As many of you know, my husband had a heart attack last year and spent four months in the hospital waiting for a transplant. His heart continued to fail; they opted to install an LVAD (left ventricular assist device), a bridge to a heart transplant. He has not gone back to work and probably won’t soon. I am now his caregiver. In October, he was put back on the heart transplant list. He now needs both a heart and a kidney. So, now we wait to get a call telling us they have a heart.
Researching Oakland’s History is so much fun and a lot of work simultaneously. Because my work on this site doesn’t earn me anything, I gratefully accept PayPal donations to support it. Keeping the site up and running costs money, as does my subscriptions to online sites like Newspapers.com or Ancestry.com com.
I would also like to share an article from The Oaklandside, where I was interviewed.
The first school in Oakland was founded in July 1853 with sixteen students. Miss Hannah J. Jayne, a member of a pioneer family after whom Jayne Street is named, was the first teacher. The school was located at Twelfth and Jefferson Streets and was purchased in 1853 for $900. Later, the home of Oakland High.
J.B. McChesneywas the high school’s first principal for many years, starting in 1867. In 1913 a grammar school at 13th Avenue and East 38th was named in his honor and later called McChesney Junior High. In 1989, it was renamed Edna Brewer Junior High, a long-time principal at the school.
McChesney Elementary School
Named for School Officials or Civic Leaders
Like McChesney School, many schools in Oakland were named after school officials, principals, and teachers.
Burckhalter Elementary School was named for astronomer and director of the Chabot Observatory Charles Burckhalter in 1927.
Clawson School was named in honor of William F. Clawson, an educator and principal at the Tompkins School until his death in 1882.
Clawson School
Campbell School at 4th and Grove Streets started out as Grove Street School. In 1907, it was renamed in honor of Oakland’s first superintendent of Oakland Schools, Frederick ‘Fred’ M. Campbell. Campbell’s daughter Mary was a teacher and then principal for 32 years, ending in 1926. In the early 1950s, the school was closed.
Campbell School – OMCA
Cole Grammar School (c1885 – c1926) at 10th and Union Streets opened in 1885 and was named after Dr. Rector F. Cole, president of the board of education.
E. Morris Cox School was first called The Elmhurst Annex. It was renamed in honor of E. Morris Cox, who died in 1925. Cox was the Assistant Superintendent of Schools.
Durant Schoolat 28th and West Streets was the 28th Street School renamed in honor of the Rev. Henry Durant, head of the old Oakland College on 12th Street, which grew into the University of California.
Durant School
Kaiser Elementarywas named in honor of Henry J. Kaiser Jr., an industrialist and civic leader.
McClymonds High School was named after J.W.McClymonds, who was once the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District.
McFeely School was named in honor of Susan McFeely, who was ateacher and principal in the Oakland school district for 49 years before her retirement in 1930.
Carl B. Munck Elementary was named for Carl B. Munck, who served on the school board from 1943 to the mid-1980s, 28 of those years as president.
Swett Grammar School(also known as Intermediate School No. 1) was located at 12th Avenue and East 19th Street. It was named after educator John Swett. In 1913, this historic school became the first of the lower high schools (junior high or middle School). In 1926, a new school was built on Steele St.
Named After Presidents
Many schools in Oakland are named after presidents.
Longfellow Schoolis at 39th and Market Streets, Emerson at 48th and Webster, and Hawthorne School (which was Fruitvale School No. 2)at Fruitvale and Talant Street. Hawthorne School is now Urban Promise Academy.
Emerson Elementary
Joaquin Miller Elementary and Bret Harte Middle School
Joaquin Miller Elementary
Franklin School at 9th Avenue and East 16th Street was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
Prescott School at 9th and Campbell Streets was named for William H. Prescott, a historian.
Named for Pioneers or Landowners
Chabot Elementary School was initially called the Claremont Annex School and was renamed Anthony Chabot School in 1927.
Chabot Elementary
Frick Grammar School (later a junior high) located at 62nd and Foothill Blvd was opened in 1912. It was named after Walter P. Frick, a well-known lumberman who donated the land for the school. It is nowFrick United Academy of Language.
