In 1962 a pair of lions statues were removed from their perch guarding the Alameda County Hall of Records since about 1875. The county board of supervisors agreed the statutes should be entrusted to Knowland State Park, where they were placed at the zoo entrance.
Oakland Tribune May 08, 1963
Thought to be Stone
“Most everyone believed they were stone or concrete underneath the paint,” Razeto said. “But tap them, and they ring…like a bell.”
Oakland Tribune May 11, 1963
Old photographs indicate the lions were an integral part of the original Victorian design, including two front lion wall plaques (removed before 1930)and a dozen bearded gargoyles at the eaves.
Oakland Tribune March 11, 1964
Old Hall of Records
The Hall of Records was erected in 1875. The hall sit had been the parade ground of the Oakland Guard from 1865. Architect Henry H. Meyers designed the ornate hall complete with entrance columns, leaded glass windows, and a grand rotunda.
Hall of Records updated Oakland History Room
A south wing was added in 1900 and a north wing in 1916. It was remodeled in 1945 when the welfare and school departments moved there.
In 1957 it was determined that nothing more could be added to the building without it collapsing.
In 1964 the Old Hall of Records was demolished to make room for the new $2.5 million Probation Center.
Today
For years the lions were greeting people as they entered the Zoo. I bet thousands of kids and adults had had a picture taken of them sitting on one the lions. I know I did. Sadly, the lions no longer greet people as they have been moved from their prominent perch to the exit area.
original iron lions, which guarded the entrance to the County Hall of Records since 1880 placed here in 1963 by the Board of Supervisors of Alameda County.
Fountain of Serenity in Knowland State Arboretum and Park. “Serena,” the statue which tops the fountain, inspires calm and courage in the face of worldly troubles. Oakland Tribune
Latham sold the home to Horace H. Seaton in 1885, who sold it, S. Murray, in 1892, who then sold it to Edward G. Lukens in 1897. Lukens, son, was state Senator George R. Lukens.
Oakland Tribune1898
In its heyday, the old mansion was a showplace. The home was a three-story structure with 25 rooms, a billiard room, a glass conservatory, and a bowling alley in the rear. There was also an ornate two-story barn with a hayloft and with horse stalls.
Undated – the fountain closer to the right side of the photo.
The Lukens family lived there until the death of Mrs. Emma Lukens in 1925.
Sometime after the death of Mrs. Lukens, the mansion was purchased by Edger L. Buttner, a civic leader, and electrical contractor.
Oakland Tribune Jan 22, 1928
Oakland Tribune Jan 22, 1928
Oakland Tribune Jan 22, 1928
Barn/Livery Stable
In about 1938, Raoul Pause, a leading Oakland ballet teacher, converted part of the old two-story barn into a ballet studio. Many of the Oakland Ballet’s first dancers were students of Raoul Pause., he was the brother of Paul Pause of Montclair Reality.
In October of 1948, the building was damaged in a fire.
In 1952 the same building was destroyed by another fire. At the time of the fire, the building was being used by the Hotel Senator (a boarding house) as a garage.
In 1957 the mansion was demolished to make room for an apartment complex.
Oakland Tribune May 17, 1957
Oakland Tribune June 02, 1957
The Fountain Today
TheLatham-Ducel Fountain is the centerpiece of Preservation Park. It’s more popularly known as the Diana Fountain. The fountain is cast iron and was forged in Paris in the 1870s.
TheLatham Square Fountain is located at the intersection of Telegraph and Broadway in downtown Oakland. It was erected in 1913 as a memorial for James H. Latham and Henrietta Latham by their children and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
1857 – 1888: Ellis A Haines purchased the property from the Peralta’s
In 1888, Frederick C. Talbot of the San Francisco lumber firm Pope & Talbot purchased 133 acres from Ellis A. Haines in Elmhurst near San Leandro and adjacent to the Souther Farm (now the Dunsmuir Home) for $15,000.
