While working on the series about schools, I discovered numerous interesting photos, articles, and books. I thought I would share some here.
Oakland Schools – Special
Tag: East Oakland
English Village
English Village is located on Holly Street between 74th and 77th in East Oakland.
New Homes Announced
English Village consists of fifty-six homes, all modeled after English cottages, according to the announcement. Walled-in gardens with quaint gates, gabled roofs, and paneled front doors were among the notable exterior features.
An English gate marked the entrance on Holly Street.
W.W. Dixon, the architect who designed Normandy Gardens (Picardy Drive), also worked on the English Village homes.
The homes in English Village are typically five or six rooms in size and range in price from $6,500 to $7,000.
The first five homes served as a sample of the 51 other homes to be completed, all of which were modeled after beautiful little cottages.
Every house is uniquely designed compared to its neighbors. The builders were particularly proud of the beautiful breakfast rooms, furnished with hand-decorated furniture, and the kitchens, which were varied with colorful tile.
“Large closets. marvelously arranged and furnished kitchens and beautiful bathrooms are just a few of the features.”
The Salisbury
Model Home Opened – 1939
English Village Homes
More Info:
- New Homes Announced – Oakland Tribune Mar 18, 1928
- Open ‘English Village Group’ – Oakland Tribune, Mar 25, 1928
- The Salisbury to Open – Oakland Tribune Apr 22, 1928
- Unique Home Section – Oakland Tribune April 21, 1929
- Model Home Open to View – Oakland Tribune Dec 12, 1939
The End
Blandings’ Oakland Dream House
In 1948, as part of the promotion for the movie Mr. Blandings’ Builds a Dream House starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy, the studio built “dream houses” in cities across the United States. Oakland was chosen as one of the locations.
They initially planned to build 100 replicas of the home in the movie. In the end, only 73 dream houses were built. Some homes were sold by raffle, and some were auctioned off, with a percentage of the proceeds going to local charities. The charity in Oakland was Childrens’ Hospital.
Before the movie’s release, blueprints were sent to local builders by the studio, asking that they build the homes as close to the specifications as conditions would permit.
Children’s Hospital
They charged 50 cents to tour the house, with the proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital.
Funds from the sale of tickets to Mr. Blandings’ California Dream House were used to purchase a large Autoclave sterilizer for a new wing at Oakland’s Children’s Hospital.
Children’s Hospital branch members served as hostesses at the open house.
The Dream House
“This is very likely the most famous modern home in the world today”
Oakland Tribune September 18, 1948
The Oakland Dream Home was located in the Chabot Park area at 11000 Cameron Street. It was situated on three choice free from fog and only minutes from downtown Oakland. The lots overlooks the entire Bay Area (that might be a stretch) and five counties, adjoins Lake Chabot Golf Course and miles of bridle trails.
The had two large bedrooms, and a combination den or bedroom, a 36 foot living room with a 12 foot plate glass window overlooking the bay. There was a badminton court a double car garage, a rumpus room connected to a large outdoor area.
It was for sale in 1981 for $151,000, but sometime between then and 1994 it was demolished and a new house was built.
More Info:
- A Visit to Mr. Blandings’ Fictional Dream House – Blog
- Hospital Wing Opening Slated – Oakland Tribune August 17, 1948
- Staffs Dream House – Oakland Tribune July 4, 1948
- Blandings’ Dream House – Oakland Tribune Sept. 19, 1948
“Negro Trail Blazers” in Oakland – Education
Black pioneers moved to Oakland soon after the town was founded in 1852. By 1860, 23 blacks lived in Oakland Township, and 18 lived in Brooklyn (east of Lake Merritt, now part of Oakland).
Isaac and Elizabeth Flood lived in Brooklyn (Oakland). They were among the noted “Negro pioneers” of California, according to the “Negro Trailblazers of California.”
Segregated
The first schools in California, public and private, were segregated. The system of segregated schools developed without organized opposition or serious debate. Eventually, segregation became law with the California School Code of 1860 explicitily prohibited Black, Chinese, and Indian children from attending public schools.