Frick Grammar School circa 1915 – Photo by Cheney Photo Advertising
Peralta Public School – The Peraltas Spanish Pioneers and the First Family of the East Bay
Peralta Public School – Photo by Cheney Photo Advertising
Tompkins School was named for Edward Tompkins, an Oakland Pioneer.
Other Famous People
Ralph J. Bunche Elementary The school was 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.
Burbank Elementary was named after Luther Burbank, a botanist and horticulturist who lived in Northern California. It is now Burbank Preschool Center.
Lazear School (now Lazear Charter Academy) at Twenty-Sixth Avenue and East Ninth Streets opened in 1914. The school was named after Dr. Jesse W. Lazear, an army surgeon. J.W. McClymonds is responsible for coming up with the name. McClymonds, a superintendent for the Oakland schools, voiced his belief.
“that schools should be named after persons who had accomplished something in the world’s work.”
JW McCymonds 1913
Lazear School March 1915
Dewey School at 37th Avenue and East 12 Street after George Dewey was an Admiral in the Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.
Dewey Public School –
Fremont High School was named forJohnCharles Frémont,an American explorer, military officer, and politician.
Horace Mann School started as Melrose Heights School and was later renamed Horace Mann.
Original Horace Mann School circa 1915 photo by Cheney Photo Advertising
Name After The Location
The school’s location played a part in naming the earlier schools. Bay School at 62nd Street and San Pablo Avenue had a view of the bay. Beulah School at Tompkins and Orchard Streets near Mills College was in the Beulah district.
Many were named for the district or neighborhood they were in.
Allendale School, located at Penniman and 38th Avenues in the Allendale district, was founded in 1904 as Fruitvale School No. 3.
Allendale School – from the Oakland History group on Facebook
Highland School on A Street between 85th and 86th Avenues got its name from 85th Ave, formally called Highland Street. Now called Highland Community School.
Lakeview School opened in 1914 at Grand Avenue, and Perry Street has a lake view. The school began as an annex to Grant School on Broadway (later moved to Pill Hill) and is located on Perry Street. Westlake Middle School is west of Lake Merritt.
Santa Fe School at 54th and Adeline Streets in the Santa Fe Tract.
Santa Fe School
Nature played a part in the naming of some schools: Laurel School on Kansas Street, Manzanita (now Manzanita Community School) at East 26th and 24th Avenue, Sequoia School on Lincoln Avenue, and Redwood Heights School (also in the Redwood Heights neighborhood)on 39th Avenue.
Original Sequoia School on Scenicat Lincolncirca 1915 photo by Cheney Photo Advertising
Skyline High School, Thornhill Elementary, and Piedmont Avenue School were namedafter the street they are on.
Castlemont High School was first called East Oakland High, but Castlemont was more fitting as it resembled a castle. It is now
Castlemont High
Hillcrest Elementary is at the crest of the hill, and Bella Vista School, Bella Vista means beautiful view.
The Court of All Nations is located on Hillen Street (formally Trumbull Street) near Mills College, with a view of the bay and the nearby hills. The group of fifty homes was built in 1925, with the first four starting in January of that year.
Unique Idea Result of Europe Trip
The unique idea was brought back by local builder R.C. Hillen after spending five months motoring through Europe in search of ideas for one of his next developments.
He wanted to reproduce the picturesque homes that dot the hillsides and valleys of European countries.
The homes are of five and six-room European style with American convenience. Each home is an architectural gem, specially adapted by W.W. Dixon, architect and the editor of the Home Designer Magazine, from sketches Hillen made during that trip.
They will include patios and landscaped gardens both in front and back.
Casa Romero
Oakland Tribune May 17, 1925
Casa Romero is a Spanish-Moorish type, and it opened in ???. The iron grill balconies before the windows and the flower-grown patio with pool and fountain suggest old Spain.
Oakland Tribune
W.W. Dixon, who designed Casa Romero, said, ” the name an old Spanish name dating from the days of the Mexican Grants in California.” Casa Romero means the house of the Romeros.
