In 1909 a newly appointed commission met at city hall with then Mayor Frank Mott to assume the responsibility of establishing a public playground system.
Oakland was the second city in California to establish a playground system; the first was Los Angeles in 1905.
Superintendent of Playgrounds
George E. Dickie Greater Oakland 1911
In May of 1909, the commission appointed George E. Dickie, the first playground superintendent, and that summer, the city opened two “experimental” playgrounds at Tompkins and Prescott Schools.
Oakland Tribune Oakland (Calif.) Park commission., Oakland (Calif.) Playground commission. (1910). The park system of Oakland, California. [Oakland: Carruth & Carruth.
Before 1909, the Oakland Women’s Club operated summer playgrounds for two years at West Oakland’s Tompkins and Prescott’s schools at their own expense.
Oakland (Calif.) Park commission., Oakland (Calif.) Playground commission. (1910). The park system of Oakland, California. [Oakland: Carruth & Carruth.
With a budget of $10,000, the commission opened three municipal playgrounds in 1910.
Oakland (Calif.) Park commission., Oakland (Calif.) Playground commission. (1910). The park system of Oakland, California. [Oakland: Carruth & Carruth.
The first was opened on January 10, 1910, at de Fremery. The park included a dozen swings, two long slides, a baseball diamond, two regulation tennis courts, and courts for basketball, volleyball, and handball.
Oakland (Calif.) Park commission., Oakland (Calif.) Playground commission. (1910). The park system of Oakland, California. [Oakland: Carruth & Carruth.
Two weeks later, they opened Bushrod Playground at 60th Street and Shafter. The land was deeded to the city in 1904 by Dr. Bushrod Washington James of Philadelphia with the stipulations that it is maintained as a public park forever.
Playground at Bushrod Park 1911Oakland (Calif.) Park commission., Oakland (Calif.) Playground commission. (1910). The park system of Oakland, California. [Oakland: Carruth & Carruth.
The first recreation “center” was built at the site, and the structure remained standing until 1943.
Oakland Tribune 1911
They then provided playground equipment to the West Oakland Park (which later became Bayview, and is now Raimondi Field)and Independence Park ( now San Antonio).
Oakland Tribune 1911
Recreation for Everyone
In 1911 the city charter was revised to include the role of recreation in the community, this resulted in disbanding the commission, and a board of playground directors was created to oversee the parks. The Parks and Recreation Department was formed
I hope to show Then and Now images of Oakland Schools in this series of posts. Along with a bit of the history of each school, I highlight. Some photos are in the form of drawings or 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.
Campbell Primary School
Campbell Primary School started put as the Grove Street School. The name was changed in 1906 to Campbell School for Fred Campbell, the superintendent of Oakland schools from 1870-1870 and 1886-1890. He was the state superintendent of schools from 1880-1883.
Campbell School looked in 1887 – Oakland Tribune June 09, 1926
His daughter Mary Campbell was the school’s principal from 1898-1926.
Miss Mary Campbell – Oakland Tribune Jun 9, 1926
In 1907 a new school was built. The Mission Style school was designed by Architect F.E. Voorhees and cost $38,000. It had seven classrooms and an office for the principal.
Oakland Tribune Mar 1907
1954 the school was closed because it was not earthquake-safe, and the students were sent to Tompkins School. The school was sold and demolished in 1954. A commercial building was built on the site.
In 1912 the first drawing for a new Peralta Heights school was submitted to the school board. John J. Donovan and Shafer & Wilde were the architects. Donovan designed many schools for the district.
Bids to build the school were submitted in 1912, based on the below photo. They held a formal opening of the school in Jan of 1914.
Oakland Tribune Jan 6, 1914
Oakland Tribune Mar 29, 1914
The old school building stood in 1973 and was finally replaced with a new facility in 1977.
Oakland Tribune March 26, 1973
Cleveland Today
Cleveland School Today – Google Maps
More Info:
California Distinguished School for 2020
“serves the very diverse and historically underserved city of Oakland, with a large percentage of students living in poverty and a large percentage of English learner”
Cole Grammar School was opened in 1878 in West Oakland on 10th Street between Union and Poplar Stree. The plans called for a two-story, 14-room building.
Cole School – Oakland and Surroundings 1885
It was named for Rector E. Cole, an early Oakland dentist and member of the city council, and member and then president of the Oakland Board of Education.
Jack London attended Cole starting in 1887. He graduated 8th grade in 1891.