The Black community recognized the need to educate their children in Oakland and Brooklyn.
The Flood Family
Elizabeth Thorn Scott came to California during the Gold Rush with her first husband, Joseph Scott, and settled in Placerville, CA. Her husband died soon after their arrival. Elizabeth then settled in Sacramento with her young son.
Seeing the need for a school for “non-whites,” she opened her home centrally located between M and N Streets on May 29, 1854, becoming the first “colored” private school in Sacramento.
There were 14 students in the school between the ages of 4 and 29, and their families paid $1.00 per week, and they paid her $50.00 per month. Later, the school became part of St. Andrews (AME) Church, holding classes in the basement.
Isaac Flood came to California in search of gold. In the early 1850s, he settled in the Brooklyn Township. Elizabeth and Iassc were married in 1855 (not sure when or where they met.) She retired from teaching and moved to Brooklyn.
In 1856, Elizabeth gave birth to a son, George Frances Flood, who was said to be the first “black boy” born in Alameda County. She gave birth to a daughter, Lydia Flood, in 1862.
Again, seeing the need for schools in the black community, she campaigned to get support for another school.
In 1857, she opened the first private school for Black children(open to all minorities) in Oakland, Alameda County, in her home at 1334 East 15th Street. Members of the Black community supported this effort, paying tuition in addition to taxes that covered schools their children could not attend.
Elizabeth’s goal for her school was to be competitive with White schools.
In 1863, the Shiloh A.M.E Church (now First A.M.E Church) assumed control of the school following its formal organization as a church. The Flood’s helped organize the church and were founding members. The church purchased the abandoned Carpentier schoolhouse (see Oakland’s First Schoolhouse)and moved the building to 7th and Market Streets in West Oakland. The tiny building served as the church’s chapel and housed the school. Elizabeth taught at the school until she died in 1867 (unexpectedly)at 39.
Isaac continued their quest for equal education for all children. He was a member of the California Colored Convention Movement, which challenged California’s segregation laws in the early 1870s, citing the recently enacted 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
He and a group of leaders in the Black community petitioned the School board in 1871 to end segregation.
Their daughter Lydia was among the first to attend an integrated Oakland public school, the old Swett Grammar School on 12th Avenue and East 19th Street.
Brooklyn Colored School
The expense of supporting a private school was a heavy burden on the Black community. In 1866, the parents from Oakland and Brooklyn petitioned the Oakland and Brooklyn Boards of Education to provide the education of Black children in both areas. After months of delay, the Brooklyn board voted to establish a public school in Brooklyn, which was open to children from both places.
In 1867, the Brooklyn Colored School opened in Brooklyn (now a part of East Oakland). It was the first public school for Black children in Alameda County. It was located at 1008 10th Avenue (or 1066 10th Avenue)in an old, dilapidated building that was initially a private residence (the old Manning House) and measured only 35 by 38 feet.
A young Black woman, Miss Mary Sanderson, was the only teacher from 1867-1871. She was only 16 when she started teaching at the school (Oakland Heritage Alliance Newsletter winter-spring 1994.)
In 1870, the school was located in the Adams Street Primary School room, a two-story brick building built in 1866. (Brooklyn Independent December 3, 1870.) This might explain the brick building in the photo above.
In 1871, the minimum number of students fell below the required 10. The school was forced because there were more Oakland children than in Brooklyn.
Due to its remote location, the Black children of Oakland found it challenging to get to the Brooklyn School. In 1869, the Oakland Board of Education voted to open an evening school that admitted Black children and adults. The Black community rented a building on Jefferson Street, and the Board of Education contributed $25 a month to support the school. D. Clinton Taylor, a white teacher, taught in the one-room school. The school closed in July 1869 after operating for only six months.
In 1872, Oakland’s Board of Education went against the State School code and approved integrating Oakland schools in a 5-2 vote.
