated.
The structure designed for 1200 students and contains 42 classrooms, an auditorium, cafeteria, and library. Corlett and Anderson of Oakland were the architects.
The auditorium is in the two-story south wing and classes in the three-story building.
A class of 75 students was the first to graduate from the new McClymonds High in 1954.
New Gym
The Old Gymnasium – 1928
In 1953 the old gym was condemned as an earthquake hazard and wasn’t replaced until 1957.
The new Gymnasium 1956
The new gym was the first Oakland school building to be built with tilt-up wall construction in which concrete wall sections are poured flat on the ground then raised into place.
Folding bleachers will seat 875 spectators. A folding partition will divide the main gymnasium into boys and girls for physical education classes.
The building also included an exercise room, shower and locker rooms, first-aid rooms, instructor’s office, and storage areas. Ira Beals designed it at the cost of $427,000.
McClymonds Field Dedicated – 1960
Oakland Tribune 1963
The new $625,095 track and field facilities was touted as one of the finest in the East Bay when the it was dedication ceremony was held.
The new tennis courts adjacent to the gym were dedicated to the memory of Earl M. Swisher, a former teacher, and tennis coach.
The Field Today – google maps
In 1964 three McCLymonds High School seniors drowned in the icy waters of Strawberry Lake in Tuolumne County.
Oakland Tribune 1964
The victims were:
Gloria Curry – Age 17
Carolyn Simril – Age 17
Melvin Lee Moore – Age 16
The trip was for the about 150 students called “honor citizens” because of outstanding community and school service.
Pinecrest Lake 1964
Most of the students were on the ski slopes, and sled runs at Dodge Ridge. Between 15 and 20 of them were on the frozen lake when the ice gave away.
The students said there were no signs on the lake warning of thin or rotten ice.
A heroic rescue by three boys and two men saved the lives of at least ten students when the ice broke about 150 yards from the shore.
Carolyn Simril died while trying to pull somebody out and fell in herself.
Feb 1965
A large crowd waited in front of Mcclymonds High for the three buses to return. They knew that three students had drowned, but they didn’t know who they were.
Photo by Joanne Leonard circa 1964 Gift of the artist in honor of Therese Thau Heyman 2003.139.35
McClymonds Today
McClymonds High School is a highly valued icon of the West Oakland community as it is the only full-sized OUSD High School in the region. It is located near the intersection of Market Street & San Pablo Avenue in the Clawson neighborhood, which contains a mix of residential and commercial development with a handful of industrial yards
The school is located at 2607 Myrtle Street Oakland, CA 94607
In this series of posts, I hope to show Then and Now images of Oakland Schools. Along with a bit of the history of each school, I highlight.
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.
Montera Junior High
Montera and Joaquin Miller Schools are located where Camp Dimond, owned by the Boy Scouts, once was. The camp opened in 1919 and closed in 1949 when the board of education purchased the land.
Groundbreaking
The groundbreaking ceremony was held in December 1957. The school was next to Joaquin Miller Elementary School. Speakers at the event were Peter C. Jurs, board member; Mrs. Robert Hithcock, President of the Joaquin Miller PTA; Zoe Kenton, eighth-grade student; Jim Ida, seventh-grade student; and Supt Selmer Berg. Rev Robert H. Carley led the invocation.
Malcolm D. Reynolds and Loy Chamberlain designed the school. The new school featured: Administration Offices.
Construction
Jan 1958
1958
Parking Lot – November 1958
Gymnasium
June 1958 Russ Reed Photo
Naming the School
Montera Junior High – Nov 1959
The school was temporarily called Joaquin Miller Junior High because it is adjacent to Joaquin Miller Elementary School.
As in all new Oakland Schools, the students, faculty, and community help choose the school’s name.
Recommendations to the school board from the school’s parent-facility club were as follows:
Jack London Junior High
Montera Junior High
Pineview Junior High
They were set to vote on the name at the next board meeting. Before they could vote, they received a second letter from the parent-faculty club at the school withdrawing the recommendation of Jack London Junior High.
