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.
The school is now a middle school called Hammarskjold (Dag) Opportunity and is located at 9655 Empire Road
More Info:
- Dag hammarskjöld – Wikipedia
- $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.
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.
1906 Earthquake
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lincoln School Website – OUSD
More Info:
- Chinese Children”Yellow Peril” – Oakland Tribune Aug 21, 1906
- The steel framework of new Lincoln Grammar – Oakland Tribune Jul 06, 1907
- The Disgraceful Record of the New Lincoln School – Oakland Tribune Mar 16, 1909
- Lincoln School is Dedicated – Oakland Tribune Oct 15, 1909
- The End of Old Lincoln School – Oakland Tribune Aug 08, 1909
- Preliminary Plans for New School – Oakland Tribune Oct 31, 1957
- Groundbreaking for New Lincoln School – Oakland Tribune Oct 06, 1959
- Old Lincoln School Goes and New Rises – Oakland Tribune Apr 16, 1961