More Info:
- Elizabeth Scoot Flood: Early Oakland Educator – OPL Blogs
- African American Women of the Old West By Tricia M Wagner 2007- Internet Archive
- Colored Children in Public Schools – The Elevator May 5, 1872
- Colored Children Allowed in Oakland Public Schools – Pacific Appeal May 11, 1872
Elmhurst Presbyterian Church
I found an article written by William Sturm (Oakland History Room) in the Oakland Heritage Alliance Newsletter for the Summer of 1993 on the Elmhurst Presbyterian Church. 1993 the church was celebrating its 100th Anniversary.
The article piques my interest, and I thought it should be easy to find more history to share with you. Well, it wasn’t. I didn’t see much more than what was included in his article and another from the Oakland Tribune. The church doesn’t seem to have a website but does have a Facebook page, but no history there.
A Bit of History
In the 1890s, the town of Elmhurst was farmland and orchards with few houses here and there.
In May 1892, traction service began along the north-south on what is now International Blvd., on the Oakland, San Leandro, and Hayward Electic Railway. To power the engines, a modern dynamo and roundhouse were built at Elmhurst on what is now 98th Ave. Elmhurst was just 17 minutes from central Oakland.
Land Donated
Elmhurst was just a year old when Andrew Jones, a pioneer, farmer, and landowner of the town, donated a piece of land on the east side of Jones Ave (now 98th Ave) near East 14th Street (now International Blvd) to the church.
Jones donated land across the street from the two-story home he built in 1882.
Church Organized
On June 4, 1893, the church was organized with 20 charter members, and on August 30, the ground was broken for a new house of worship.
“the Sunday school has a membership of fifty”
The Oakland Enquirer
On November 25, 1893, the church bell rang out, and the first service was held in the new building.
The Elmhurst Presbyterian was the pride of the area.
By 1902, Elmhurst had 1100 residents, a newspaper, a public school, several churches, and numerous businesses, including a hotel, livery stables, restaurants, grocery, and hardware stores.
In 1909 Elmhurst, along with Fruitvale, was annexed into Oakland. The church remained at the heart of the community, a link to the beginning of Elmhurst and a source of community strength.
In the 1960s, the congregation became predominantly African-American. The Rev. Michael Dunn, pastor from 1972-1981, made notable contributions to the church’s ministries; a chapel is named in his honor.
The church is still standing, and according to the Oakland Heritage Alliance Summer 1993 newsletter, they were using the same bell.
More Info:
Location: Elmhurst Presbyterian Church. . 1332 98th Avenue Oakland 94603
- Church Affair at Elmhurst – Oakland Tribune June 12, 1902
- Pastor Resigns Elmhurst Church – Oakland Triune June 10, 1905
- Oakland Heritage Alliance – Summer 1993 Newsletter
Court of All Nations
“Homes of Cosmopolitan Architecture”
Oakland Tribune Mar 29, 1925
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
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.
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.
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
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.
More Info:
- Storybook Homes in East Oakland – Old House Online
- W.W Dixon’s Storybook Homes – SF. Chron Aug 20, 2005
- Storybook homes of the ’20s revisited – DJC Oregon
- Storybook architecture – Wikipedia
- Oakland Heritage: Picardy Drive – Our Oakland
- Unique Idea From Recent Trip – Oakland Tribune Jan 24, 1925
- European Architecture – Oakland Tribune Feb 1, 1925
- In Court of All Nations – Oakland Tribune Mar 29, 1925
- Thousands Visit Casa Romero – Oakland Tribune May 24, 1025
The End
The Bancroft Parkway
This is one of those posts where I had no writing intention, let alone know it existed. Two examples are my most popular post, “The Forgotten Tunnel,” or “The Backyard Fence War” I stumbled across articles on both while researching another post. Sometimes they pan out, and I find many exciting things to share. I wasn’t so lucky with this post, and it ended up being kind of a dud. I thought I would share it anyway.
Groundbreaking
A groundbreaking celebration was held in November of 1956 for the new Bancroft Avenue Parkway, and construction began soon after.