San Francisco Chronicle July 08, 1888
Oakland Tribune July 30, 1888
The total acreage seems to change depending on who wrote it or what you read. Above, you will see that one clipping has the entire area as “133 acres “and, in the other, it as “153 acres.” It has been as high as 453 acres. I have always understood it to be the same land as the Oakland Zoo and Knowland Park, but who knows?
Oakland Tribune August 08, 1890
Oakland Tribune September 14, 1888
Edenvale
Nestled in the hills surrounded by the choicest fruits and flowers, “Edenvale,“ as the name suggests, is a veritable paradise.
The estate comprised 140 acres (different acreage) of fertile land for farming and orchards. Sixty acres were planted with almonds, cherries, oranges, walnuts, lemons, prunes, apricots, peaches, and olives, and eighty acres were chosen farming land.
There was a large modern stable, a greenhouse, and servants’ quarters. There was a home for the caretaker, which is still standing today. A brooder for chickens and a pen for pigs. Oakland Tribune March 22, 1902
Durant purchased the Talbot estate “Edenvale.” The estate, which consisted of 470 acres (different acreage), sold for $200,000.
Oakland Tribune November 25, 1919
San Francisco Examiner Feb 08, 1920
The above says “478-acres” and below says “200-acres”.
Oakland Tribune November 23, 1919
Fire Destroys The Mansion
The fire broke out on December 19, 1921, on the third floor near the roof. Durant was outside then and alerted the servants and employees, who formed a fire brigade.
Strong winds fanned the fire, and it quickly spread throughout the mansion.
A squad of police out of the central division carried furniture and valuables from the burning mansion. They then turned their efforts to stop the fire from spreading to the basement, saving a valuable collection of wines and liquors.
Oakland Tribune December 20, 1921
The Estate Becomes A Park
In 1929, the city of Oakland council voted to purchase the former country estate of the late F.C. Talbot from the Park Commission. The 350 acres ( different acreage) would cost the city approximately $662,000. That deal fell through, and the whole story is confusing. Durant Park opened to the public in 1932.
Oakland Tribune April 19, 1929
In 1935, Sidney Snow took possession of the 475-acre Durant Park (different acreage)and started building the zoo. He ran it with some help from the city of Oakland. – From A History as Told by the Founder’s Daughter”
In 1937, Durant Park was called the Zoological Gardens and Arboretumof Metropolitan Oakland.
Durant Park Press Photo 1937
Durant Park Press Photo 1937 – Is this the same bridge that the Talbot’s had over their pond?
Oakland Tribune May 22, 1950
In 1950, Durant Park was dedicated as the “East Bay State Park” under the California park system. A dedication speech noted that many trees and plants from F.C. Talbot’s estate were included in the Historical Arboretum,a separate park from the Oakland Zoo.
Oakland Tribune December 29, 1957 The row of Canary Island Palms
A row of mature Canary Island Date Palms marks the part entry. Stately Mexican Fan Palms, Chilean Palms, and exotic Bunya Bunya trees from Australia dot the formal meadows of the existing picnic grounds. These Arboretum specimens were planted at the turn of the last century (I bet before that) as part of the Talbot Estate grounds. There is also a collection of 8 species of palms, native and exotic oaks, redwoods, and many other specimens from North Africa, the Himalayas, Chile, and the Canary Islands. – From the Zoo Master Plan 1996
In 1962, a fire destroyed the building home to Effie, the elephant, until 1959. The building, built in 1890, was part of the Talbot Estate. It had been marked unsafe.
On the map below, the sizeable red square shows where most of the estate was. The smaller green box shows the location of the caretaker home that was part of the Talbot Estate. When Sidney Snow ran the zoo, he and his family lived there. Now, it is used by zoo employees.
The meadow by the main gate still has some of the trees planted by Talbot over 100 years ago, and they are part of the Knowland State Arboretum and Park today.