Theparents said that.
London was not a fit person for the honor.“
Parent – Faculty
SF Chronicle – Oct 1959
A student representative said, “Montera Junior High” was the top choice for those attending the school. The area was known historically as the Montera District.
Oakland Tribune November 23, 1924
School Dedication
The school was formally dedicated as Montera Junior High on November 10, 1959
In 2011, Montera became a California Distinguished School. The woodshop is another source of school pride, having celebrated over 50 years of teaching children the arts of woodcraft. It is the only remaining woodshop in an Oakland middle school.
I hope to show Then and Now images of Oakland Schools in this series of posts on Oakland Schools. Along with a bit of the history of each school. 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.
Dag Hammarskjöld School
Sorry I wasn’t able to find any pictures of the school. Let me know if you have any.
The new Columbia Gardens school on Empire Road was a temporary school established in 1961 as a “bonus” project from the 1956 bond issue.
The school was officially named Dag hammarskjöld School after the late secretary-general of the United Nations in October of 1961.
Dedication
The school was dedicated in March of 1962.
Oakland Tribune Mar 21, 1962
The school is now a middle school called Hammarskjold (Dag) Opportunity and is located at 9655 Empire Road
$40 Million School Program Ends – Oakland Tribune Feb 02, 1964
Lincoln Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School is one of the oldest schools in the Oakland Unified School District. The school had several incarnations before becoming Lincoln Elementary School.
Lincoln School’s history goes back to 1865 when the Board of Education established Primary School No. 2, “the Alice Street School,” at Alice and 6th Streets.
The school was moved to Harrison Street and renamed Harrison Primary.
The lot for the first school cost $875, and the two-room school cost $1,324. There were 60 students registered that first year.
Lincoln School in 1887
In 1872 (1878), Lincoln Grammar School was built on its site at Alice and 10th Streets. They paid $7,791 for the land, and the building, complete with “modern speaking tubes for communication,” cost $20,000.
Lincoln School in 1898
1906 Earthquake
Drawing of the New Lincoln School
The 1906 Earthquake interrupted the construction of a new school building with 22 classrooms that replaced the school from 1872. New plans were drawn to make an earthquake-proof structure. There were many delays, but the school was finally open in the fall of 1909.
Oakland Tribune Aug 31, 1907
New Lincoln School ended up costing between $150,000-$175,000.
Lincoln School offered the first manual training and homemaking classes in the city. During the flu epidemic of 1918, meals for prepared for and served to 200 daily.
New School
Preliminary plans for a new two-story concrete building were authorized in October 1957. The cost was estimated at $535 000.
The 1906 building was demolished in 1961 due to seismic safety concerns.
Oakland Tribune October 06, 1959
A new building was erected in 1962. The cost of the building was $617,000 and had 16 classrooms, offices, an auditorium, a library, and a kindergarten.
A bronze plaque of the Gettysburg Address was presented to the school.
Oakland Tribune Apr 18, 1961
The school grew and used portable classrooms to accommodate the new students.
Lincoln Today
The school is at 225 11th St. in Oakland.
The school has a long history of serving families in the Oakland Chinatown neighborhood and children from other parts of Oakland. Today, the majority of the children at Lincoln come from immigrant families across the globe. To learn more about the history of Lincoln Elementary, please visit the Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project.
Lincoln Today
In 2004 the new annex building was built to replace eleven portable buildings.
Lincoln’s alums include famous Oaklanders: Raymond Eng (first Chinese-American elected to Oakland’s city council), James Yim Lee (author and student of Bruce Lee), and Benjamin Fong-Torres (famous rock journalist and author).
