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The Rabbit Hole

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I grew up in the Montclair District of Oakland, CA. I attended Thornhill Elementary School, Montera Junior High, and Skyline High School and spent some time at Merritt College.

My childhood home in Montclair

I lived in Montclair until I was a young adult, and since then, I have lived by Lake Merritt, in the Fruitvale District, on Piedmont Ave, the King Estates Area, and now the Laurel District.

I have been an Oakland history buff since attending an Oakland Heritage Alliance Tour of the Fernwood Neighborhood in the Montclair District of Oakland in 1984. On that tour, I learned a train (Sacramento Northern) ran through Montclair in the early 1900s, and people lived in the area as early as the 1860s and have been hooked ever since. Since then, I have spent a lot of time looking into Montclair’s history, and I have learned a lot. This will be the best way to get it out of my head and onto paper.

2018. I started this blog because I had collected so much information on Oakland’s history that I couldn’t wait to share it. Posting in Facebook groups isn’t the best outlet for me. I love sharing what I know and reading what others share, but things get lost on Facebook.

I got started with the help of my dear friend Phil, and I was off and running. It should be easy, I say to myself, because I had already laid out actual pages and everything I wanted to say.

But it wasn’t.

I tend to get bogged down in the details, worry about getting my facts correct, and find it hard to find a happy medium between too much and too little. So, this is a work in progress, so bear with me.

I hope you will enjoy history as much as I do!

Down The Hole, I Go

But I have strayed from the topic of this post. When researching one thing, you often find something else that has nothing to do with what you are looking for, but it piques your interest. That happens to me a lot.

You might know this as the “Internet rabbit hole” you see when you research one thing and then accidentally go to Wikipedia, and then you are trying to find out what happened to Jimmy Hoffa. That is it in a nutshell.

One rabbit hole I get sucked into often is I will see a picture like this one and want to know more about it.

Oakland Tribune Apr 2, 1911
  1. Location
  2. Is it still there?

Those two things can be challenging as the location is sometimes vague and wrong. Sometimes, the area is correct. When looking up the house, I wonder who it was built for. Were they famous or rich, maybe both?

I have compiled many of these pictures of newly built houses. I decided to create a map using Google Maps. The map I have made is “What was there or still is… Oakland, California.“

I have already added many homes I found while down the rabbit hole.

Some are from long ago and long gone, but some are still there.
This information is based on clippings, newspapers, and photos. It may not be accurate, as address numbers have changed, and locations are often vague.

Maroon – Still there
Black – Gone
Yellow – Landmark
Green – Berkeley
Purple – Piedmont
Red – Questions – researching

I still have many pages in the works; I must get myself out of this hole.

This might help explain Rabbit Hole.

Enjoy!

Montclair Highlands – Top of the World

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Oakland_Tribune_Sat__May_16__1925_ (1)

Oakland Tribune May 17, 1925

Montclair Highlands was one of the earlier subdivisions in Montclair.  Located in the hills back of Piedmont and just above Montclair’s Business district or the “Townsite” as locals called it in 1925.

“Montclair Business Center, as the name indicates, is the tract opened as a community trading district.”   Oakland Tribune May 17, 1925

“Montclair Highlands is separated by the Business Center from the original Montclair” (more on that later).  Oakland Tribune May 17, 1925

Montclair Highlands fronts out overlooking the bay and beyond.

“It is said that the elevation of Montclair highlands affords a view which surpasses anything from any other point in Oakland.”  Oakland Tribune May 17, 1925

Montclair Highlands is soon called the “Top of the World.”

“The beautiful panorama afforded from the “Top of the World” is available to you all today – to be framed permanently by the windows of the home, you will build”   C P Murdock  Vice President of the Realty Syndicate – Oakland Tribune May 31, 1925.

“Skyline Blvd, which runs through Montclair Highlands has for years been the great scenic drive of the Eastbay.”  Oakland Tribune Tribune May 31, 1925

Oakland Tribune May 17, 1925

Oakland Tribune May 1925

 

Oakland_Tribune_Sun__May_31__1925_ (2)

Oakland Tribune May 31, 1925

 

Oakland_Tribune_Sun__Jun_7__1925_

Oakland Tribune June 7, 1925

 

Oakland_Tribune_Sun__Jun_14__1925_ (4)

Oakland Tribune June 14, 1925

 

Coming soon:

  • Observation Tower – Top of the World
  • The Model Homes of Montclair Highlands
  • Bus Service to Montclair Highlands

 

 

The History Bug Strikes

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Our house in Montclair on Thornhill
5677 Thornhill – Google Maps –

In the 1980s, my ex-husband and I were custodians at the Montclair Presbyterian Church. Our employment included living in the house next door to the church.

The church celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1980, and I was surprised it had been there so long.

Oakland Tribune Aug 16, 1923

Since going on an Oakland Heritage Alliance Tour of the Fernwood Neighborhood in the Montclair District of Oakland in about 1984, I have been an Oakland history buff ever since.  On that tour, I learned a train (Sacramento Northern) ran through Montclair in the early 1900s and that people lived in the area as early as the 1860s. This sparked my interest, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I remember spending countless hours poring over old newspapers and documents, trying to piece together the history of our neighborhood. Since then, I have spent much time looking into Montclair’s history and have learned a lot.

2018. I started this blog because I had collected so much information on Oakland’s history that I couldn’t wait to share it. I was posting in Facebook groups, which was a great way to connect with others, but there were better outlets to share my in-depth knowledge and research on Oakland’s history. The platform’s format often led to my posts needing to be noticed in the feed, and it took effort to maintain a cohesive narrative. I love sharing what I know and reading what others share, but I felt that a blog would allow me to present my information in a more organized and accessible way.

With the help from my dear friend Phil, I was off and running. It should be easy, I say to myself, because I had already laid out actual pages and everything I wanted to say.

But it wasn’t.

I get bogged down in the details. I worry about getting my facts correct.  Finding a happy medium between too much and too little is challenging.  So, this is a work in progress, so bear with me.

The rest is history.

First blog post