Bancroft Avenue was to become a major thoroughfare linking San Leandro and Oakland, relieving the traffic on MacArthur, Foothill, and East 14th (now International)
Oakland Mayor Clifford E. Rishell and Alameda County Supervisor operating an enormous earthmover, lifting the first load of earth.
They symbolized joint city-county participation.
The project’s estimated cost was $4,000,000 and was financed jointly from Oakland and Alameda County’s state gas tax funds.
Needed Relief
The need for this arterial was foreseen as early as 1927 when the major street plan of the city was formulated. Uncontrolled subdivisions in East Oakland’s early history had left a large area with no provision for the essential east-west movement.
The parkway was to provide the much-needed relief of Foothill Boulevard, MacArthur Boulevard, and East 14th Street (now international), as well as a direct connection to an existing major city street, Bancroft Avenue in San Leandro.
Studies for this thoroughfare were commenced in 1941, and protection of the right-of-way started.
The Bancroft Parkway
The parkway was to extend from the San Leandro city limits to East 14th Street(now International) and 46th Avenue.
“The project will convert Bancroft from a rundown noncontinuous street and railroad right-of-way to a major intercity thoroughfare and railroad parkway.”
California Highways and Public Works Oakland Progress Page 37 – March- April 1958
The Design
The parkway had a two-lane section on each side with room for parking. In the center divider was the Southern Pacific railroad spur line to the Chevrolet Assembly Plant, and it was concealed with trees and shrubbery.
The Units
- The first unit was 1.17 miles from the San Leandro border to 90th avenue.
- The second unit was between 90th to 79th Avenues. – June 1957
- The third unit was 79th Avenue to Havenscourt Blvd – Spring 1958
Total Length: 4.25 miles
Removal of Buildings
The City of Oakland acquired property along the route.
- The east side of Church Street and 68th Avenue.
- Between 90th Avenue and Parker Street.
- The western side of Church Street and 73rd Avenue
- The south side of Bancroft Avenue is east of 74th Avenue.
- The north side of Bancroft Avenue between 96th and 98th Avenues.
The following is a list of removed structures for the extension of the Bancroft Parkway.
A miscellaneous collection of buildings along Bancroft Avenue between 73rd Avenue and Havenscourt Blvd. were offered for sale by the City of Oakland.
The assortment included duplexes, a store, several homes, and garages. They had to be moved or demolished. The minimum bid was $2,850 for the entire group.
The Final Destinatination
Today Bancroft Avenue is down to one lane in each direction with bike lanes.
More:
- New Freeway Link Opens – Oakland Tribune March 27, 1951
- County to Aid in Bancroft Project – Oakland Tribune June 20, 1953
- County Board Accepts Bancroft Avenue Project Oakland Tribune October 11, 1955
- Bancroft Parkway – Oakland Tribune November 25, 1956
- Oakland Gets $462,948 Share From Gas Taxes – Oakland Tribune January 16, 1957
- Sale to Clear Bancroft Ave. Parkway Path – Oakland Tribune April 16, 1958
- Oakland Ok’d Third Bancroft Project – Oakland Tribune July 16, 1958
- Rezoning Deal – Oakland Tribune April 4, 1962
The End
More Mansions
More on the mansions that once graced the streets of Oakland
Koa Hall – Bailey Mansion
W. H. Bailey, who owned plantations in Hawaii, hired W.J. Mathews to design his home, costing $70,000 to build circa 1889.
The main hall’s woodwork was made of beautiful koa from the Hawaiian Islands. Koa carvings were also found by the main staircase. The reception room’s woodwork on one side of the hall was bird’ s-eye maple. Antique oak was used in the library and the dining room.
It was converted into a rooming or boarding house.’
The old mansion was razed in the late 1920s, and the Hotel Lakehurst was built.
It is now called Lakehurst Hall.
Location: 1369 Jackson St, now 1569 Jackson Street, at the corner of 17th Street.