“‘Casa Romero’ Is All Electrically Equipped: Radio Featured.”
Oakland Tribune May 17, 1925
A Pipe-Organ Radio is installed in the living room. The rare acoustic properties of the room, eighteen by thirty-six feet in size and eighteen feet high, were fully utilized. A Radiola super-heterodyne is hidden behind what appears to be pipes of an organ on the balcony above. Using a central control, you could listen by loudspeaker or earphone connections by merely pressing a button.
The hidden radio – Oakland Tribune 1925
Casa Romero Today from Google Maps
European Style Homes
Some of the homes were designed along the lines of English cottage architecture, and others suggest French and Italian villa homes with homes from Spain, Norway, or Holland.
All have charming features and will include a large living room with a unique fireplace, a dining room with a buffet, and a kitchen with all the modern fixtures. Priced from $6500-$7900
Grand Duke
The Grand Duke Model Home – Oakland Tribune 1925
Dixon and Hillen
Walter W. Dixon(1884-1953)
Robert C. Hillen (1884-1955)
Style: Storybook, fairy tale, Hansel & Gretel
Dixon designed homes and other buildings, alone and with the firm Dixon and Hillen, from about 1910 to 1950, mostly in the East Bay.
Dixon built grand Storybook houses and houses in other styles and is best known for compact Storybook tract cottages.
Both were involved under the name of Dixon and Hillen Publishers with the Home Designer Magazine, based in Oakland and printed out of their office at 1844 Fifth Ave. The monthly publication costs $2.50 yearly for a subscription and covers mostly bungalow and Storybook types of homes.
They also designed the homes on Picardy Drive in Oakland.
I thought I would take a moment to share some Christmas ads and articles from The Montclarion. I know these ads will bring back memories from some of you.
I know some of you may have noticed that I have slowed down posting here and on Facebook.
I thought I’d let you know my situation.
In Need of a Heart
On May 5th of this year, my husband, my daughters’ dad, had a sudden cardiac arrest at work. He works at the Oakland Airport for Southwest Airlines.
When this happened, he was walking down a hallway going to the break room when he fell to the ground. His co-worker saw him out of the corner of his eye and called 911.
But here’s the good part he just happened to fall outside of a classroom where a CPR class was in session. He became the class! CPR was initiated immediately, and the paramedics were within minutes.
They brought him back to us. Yeah CPR!
He was rushed to Highland Hospital where he was put into a medically induced coma. He came out of it two days later with no memory of the previous days.
at Highland
Teff was discharged from Highland Hospital on May 13th after having a defibrillator inserted and an ok’d to go back to work on June 1st.
He went back to work on June 4th and did fine, just a little slower than usual. He went back to work on June 7th; he left early because he wasn’t feeling well. I took him to the VA clinic in downtown Oakland, and they determined he needed to be rushed back to the ER at Highland Hospital. He went via an ambulance, and I went via our car.
Long story short, the doctors at Highland (shout out to them) determined that he needed to be transferred to California Pacific Medical Center(CPMC) in San Francisco for them to evaluate him for either a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or a heart transplant.
He was transferred to CPMC on June 11th.
Hayley and her Dad
On June 18th, they determined he was a good candidate for a transplant and added him to the UNOS list.
Today, July 4th, he is still in the hospital, attached to many machines waiting for a heart.
A real heart.
My heart is breaking having him so far away from us.
He has been very supportive of me writing this blog and all the research I do for the various groups on Facebook. But the little I do make is not be enough to cover our living expenses, the cost of going back and forth to SF, and the mounting medical bill (our share.)
My daughter set up this is June.
https://gofund.me/03159441
Thank you, everyone, for all the excellent comments you have left or have told me in person about how much you love my blog.
Situated in eastern Oakland’s rolling hills, it enjoys a warm, balmy climate and provides ideal home sites with an unobstructed view, a perfect place for children.
New Developer at Oak Knoll
David D Bohannon well-known subdivider and developer of San Francisco properties formed a new company called Oak Knoll Land Development Company. The company was to sell and develop the Oak Knoll area.