From the Zoo Master Plan 1996
Sidney Snow’s Home
Circa 1939
Google Map 2019 showing the caretakers home still standing in Knowland Park
A couple of things:
I am working on getting copies of the actual photos instead of copies from a report.
I am also checking on the Knowland State Arboretum and Park. Does it still exist?
I know they allow parking (on crowded days) in the meadow, where some historic trees still stand.
I recently found an article from 1961 about the discovery of an underground tunnel in what was the MacDermont Mansion in West Oakland. Here is what I discovered when I looked into the mansion.
Updated July 2024
Forgotten Tunnel Revives Dimming Memories
In 1961, the Peralta Villa, a 20-year-old WWII housing unit, was being demolished to make room for new low-rent apartments. It was located in the area bounded by 7th, 8th, Center, and Cypress Streets.
While clearing the land, a workman discovered a long-forgotten concrete-lined tunnel that was never recorded in the city records.
Was it a WWII bomb shelter? Did rum runners use it during prohibition?
The guesses proved to be wrong, but it was an exciting story.
Oakland Tribune Mar 23, 1961
The Tunnel
The tunnel (built between 1905 and 1910) was the work of Louis MacDermot, the son of a prominent early Oakland family who owned the land. The MacDermont’s home (1407 8th St) was built sometime before 1876 (some say it could have been the French consul). Charles F. MacDermont’s name appears on title records as early as 1870. The home was a showplace with landscaped grounds covering the entire block. In the 1920s, the city proposed buying the site for a park, but the plan fell through. The home stood empty and decaying behind a wooden fence until 1941, when it was razed to make way for war-time housing. The tunnel went undetected then.
The MacDermont Property 1407 8th Street Oakland CA
The concrete-lined tunnel ran across the stable yards from the brick boiler room near the family home to a machine shop. It was about 3 feet wide and 4 1/2 feet high. There were L-shaped hooks with oval rollers embedded on the sides. Conductors for electrical wire had were installed on the ceiling. The hooks held steam lines that heated the machine shop.
The man who built Railroads – the small ones
Louis MacDermot – 1901 From the ppie.org
Railroad buffs might know Louis MacDermot. He built miniature railroads and, with his mechanics, designed locomotives, freight cars, and coaches in great detail.
From the ppie100.org
In 1913, he was awarded the concession to build and operate an intramural railway at the Panama Pacific International Exposition(PPIE), due to open in February 1915. He set out to design and develop the locomotives at home and assembled the railroad cars in a large building nearby. However, during construction, PPIE management expressed concern about pedestrian safety in crowded areas and found more convenient means of transportation.
Three of the Overfair locomotives under construction at the MacDermot estate before the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.Photo from the Swanton Pacific Railroad Society collection.
The success of the Great Fair was not transferred to the Overfair Railway.First, they were relegated to the very edge of the fair, thus reducing its economic potential. MacDermont absorbed most of the railway’s costs out of his pocket.
The first completed locomotive was the working engine No. 1500, an 0-6-0T type.
The Railway earned only slightly more than $22,000 in revenues. By contrast, B. F. Fageol’s Auto trains earned over $307,000 in nickels and dimes. Exposition management claimed the Overfair’s buildings and right-of-way were a leasehold improvement, so they kept them. The railway cost MacDermot an estimated $250,000 to build.
Altoona Tribune Mar 10, 1915
The Overfair Railway ran along the Marina between Fort Mason and the Presidio. A 10-cent fare provided transportation to the Polo Field, State and foreign buildings, the California Building, Exhibit Palaces, the Yacht Harbor, and The Zone.
Over open Railway on the Marina – San Francisco Bay -1915 –SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Oakland Tribune 1915
The Decline of the MacDermot Estate
After the Fair, MacDermot became an eccentric recluse, quartered on the deteriorating grounds of the family’s Oakland mansion.
Old house of Chas. McDermott N. E. corner 7th and Center Sts. Jesse Brown Cook Collection–Bancroft Library
Unfortunately, this fate was also shared by the Overfair Railway wooden passenger and freight cars. The locomotives had the luxury of spending their “retirement” in sheds. The others did not fare so well.