More Info:
- Hotel Lakehurst – Oakland Local Wiki
- A Hawaiian Night – Oakland Tribune December 30, 1890
- On Jackson Street- Oakland Tribune May 23, 1891
- Fine Rooms in Big Houses – SF Examiner April 17, 1892
- Old Home Afire – Oakland Tribune July 13, 1917
The Old Brown Home.
“The house that watched Oakland grow.”
Oakland Tribune Jan 25, 1956
The three-story, five-bedroom home was built in 1872 by Dr. Samuel Merritt.
In 1874, Roland Geir Brown, a capitalist, purchased the home. Brown was one of the early members of the San Francisco Stock Exchange.
Mr. Brown sold sewing machines for Grover and Baker. The Oakland Tribune reports that Brown was one of the wealthiest men in 19th-century Oakland.
The Brown home was less than a block from Lake Merritt, before the lake shore was filled in.
When President William McKinley was in the Bay Area for a week in May 1901, he visited the Brown home.
Lilian Brown, Roland’s daughter, lived in the mansion until her death in 1955.
The old Brown home at 1889 Jackson Street was demolished in 1956 to accommodate a parking lot.
Location: 1889 Jackson – between 17th and 19th Streets
More Info:
- Brown Residence – OMCA Collections
- Landmark Doomed – Old Brown Home – Oakland Tribune July 25, 1956
The Other Brown Mansion
Albert Brown came to Oakland in 1887 from New Jersey. He was an undertaker and a prominent lodgeman.
Boarding Home
The mansion was converted into a boarding house shortly after Brown’s death. The Alice-Lake Apartments are now located there.
Location: 1387 Alice Street
More Info:
- Albert Brown Passes Away – Berkeley Gazette January 19, 1909
Alexander Mansion
“Aloha, nui,” or “Love be unto you.” It is carved above one of the entrances
Samuel T. Alexander came to Oakland from Hawaii in the early 1880s. He was one of the founders of Alexander & Baldwin, an American company that cultivated sugar cane.
In 1882, Alexander purchased a lot on the northwest corner of Sixteenth and Filbert for $6,000.
The three-story Queen Anne-style home was designed by Clinton Day and was completed in 1883 at the cost of $20.000
Move to Piedmont
The family lived there until 1912 when Mrs. Alexander moved to Piedmont to be closer to her son, Wallace Alexander.
Rooming House
Sometime after 1912, the mansion was converted to a rooming house, and rooms were rented out until the mid-1960s.
New Life for Old Mansion
In 1967, the once venerable mansion stood deserted, and in despair, its boarded or broken windows were scheduled to be demolished.
The Oak Center Neighborhood Association members decided that the old mansion could be given a facelift and become a community “Neighborhood House.” Thus, demolition was halted.
They visualized a rehabilitated building with office space for the Oak Center Association, a children’s library and study hall, an adult library and reading room, a large all-purpose room for meetings and socials, and a room for individual and group counseling.
Vandals Strike
The group succeeded in saving the old mansion from the wreckers, only to have it nearly demolished anyway –by vandals. The house was broken into, ruined beyond repair, and finally demolished in 1968.
- William H. Quinn House – Oakland Local Wiki
More Info:
- Purchase Lot – SF Examiner December 13, 1882
- Alexander to Build Home – SF Examiner April 27, 1883
- Alexander’s Move To Piedmont – SF Call March 12, 1912
- This Old House has a Future – Oakland Tribune October 24, 1967
- Neighborhood in Search of A House – Oakland Tribune December 3, 1968
- Vandals Ravage and Loot Homes – Oakland Tribune April 6, 1969
- 150 Oak Center Homes Ruined – Oakland Tribune April 6, 1969
Quinn Home
The William H. Quinn Home at 1425 Castro Street was moved to 1004-06 16th Street to make room for Highway 980.
Location: 1006 – 16th Street
William H. Quinn House – Oakland Local Wiki
Hush Mansion – Etnemere
It was built in 1865, the 14-room house of rococo architecture. The barn had room for ten horses and room for 20 tons of hay.