300 Home Building Plan
In June of 1937, David D. Bohannon Organization announced a vast building program of 300 new homes for Oak Knoll.
“beautiful detached homes of distinctive and individual architectural design, all situated on lots of generous dimensions.”
said: Bohannon
The Plan
Distinctive Architecture
FHA Inspection
FHA Financing
Restrictions Guard Oak Knoll*
*In developing Oak Knoll, reasonable restrictions have been set up to maintain what Nature has already done so well. Oakland Tribune June 06, 1937
Photo was taken 1929-1930 by Milton W. Molitor.
The building in the distance is either Holy Redeemer or Oak Knoll Country Club. If the photo is of Oak Knoll Ave (was Cabrillo Ave) then it would be Holy Redeemer.
3649 Oak Knoll in the late 20s Built by Milton W. Molitor. Photo was taken 1929-1930 by Milton W. Molitor.
The Plan in Action
The photo below shows the progress of their building plan. This is from the Oakland Tribune 1937. You can see Molitor home in the bottom right-hand corner
“The Home You’ve Read ad Dreamed of…Priced Lower Than You Dared to Hope.”
The first of the Oak Knoll Display Homes opened in June of 1937. The home was furnished by Breuner’s. ( I don’t know the location of this home)
Oakland Tribune June 1937
A spacious central living room with two bedrooms and a bath on one side, and inviting library-guest room with a bathroom and convenient, sunny kitchen on the other.
Oakland Tribune July 11, 1937
Beautifully designed electric fixtures in all rooms
Extra tile-top kitchen work table
Indirect lighting over the sink
Generous cupboard and drawer space…carefully planned.
Oakland Tribune July `18, 1937
One of Many New Oak Knoll Homes
Oakland Tribune July 11, 1937, I don’t know the location of this home.
Oak Knoll’s Exposition Home
The ‘Exposition’ home is located 9333 Murillo Ave opposite of Mirasol. The 1700 square foot house has beautiful view of the bay and bridges
Built-in bookcases
Peerless Kitchen
Breakfast Nook
Oakland Tribune 1939
The Golden Gate International Exposition was going happening on Treasure Island in 1939 and 1940. Hence the name Exposition Home and I can imagine they could see Treasure Island from the house.
Oakland Tribune 1939
One unique feature of the home was the 14 x 40-foot children’s playroom. In the backyard, there was a fenced playground with recreation equipment. (I wish I had a picture of that!)
When this area was first built up in the mid-1920s it was part of Oak Knoll. Now it is considered to part of Sequoyah
“Fairway Estates is in the heart of the country club district and consists of a group of estates with building sites of generous size.” Oakland Tribune, August 18. 1929
Fairway Estates and Country Club Fairway Estates and Oak Knoll Unit C are all in the area known as Oak Knoll. Sequoyah Hills on three sides surround Oak Knoll.
The Oak Knoll Land Corporation handled the development.
In Fairway Estates
Oakland Tribune November 10, 1929
There are two large bedrooms with a sewing room and bathroom and a large dressing room with many different built-in fixtures and cabinets. On the lower are the maids’ quarters, with separate shower and billiard room. The bathrooms and kitchen are beautifully finished in colored tile.
3968 Turnley Avenue – Google Maps
In Fairway Estates
Oakland Tribune August 18, 19294050 Sequoyah Rd – Google Maps4050 Sequoyah Rd – Google Maps
The Jefferson Home
Oakland Tribune 1930
The Jefferson home is a seven-room, two-story residence of Spanish design. With a large living room and a massive oak stairway leading to a balcony overlooking the Oak Knoll golf course and country club.
3643 Califia Avenue – Google maps
“Another reason is the beautiful setting of Fairway Estates – overlooking the Oak Knoll Country club and golf course and views of wooded hills, the harbor, the bay cities, and the Golden Gate.” Oakland Tribune, August 18. 1929
Oak Knoll Country Club District
The Nine room Spanish Style home.