MacDermot Estate c 1940 -Swanton Pacific Railroad
Another photo of the MacDermot home with one of the cars in the yard – OMCA
The Mountain Lion Railway
Oakland Tribune Nov 10, 1940
In 1941, he agreed to build the “The Mountain Lion Railway” for the Oakland Zoo. He moved three engines and the twelve best passenger cars to the Alameda County Zoological Gardens (today’s Oakland Zoo). The operation started on August 1, 1941, with two cars running behind a forlorn No. 1913. The faithful Pacific lost its boiler jacket and leading truck, relegating No. 1913 to a 0-6-2. The Overfair equipment had substantially deteriorated, and MacDermot’s increasingly erratic behavior soon forced the Zoo’s management to eject the Railway. Please see – Swanton Pacific Railroad Society Newsletter January 2008
Moving Day 1940 or 1941 and Overfair train coming up the grade at the Oakland Zoo with Sid Snow’s home in the background – (which I believe is from the Talbot Estate and not the Durant Estate as noted) from the Swanton Pacific Railroad Society Newsletter December 2007
Moving Day
Various photos at the Oakland Zoo –Photo from the Swanton Pacific Railroad Society collection.
Photos from the Swanton Pacific Railroad Society collection.
Lost Dream
Louis MacDermot died in poverty on February 28, 1948. His passion for perfection, like his health, had long since eroded. For the princely sum of $5,200, Billy Jones bought all the disassembled Overfair locomotives from MacDermot’s trustee in 1948. Jones’ purchase undoubtedly saved the miniatures from the junk pile. Under his guidance, the fleet was restored to its Exposition glory. The engines, however, were converted from coal to oil, a more practical fuel in California. Mechanical lubricators were added. See
Oakland Tribune Jan 1959Oakland Tribune 1968
Oakland Tribune 1969
The Railroad Today
Swanton Pacific Railroad in Davenport, CA
The Swanton Pacific Railroad serves as an operational memorial to Al Smith, who acquired and relocated the trains to the Swanton Pacific Ranch. The rolling stock consists of three one-third-scale Pacific-type steam locomotives built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a diesel switcher locomotive, and a variety of passenger and maintenance railcars.
Until Al Smith’s death in December of 1993, the Swanton Pacific Railroad was essentially a partnership between Smith and Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture. Although volunteers came from “all walks of life,” to build, maintain, and operate the railroad, the University has been central to the preservation and continued operation of the Overfair Railway.
Al Smith left for the University’s College of Agriculture, both the Swanton Pacific Ranch and Railroad. Smith also created an endowment for the railroad to provide operating capital. Al Smith had secured the future of the Overfair Railway.
History Lost
In August of 2020 the CZU Lightning Complex Fire tore through northern Santa Cruz County, the rail yard for the Swanton Pacific Railroad, the ⅓-scale passenger train system was heavily damaged, along with adjacent buildings. At least two steam locomotives — built by Oakland inventor Louis M. MacDermot for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco — also burned. The Mercury News – August 29, 2020
The front smoke box of a burned locomotive is stamped with the name of its maker, Louis MacDermot, who built the railway for the 1915 Pan Pacific International Exposition.
Following the fire, the volunteers who had maintained the railroad for decades were once again rolling up their sleeves to pitch in with the rebuilding.
A dean with Cal Poly University emailed the volunteer-run Swanton Pacific Railroad Society to inform them that the school intends to donate the antique steam engines and equipment to an outside organization rather than rebuild and operate the popular railroad that’s run on the land since the 1980s. The school said it would instead focus on educational pursuits on the land.
“Though invaluable from a historical perspective,” wrote Dr. Andrew Thulin, dean of Cal Poly’s School of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, “the railroad does not fit within the strategic intent of the ranch when viewed through that lens.”