The house had 14 rooms made of redwood. The barn had room for 10 horses
The mansion had a wood and coal furnace, and the radiators are believed to have been the earliest models of that kind in the country. The rooms were paneled with massive doors 9 feet high. Beautiful mirrors adorned the wall.
It was reported that Susan B. Anthony once slept there.
The house and barn property were purchased by Marston Campbell, Jr, as an investment. It was torn down in 1948.
Location: 1401 28th Avenue on East 14th.
More Info:
- Landmark Being Razed – Oakland Tribune August 12, 1949
Once owned by Merritt
In 1877, Dr. Samuel Merritt built a three-story home on Jackson Street. The house had bay windows, a front porch, and cone-shaped peaked.
The lot is part of the 45-acre parcel, which Merritt paid $4,000 in 1852.
John A Stanley purchased the house from Dr. Merritt in 1880 for $12,050. as a wedding gift for his daughter and her husband, Thomas Coghill.
The Coghill family lived there until 1920 when they sold it to John C. Money. After Mr. Money died in 1944, it served as a rooming house.
By 1963, it was the last old mansion on the block and was demolished to make way for a 32-unit apartment building.
Location: 1514 Jackson Street
More Info:
- End of Another Landmark: Once-Plus Merrit Home – Oakland Tribune February 07, 1963
Orange Street Mansion
Edward P. Flint, a land developer and San Francisco businessman, moved to Oakland in 1860. He lived at 13th and Clay before moving to this house.
The site where he built the house at 447 Orange Street was part of a larger parcel he subdivided in Adams Point.
After Flint died, Admiral Thomas S. Phelps, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, purchased the property. In 1939, M.A. Marquard purchased the property and lived in the house until 1964.
The house was demolished in 1964 and replaced with a “modern 28-unit apartment building.
The new structure has 15 two-bedroom and 12 one-bedroom apartments, plus a penthouse. Al Colossi designed the building. It is located at 447 Orange Street.
Mr. and Mrs. Marquard lived in the penthouse of the new apartment.
More Info:
- Progress Is New History for Old – Oakland Tribune July 19, 1964
The End
Rock Blown from Quarry
The heavy missile, which neighbors said had hurled through the air like a
“shell from a cannon.”
A 40-pound rock, blasted from the hills above Millsmont, was hurled half a mile and crashed through the roof and dining room ceiling at the home of Fred Bailey, 4017 Altamont Avenue.
The rock was blasted from the nearby Heafey-Moore quarry.
“There is little doubt the rock came from the quarry, where men were blasting.”
John Heafey, President of the Heafey-Moore
A “strange-urge” told Mrs. Bailey to leave their home, and she did go. She left the house at 4:30 with her daughter and went downtown.
“every time I went into the dining room, something told me I shouldn’t be there.” Mrs. Bailey said
Oakland Tribune October 28, 1931
They returned home to find it in shambles. There was an eight-foot hole in the ceiling of the dining room. The rock landed on the couch/bed that their daughter used.
The End
A Bygone Era
A bit of history of some of the mansions that once graced the streets of Oakland. More to come at a later date.
Burnham Mansion
Burnham Mansion was at the corner of Lakeside Drive and 17th Street. The three-story mansion was built in 1902 by John Russell Burnham.
The Burnham family selected the site on Lake Merritt’s edge because of its similarity to Lake Geneva.
The city’s first stall shower and an automobile garage were the house’s distinctive features. The Burnhams were the owners of one of the first two automobiles in Oakland.
The mansion was turned over to the American Red Cross for a hospitality center at the beginning of WWII. Alcoholics Anonymous occupied the home until 1955.
In 1956, construction was to begin on ne 60-unit apartment building. The new structure was expected to cost $2.5 million. Each of the 60 apartments ran completely through the building with views of Lake Merritt. Other features included parking on two levels, the elimination of corridors, an extensive elevator system, individual patios, and a rooftop garden.
Today
Chabot Mansion
The old home of Anthony Chabot, founder of Oakland’s modern water system, was torn down in 1952. The city had declared the house a fire and health hazard. The home was located at 104 East 15th and 2nd Avenue.