Oakland Tribune Oct 12, 1930
3845 Twin Oaks Way
3845 Twin Oaks Way
In Fairway Estates
Model Homes in Fairway Estates
Oakland Tribune June 30m 1930
Spanish Type Model Home
Spanish in architecture.
Oakland Tribune March 1930
The Fairway Estates model home opened in March of 1930. The home was designed by Watson Vernon to fit the lot-on which it stands, to utilize the view possibilities of the property to the best advantage.
Fairway Avenue – Google maps
Model Country Club Residence
Oakland Tribune June 08, 1930
The Spanish home takes greatest advantage of the two way view the wooded hillside on one side and the bay on the other. This six room home has a spacious master bedroom with a sunroom on the upper floor. The dining room window overlooks the golf course.
Oakland Tribune March 1930
Oakland Tribune June 08, 1930
3900 Fairway Avenue
Beautiful Spanish Model Home
Oakland TribuneMar 1930
3982 Turnley Ave – Google Maps
Fairway Estates Home
3549 Calafia Avenue –
La Casa Bella
Oakland Tribune November 30, 1930
Artistic in the extreme…”
Oakland Tribune Nov 1930
La Casa Bella opened in November of 1930. The home is of Spanish architecture showing the Moorish influence.
A master bedroom that will lull you to sleep after a gallon of coffee…”
Oakland Tribune Nov 16, 1930
Oakland Tribune March 30, 1930
A living room almost large enough for a country dance…”
Oakland Tribune Nov 16, 1930
3978 Turnley Avenue – Google Maps
Spanish Home at Oak Knoll
“…with the liquid silver of the moon lying in the pools of mystery the patio will coax you out of doors all hours of the day or night” – Oakland Tribune May 04, 1930
I thought I would show you a little “Then and Now” images for downtown Oakland.
Enjoy!
Washington St – West Side from 7th and 8th
The 1896 Illustrated Directory of Oakland, California – https://localwiki.org/oakland/The_Illustrated_Directory_of_Oakland%2C_CaliforniaWest side of Washington Street between 7th and 8th Streets. Hersh’s Apparel, Grutman’s Army and Navy Store in view. DATE: 1955 Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.Google MapsSouth side of 8th Street between Washington and Clay Streets. Drug store and pharmacy in view. DATE: 1958, Mar. Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room. FILENAME/TITLE:ohrphoto.dpoa1.050Google Maps
Washington Street West Side from 8th to 9th
The 1896 Illustrated Directory of Oakland, California – https://localwiki.org/oakland/The_Illustrated_Directory_of_Oakland%2C_CaliforniaWest side of Washington Street between 8th and 9th Streets. TV Tradin’ Post, Brick’s in view. DATE:1955 Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.Google mapsWest side of Washington Street between 8th and 9th Streets. Oakland Household Co. in view. DATE: 1955 Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.Google Maps
Ninth Street – North Side from Washington to Broadway
The 1896 Illustrated Directory of Oakland, California – https://localwiki.org/oakland/The_Illustrated_Directory_of_Oakland%2C_CaliforniaNortheast corner of 9th and Washington Streets. Arlington Hotel in view. DATE :circa 1937 SIZE M.L. Cohen Co., photographers, for Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.Google maps
Washington St – East Side from Ninth to Tenth
East side of Washington Street between 9th and 10th Streets. Savemore Dry Goods, Kaplan’s Army Surplus, Acme Market in view. DATE 1955. Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.East side of Washington Street between 9th and 10th Streets circa 1913 Cheney Photo AdvertisingEast side of Washington Street between 9th and 10th Streets circa 1937Google Maps
Broadway West Side from Ninth St to Tenth St
The 1896 Illustrated Directory of Oakland, California – https://localwiki.org/oakland/The_Illustrated_Directory_of_Oakland%2C_CaliforniaWest side of Broadway between 9th and 10th Streets. White Onion, Eagle Loan Co., Moler Barber College in view. DATE 1955 Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.West side of Broadway between 9th and 10th Streets. Lucky Club, A. Binneweg, Hill’s Loan Office in view. DATE 1955 Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.Broadway West Side from Ninth St to Tenth St – Google maps
Wilcox Block, Front and North side, Oakland (c.1860-70) http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/institutions/Society+of+California+Pioneers
The 1896 Illustrated Directory of Oakland, California – https://localwiki.org/oakland/The_Illustrated_Directory_of_Oakland%2C_CaliforniaWest side of Broadway between 8th and 9th Streets. Stag Clothing Co. in view. DATE: 1955. Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.West side of Broadway between 8th and 9th Streets. Stag Clothing Co. in view. DATE: 1955. Downtown Property Owners Association, Inc., photographers. RIGHTS:Permission to use this image must be obtained from the Oakland Public Library, Oakland History Room.Google MapsGoogle Maps
Henry A. Snow, a naturalist, collector, and African big game hunter, established the Oakland Zoo in downtown Oakland. The first Zoo was located at 19th and Harrison. The area is now known as Snow Park.