Distinguished School
2006: Lincoln Elementary wins a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award
2007: Lincoln Elementary wins a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award
2008: Lincoln Elementary is named a California Distinguished School and wins a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award
2009: Lincoln Elementary wins a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award
2010: Lincoln Elementary wins a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award and is named a National Blue Ribbon School
2011: Lincoln Elementary wins a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award
2012: Lincoln Elementary wins a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award
2019: Today, Lincoln Elementary serves over 700 TK-5 students.
In this series of posts, I hope to show Then and Now images Oakland Schools. Along with a bit of history of each school, I highlight. Some of the 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 — some are a work in progress. I have been updating my posts when I find something new. Let me know of any mistakes or additions.
Bella Vista Elementary School
The original Bella Vista Annex 2410 -10th Avenue
“Bella Vista was a name once given to a two-teacher school of the primary standing.’ This school will become an annex of the new “Bella Vista School.”
In 1924 the Bella Vista School moved to the “Old” Intermediate School No. 1 at 1930 12th Avenue.
From the Views Oakland
The Old Bella Vista school was located at 13th Avenue and East 19th Street. The building that was being torn down in 1951 traced its lineage back to 1863 when the first school on the site was built by the Brooklyn school district. When the Brooklyn school was annexed by the Oakland system, the school became the Franklin school formally but was known by the residents as the East Oakland school. Later it was renamed the A.W. Swett School (see Then & Now Oakland Schools Part 2)
Showing 1906 Earthquake Damage
The building in the above clipping was built in 1892. It was described as a “well-planned building of nine-rooms.” The building cost $52,952 and was designed by Howard Burns. In the 1912 Swett School was renamed the Intermediate School Number One, and 12 years later, in 1924, it became the Bella Vista School, and the name is held at the time it was condemned in 1934.
After the condemnation, only part of the building was in use until the new school was built in 1951.
New School and Location
Oakland Tribune
The new school building is located on East 28th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues a few blocks from the old site.
Oakland Tribune 1949
In October of 1949, construction began on the new $538,213 Bella Vista School.
Reynolds and Chamberlain designed the building.
The new building has:
17 Classrooms
A kindergarten
Cafeteria
Auditorium
Built for a capacity of 630 and is a two-story structure of concrete and steel.
Glenview started as McChesney Annex School and was located at 13th Avenue and East 38th Avenue.
In 1924 the board approved a new school on a new site in the upper part of the district.
Oakland Tribune July 1927
The laying of the cornerstone was in January of 1927. The two-story mission-style building was ready in April of 1927.
Eleven Classrooms
Assembly Hall
Administration Offices
Locker-RoomsThe McChesney Annex name was changed to Glenview ElementarySchool in October of 1927.
Glenview Elementary school was formally dedicated in a ceremony with the Native Sons of California in November of 1927. The school cost about $110,000 and was designed by architects Williams & Wastell
Glenview School in 193 From the Brenkman Family
In 1938 the students were moved to portables while the main school building was reconstructed.
Oakland Tribune Aug 29, 1938
The school was ready for occupation in March of 1939.
Glenview Class of 1938 From the Brenkman Family
Glenview Baseball Team 1941 From the Brenkman Family
Glenview Today:
The school is located at 4215 La Cresta Avenue
New Campus: August 2020
New Campus
The new classroom building will also feature:
New Multipurpose room with a new stage
Storage under the step for chairs
Folding cafeteria tables
Striping for basketball for indoor physical Education
Modern and efficient plumbing, electric HVAC, and WiFi systems
Students at Glenview Elementary are currently being housed at the Santa Fe school site. At the same time, their new state-of-the-art facility is being built at its permanent location (4215 La Cresta Avenue) in the Glenview neighborhood.
Harbor Homes School was located in the Harbor Homes Housing Project. Harbor Homes Housing Project was a temporary housing project built by the federal government in 1943 during WWII.
When the war ended, the temporary housing remained. The board of Education decided there was a need for a temporary school for the children living there.
Oakland Tribune Nov 18, 1947
A school was constructed for $85,000, and 266 students enrolled for classes on Mar 9, 1948. In the beginning, the ten portables were heated by a pot-bellied coal-burning stove.