The building had been used as a rooming house for years, taking in enough money to pay the taxes, and was still owned by Ellen Chabot Bothin.
The home was a modest one, considering the owner was a millionaire. The house was two stories with an attic, its rooms with high ceilings, marble mantels, and velvet embossed walls.
The Chabot’s name is a part of our history, with the following named after them.
- Chabot Road
- Chabot Observatory
- Chabot School
- Lake Chabot
Goodall Mansion
Edwin Goodall built an elaborate mansion in 1880. The house was located at 1537 Jackson Street.
The home had paneled walls, a bed carved out of mahogany, and a small theater with dressing rooms.
In 1918, Dr. M.M. Enos purchased the home and operated it as the St. Anthony Hospital until 1923, when it became the Jackson Lake Hospital.
In 1960, the hospital was razed to make room for an apartment building called the Jackson Lake Apartments.
King Mansion
Charles H. King built his mansion in about 1884.
King City, a rural community in the Salinas Valley, was named in 1886 for Oakland’s Charles H. King.
In 1971, the old and neglected King family Mansion still stood at 1029 Sixth Avenue and East 11th Street. The home at one time had 38 rooms. Not sure exactly when the home was razed.
Mein Mansion
The mansion of Capt. Thomas Mein was located at the corner of Jackson and 15th Street.
The three-story, 16-room Victorian was built in 1899 and included a winding staircase and marble fireplaces.
In 1964 home was razed to make room for a new 34-unit apartment called the Delphian.
Palm Knoll
Palm Knoll, was the home of Governor (later Senator) George C. Perkins (1839–1923). The 24-room mansion, Vernon and Perkins Street, was built in 1890.
Palm Knoll was razed in 1947 to make room for apartments.
Playter Home
Ely Welding Playter, a successful hardware merchant in San Francisco, built the mansion in 1879 at 14th and Castro Streets. The area was the center of Oakland’s elite. He lived there with his family until 1885.
It was a three-story structure with long, narrow windows.
Playter was the 24th Mayor of Oakland. He served two terms, 1885 and 1886, and was a Republican.
In 1907, the YWCA raised enough money to purchase the home to be used as the association’s headquarters and a home for “working girls.”
The house was torn down in 1948 to make room for a service station.
The hospital was Once a Mansion.
Solomon E. Alden – Oakland Local Wiki
Since 1914, it has been the location of Children’s Hospital of Oakland.
Please read for more info:
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60549827/hospital-once-a-farm-mansion/
- https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60549900/was-once-a-farm-mansion-may-28-1967/
More Info:
- Expect to Raise $40,000 in Sixty Days to Buy Old Playter Home – SF Call February 27, 1907
- Doom of Home Closes An Era – Oakland Tribune January 12, 1947
- Colorful Old Mansion, Former YWCA, to be Torn Down –Oakland Tribune September 7, 1948
- Chabot Home, Noted City Landmark to be Razed – Oakland Tribune April 26, 1951
- Anthony Chabot Shares History Pt 1- Oakland Tribune May 25, 1952
- Anthony Chabot Shares History Pt 2- Oakland Tribune May 25, 1952
- Landmark By Lake Yields to Modern Era – Oakland Tribune November 21, 1955
- Historic Mansion Is Dismantled – Oakland Tribune September 12, 1956
- Huge Oakland Apartments Ok’s – Oakland Tribune January 14, 1960
- Lake Apartment Planned – Oakland Tribune April 17, 1964
- An Auction at the Old Mein Home – Oakland Tribune July 19, 1964
- Last Days of Historic Mansion Pt 1 – Oakland Tribune July 26, 1964
- Last Days of Historic Mansion Pt 2 – Oakland Tribune July 26, 1964
- Delphian to Replace Old Mansion Oakland Tribune May 30, 1965
- Memories Haunt Fading Mansion Pt 1 – Oakland Tribune August 15, 1971
- Memories Haunt Fading Mansion Pt 2 – Oakland Tribune August 15, 1971