In February of 1923, the city of Oakland accepted Snow’s collection of wild animals. The collection was valued from $30,000 to $80,000.
“On behalf of the city of Oakland, we are delighted to accept this valuable collection.”
Oakland Tribune Feb 1923
Two lion cubs and a boa-constrictor formed the nucleus, with various monkeys, bobcats, a cinnamon bear, a mountain lion, and a badger completing the menagerie.
We’ve Moved!
After many complaints were filed with the city council and the park board from the neighborhood residents around the Zoo, who said the animal collection was a nuisance.
Oakland Tribune 1925
The new location was in Sequoia Mountain Park (now a part of Joaquin Miller Park.)
In 1926 Henry Snow had a stroke and died in July of 1927. Snow’s son Sidney Snow continued in his father’s footsteps.
In 1936, Snow established the nonprofit organization East Bay Zoological Society, which was incorporated as the Alameda County Botanical and Zoological Society.
The new Society sought to move the animals to the 500-acre Durant Park.
Durant Park
In 1939 the Zoo moved from Joaquin Miller Park to Durant Park.
Durant Park was once the home to R.C. Durant, the President of Durant Motors. Before that, the land from owned by F.C. Talbot. The park is located at the top of 98th Avenue.
Rosebud Dancing to Shake, Rattle and Roll 1955Sid Snow with Baby Tigers circa 1950Oakland Tribune May 22, 1950
Knowland State Arboretum and Park and Zoo
Visitors enter the Oakland Zoo in Knowland Park through the Historical Park and Arboretum landscape. The trees throughout this area are the remnants of the Frederick Talbot estate (see Edenvale.)
Trees in the Meadow – Knowland Park 1937
A row of Canary Island Palm marks the park entry. There are Mexican Fan Palms, Chilean Palms, and exotic Bunya Bunya Trees from Australia in the meadow and picnic grounds. These trees were all planted early part of the 1900s.
Knowland Park consists of approximately 443 acres, of which 350 are in the undeveloped Upper Knowland Park. The Zoo (in 1996) had 56 acres within the Historical Park, and 37 acres were in the Zoological Park.
Oakland Tribune 1948
Under a contract with the City of Oakland, the East Bay Zoological Society (EBZS) is fully responsible for the operation, maintenance, and development of the 37-acre Zoo and the 443 acres of Knowland Park.
Improvements 1957-1966
Miss Effie – new home
The first significant addition was the construction enclosure for Miss Effie, the elephant, at $15,000. The move from the lower park to the upper area began. Video of Miss Effie in 1965 can be seen here: website.
There was a 60-foot cylindrical gibbon tower at the entrance to the Zoo. The baby zoo was located in the lower area of the new Zoo.
Oakland Zoo 1963
“The Zoo, when completed, will be the most modern and beautiful one in the country.”
Oakland Tribune 1960
Oakland Tribune 1964
By 1967 the Zoo had relocated entirely to a canyon rising to a mountain overlooking the entire East Bay Area.
The Skyline Daylight is a miniature train e with a “Vista Dome” coach.
Oakland Zoo Circa 1968
The Baby Zoo was completed in 1965 and rebuilt in 2005.
Oakland Tribune 1965
When completed, the Zoo would be 100 acres.