Oakland Tribune Mar 8, 1948
In 1951Benjamin Hargrave was the first-ever African American principal of an Oakland Public school.
Oakland Tribune Feb 8, 1954
The school reached its peak enrollment in February of 1961 with 456 students. Over 4000 students passed through its doors in the 15 years it was opened.
Oakland Tribune Dec 29, 1960
Oakland Tribune February 8, 1963
The final day was Friday, February 8th, 1963. Mrs. Lillian Clancy held a class with just five students; Stanley Watts, 11; Earl Watts, 10; Steven Watts, 9; Lee Jones, 10; and Jackie Jones, 6. Charles Cline was the Principal
Oakland Tribune Feb 8, 1963
By June of 1963, all of the Harbor Homes buildings were gone, including the school.
In February of 1905, F.H. Danke’s bid of $3,100 for laying the cement foundation of the new Washington School was accepted by the board of Education.
Awards Contracts for Work
The Board of Education awarded contracts for the building of the Washington School to a variety of bidders. The list is as follows.
Brick and Stone Work
P.J.Walker
$20,799
Structural Steel Work
Judson Manufacturing
$5,551
Fire Proofing
Roebling Const.
$8,845
Galvanized Iron/Roof
Pacific Ref. Roofing Co.
$794
Plaster Work
William Mehady
$3,681
Tile Work
Columbus Marble Co.
$369.94
Plumbing
Ingram Hardware Co.
$1,507
Carpentry
H.E. Brown & Co.
$15,821
Painting
W.H.Blake
$1,913
They started building the school on Aug 31, 1905.
Before 1906
The new school was a ten-room two-story building, fire-proof throughout, constructed of red brick and terra cotta. The building was designed so that later additions can be made at either end, and when it was completed, it was to contain twenty-two class-rooms.
1906 Earthquake
The school still under construction sustained considerable damage in the 1906 earthquake.
In June of 1906, the school board reported they needed $100,000 to repair the damage and make the school earthquake-proof.
Judson Construction Company was re-awarded the contract to rebuild the ironwork and E.J. Walker for the brickwork.
In April of 1908, it was reported that the school would be ready in August.
Oakland Tribune August 1908
In 1927 a new $45,000 assembly hall was built.
Principal C.E. Hudspeth
C.E. Hudspeth was the principal of the school from 1905 until his retirement in 1942.
CE Hudspeth 1909
For recognition of his service, the auditorium was named Hudspeth Hall.
The Washington School Alumni Association was formed in 1939. They held annual get-togethers to discuss the old days.
Oakland Tribune 1951
Oakland Tribune Oct 16, 1963Oakland Tribune 1913
The school after the new additions in 1913
Circa 1913
New School
Oakland Tribune 1951
A new two-story reinforced concrete structure designed by William E. Schirmer was built in 1952, costing $634,000.
Fourteen Classrooms
Kindergarten
Cafeteria
Auditorium
Library
Oakland Tribune Dec 1953
Washington School Today – OUSD Photo
The school is located at 581 61st Street, Oakland, CA.
The school is called Kaiser-Sankofa.
Kaiser and Sankofa are two Oakland elementary schools that will be merging together into one school on the Sankofa campus starting in August 2020. To learn more about the two existing schools, you can visit the following sites.
In this series of posts, I hope to show Then and Now images Oakland Schools. Along with a bit of history of each school, I highlight. Some of the 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 from home and online — a work in progress for some. I have been updating my posts with new information or corrections.
Let me know of any mistakes or additions.
King Estates Junior High School
In 1956 the city of Oakland and the Board of Education (OUSD) agreed to purchase a 46-acre tract on Mountain Blvd. near the Oak Knoll for future development as a combined school and recreation area.
Central National Savings Bank Map 1923
They purchased the land from the heirs of Arthur Dale King a Hillsborough millionaire, who died in 1952.
Under the agreement, 19 acres of the total 46 were for the two new schools.