Front Doors of the Cole School Building with several children standing on the sidewalk in 1908 Huntington Digital Library
Class of 1909
Class of 1910
School Fire
In Dec 1923, the school was destroyed in a six-alarm fire where one fireman lost his life, and six others were injured. The fire was deliberately set by a”firebug.” A suspicious fire was a reporter at Garfield School at 23rd and Foothill Blvd.
The cornerstone for a new school was laid in May 1925, and the new two-story school was dedicated in April 1926.
More Info:
Cole School was the headquarters of the Chief of Police from 2013-2021 (?.) As of 2023, a new OUSD administration building in under construction.
The Piedmont Avenue School, as seen below, was built in 1891.
Oakland Tribune February 13, 1892
Before that, a two-room schoolhouse was closer to the Mountain View Cemetery. Classes we held for a time at the home of G.W. Hume, who lived in a large estate where the school is located now.
Both children from Piedmont and Oakland used the school at that time. The building was designed by William Kirk and cost about $10,000 to build. The school had a bell tower with a 350-pound bell. There was a large assembly room, a library, a hothouse for plants, classrooms on both floors and a large lighted basement where the children could play during wet weather.
Oakland Tribune February 20, 1892
The school was dedicated on Washington’s Birthday in 1892.
Engraving of the Piedmont District School at Webster Avenue in Oakland, Alameda County, California, from the book “Illustrated album of Alameda County, California” by Jos, 1893. Alex Colquhoun. Courtesy Internet Archive. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
School Fire
July 25, 1938July 25, 1938July 25, 1938
In July of 1938, while the students were on summer break, the school was destroyed by an arson fire. Ten firemen were injured, four of them seriously.
This Art Deco school building has an auditorium, library, kindergarten classroom, kitchen, offices, and regular classrooms. There is still a WPA sidewalk marker in front of the school.
Prescott School was established in 1866 as a one-room primary school. It was named after William H. Prescott, a historian, and was located at Ninth and Campbell Streets on dirt roads surrounded by woods.
Oakland Tribune 1877
In 1869 a new two-story building with four classrooms on each floor, ‘the largest, and it was the most up- to- date school building in Oakland,’ with C. W. Brodt as principal, with a salary of $150 per month.
Prescott school building was heavily damaged in the historic 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
Prescott School with damage from the 1906 earthquake UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library Permalink: https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/hb1m3nb284/
New School
Prescott Primary School was constructed in a record time of 187 workdays by Lawton & Vezey, a local contractor.
Oakland Tribune October 24, 192
Oakland Tribune October 24, 1916
The new school was a two-story Spanish-style steel-framed building with a basement and seventeen classrooms.
“accepted by the school board, who considered it one of the best in the recent school buildings”
Oakland School Board – October 05, 1926
The exterior of Prescott School circa 1918 Towns (Royal E.) Papers Oakland Public Library, African American Museum
Prescott School 9th & Campbell Streets – Cheney Photo Advertising Company c 1919
Ida Louise Jackson, Oakland’s first African-American teacher, taught there in 1925 — 13 years before any other school hired a black teacher.
Unsafe and Condemned
Oakland Tribune 1958
In 1954 Prescott Junior High (name change?) was condemned for being dangerous to the students. At that time, there was no budget to replace it.
Prescott Today
Prescott is located at 920 Campbell St.
Prescott School Today – Google Maps
The school has been operating under the name PLACE @ Prescott (Preparatory Literary Academy of Cultural Excellence @ Prescott) since 2006, serving Kindergarten through 5th-grade children
Woodrow Wilson Junior High started as Mosswood Junior High in August of 1923. It was located at the corner of 48th and Webster Streets. In 1924 the school’s name was changed.
Oakland Tribune Feb 19, 1924
In 1926 they laid the cornerstone for a new school.
Oakland Tribune Oct 28, 1926
Oakland Tribune Aug 20, 1927
Woodrow Wilson Junior circa the 1970s
In the early 1970s, Woodrow Wilson Junior High School was demolished, and a new school was built. In the mid-1970s, the school was renamed the Verdese Carter Middle School.
Demolition of Woodrow Wilson School in the 1970s from Adrienne Broach
Demolition of Woodrow Wilson School in the 1970s from Adrienne Broach
Woodrow Wilson Today
The School Today Google Maps
In 2007 the Oakland Unified school district opened its first school that enrolls only immigrant students. The Oakland International High School is modeled after international high schools in New York City for newcomers to the United States. The school was still open in 2019.