Sidney Snow Dies
SF Examiner August 38, 1959
People Came to See
Zoo Under Fire
In 1983 the Zoo was listed as number six of the “Ten worst zoos.’
The Humane Society of the United States said the conditions at the Zoo were so adverse that the elephants might be better off “serving five to ten years in Leavenworth.”
SF Examiner 1983
The Zoo was “a random collection of animals maintained in amateurish fashion and failed to meet even one criterion of an acceptable zoological garden.
They called the Zoo a “concrete oasis.”
SF Examiner 1983
The report noted no cruelty to the animals, and they were generally healthy.
The Zoo’s response was, “it will be a first-class zoo in a few years.”
Since 1988, Oakland Zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the national organization that sets the highest standards for animal welfare for zoos and aquariums.
In his tenure, Dr. Parrott has turned the Zoo around, making it one of the best in the country.
African Savanna
Many new exhibits have been created, including those for the hamadryas baboons and the chimpanzees, including a new spacious elephant exhibit built in 1987.
The current sun bear exhibit was finished in 1995 and was featured on Animal Planet’s “Ultimate Zoos.” The white-handed gibbons now live on a lush island in the heart of the Rainforest. The African Savannah, with camels, lions, elephants, meerkats, hyenas, and more, was completed in 1998.
The Zoo Today
In the summer of 2005, the 3-acre Valley Children’s Zoo opened with spacious new animal exhibits along with plenty of interactive play structures for children. The ring-tailed lemurs, century-old Aldabra tortoises, the interactive Goat and Sheep Contact Yard, and the river otters are in the Children’s Zoo. The popular American alligators, bats, pot-bellied pigs, Old-World rabbits, Bug Room, Reptile, and Amphibian Discovery Room are also in the Children’s Zoo.
June 20, 2018 – Almost three years since breaking ground and more than two decades in the making, Oakland Zoo’s highly anticipated California Trail opens. The expansion doubles the Zoo’s current size from 45 to 100 acres.
The Zoo is home to two sets of brother grizzly bears, also known as brown bears. At Oakland Zoo, the bears are given a wide variety of enrichment and choices. Grizzly Bear Cams
The California Trail includes the interactive California Conservation Habitarium, Conservation Action Tent, and California Wilds! Playground based on California’s diverse eco-zones, and Clorox Overnight Experience ‘safari-style’ campground.
1936– Snow established the nonprofit organization East Bay Zoological Society, which was incorporated as the Alameda County Botanical and Zoological Society.
1939-moved from Joaquin Miller Park to Durant Park.
1948 – Became a State Park
1949: State Park property is leased to the City of Oakland for 50 years, and the City of Oakland subleased the zoo property to the East Bay Zoological Society.
1950: -The zoo property changed its name Joseph Knowland State Arboretum and Park.
1964 –City Parks Dept and Society run zoo
1965 – The baby Zoo opened
1975 Knowland State Park was conveyed to the City of Oakland.
1982 –East Bay Zoological Society took over the maintenance, operation, and development of the city-run Zoo. The 10-year lease agreement saved the city almost $315,880 a year. The Society signed a ten-year contract.
1985 – Joel Parrott was appointed the Executive Director. A 20-year renovation plan was put in place,
1994- Renews 10-year lease.
Timeline of Major Developments
Hamadryas Baboon Exhibit 1982
Chimpanzee Exhibit – 1988
African Elephant Exhibit – 1989
African Lion Exhibit – 1992
Siamang Island Exhibit – 1993
Malayan Sun Bear Exhibit – 1996
African Savanna – 1998
Maddie’s Center – 1999
Warthog Exhibit -2000
Mahali Pa Tembo – Elephant Exhibit 2004
Wayne & Gladys Valley Children’s Zoo Opened in 2005
Baboon Cliffs – 2009
Wild Australia – 20110
Veterinary Hospital – 2012
More Info:
The East Bay Zoological Society has operated and managed the Zoo for the City of Oakland from 1982 until August 2017, when it was renamed the Conservation Society of California to reflect better Zoo’s evolving purpose and mission in its commitment to conservation.