In June of 1958, the Board of Education approved the plans for the new King Junior High School on Fontaine Street.
Groundbreaking Oakland Tribune Feb 1959
The estimated cost of the school was $1,638,445. The school was designed by the firm of Confer and Wills.
Oakland Tribune Jun 1958
Oakland Tribune Jun 1958
Twenty-six classrooms
Gymnasium
Library
Multipurpose room
Administrative Offices
800 Students
In October of 1960, the board ok’d the name “King Junior High” for the new school in King Estates.
Oakland Tribune Sept 06, 1960
School Shooting
Oakland Tribune March 18, 19
Oakland Tribune March 1973
In March of 1973, 15-year-old Leonard Key watched his mother die by a sniper’s bullet outside the school gym. Leonard’s mother, Mrs. Kay Key, and two sisters had just seen him play in an all-star basketball game.
Police arrested two 15-year-old boys who confessed to firing random shots onto the campus with a sawed-off shotgun and a .22-caliber pistol.
King Junior High Today
Google Maps
Google Maps
OUSD Photo
Google Maps
OUSD Photo
In 2005 two small highs schools opened at the campus; they are the Youth Empowerment School and East Oakland Community High School.
Now Rudsdale Continuation School and Sojourner Truth School are there.
The school named for Ralph Johnson Bunche (1903-1971). He taught Political Science at Howard University and was the first African American to get a Ph.D. in political science from an American university. He worked with helped Martin Luther King Jr. He was the first African American to be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. He helped form the United Nations and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President John F. Kennedy.
Bunche Visits the School
In 1966 Ralph Bunche paid a visit to the school that bears his name.
“I have been waiting to come and see you since the school was established.I’ll try not to do anything that would anything that will embarrass you.”
Ralph K. Bunche 1966
Ralph K. Bunche 1966
Ralph K. Bunche 1966
He spoke to the 450 students in the play yard of the school. He then spent about an hour shaking hands with all the children and signing autographs.
After the event, some of the children said:
“He’s real nice, I liked the way he talked,” said Claudia Mason age 10
“He’s an intelligent man,” “He’s a real fine gentleman “
said Wayne Jackson age 10
Tribute to Bunche
Ralph Bunche Day was held on November 19, 1971. The children of the school paid tribute to the man the school is named after.
The school was called the Laurel Annex School and was organized in May of 1935.
The name officially changed to Redwood Heights School in June of 1935.
Location of the first School
The first school was located at 4359 Bennett Place. Avenue Terrace Park is there now.
New School and location
The Oakland Board of Education officially broke ground on the site of the new school at Mountain Blvd and 39th Avenue. The new school was the tenth building as part of the 1948 tax election.
The two-story building had 11 classrooms, a kindergarten, an auditorium, and a library. Donovan and Kerr were the architects.
4401 39th Ave, Oakland, CA 94619
Redwood Heights Construction 1959 Oakland History Room Photo
The Board of Education approved plans for the new school in February of 1927.
The plans called for a two-story steel and concrete structure at an estimated cost of $260, 000. The “Spanish type” building constructed in the form of an L and had 35 classrooms, a gymnasium, shops, and an auditorium.
Oakland Tribune 1928
Westlake Junior High was known as Lakeview Junior High.
Dedication Ceremony
The formal dedication of the school was held on March 14, 1928.
Name Change
Renaming the school became necessary to avoid conflict with Lakeview elementary school.
The students wanted the school named after Col. Charles Lindbergh. The board decided against that. Lakeview Junior High became West Lake Junior High in May of 1929
One hundred sixty-two students graduated from West Lake Junior High on June 06, 1929. “The Biggest Class Ever.”
Oakland Tribune June 1928
Oakland, CA December 13, 1953 – Heralds from Westlake Junior High School opens the Christmas Pageant at the Oakland Auditorium. (Russ Reed / Oakland Tribune Photographer) (Photo by MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)
