Twenty-Fourth Annual

Walking Tours

Come explore Oakland on foot during July and August weekends

Oakland Heritage Alliance announces the 2004 summer walking tours of 16 different neighborhoods. See a variety of architectural styles and visit locations of significant cultural and living history. Walk through some of Oakland's classic residential neighborhoods including Rockridge and Glenview. These tours extend from the waterways across the flatlands to the hills, East Oakland to West Oakland.

Highlights for the summer include innovative reuse of the industrial past, renewed interest in mid-century modern buildings, a revitalized waterfront, pedestrian stairways connecting early trolley routes, and the impact of prominent African-Americans on Oakland's contemporary landscape.

These tours are based in part on the research of the Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, a project of the City of Oakland Planning Department, and the resources of the Oakland History Room, Oakland Main Library.

Reservations are not required for tours, except for the July 10 'Walkways' tour. Please meet at least 15 minutes before the listed time of each tour to allow for registration. Comfortable walking shoes and a hat are recommended; bring water. In case of rain, the tour will be cancelled.

Public Transportation is encouraged. Call BART at 510-465-2278 or AC Transit at 510-817-1717 for information.

Donation: $5 members, $10 general. Sign up for membership or renewal the day of the tour and the tour will be free.

For more information contact Oakland Heritage Alliance at 510-763-9218 or email oha@oaklandheritage.org

Click here for ACT Transit information for each Tour. Take the bus and Walk!

Saturday, July 10, 10 am - 12:30 pm

Oakland's Walkways and Streetcar Heritage

Led by Jason Patton. Tour is limited to 20 persons. Call OHA office at 510/763-9218 for reservations

Oakland has over 200 off-street pedestrian routes that provide shortcuts through long street blocks. This tour highlights pathways designed to connect homes to streetcars, schools, shops, and parks. Ride the bus along a former streetcar line to the Glenview neighborhood and learn the history of Oakland's streetcar suburbs as we walk through Trestle Glen to Grand Lake. A long and strenuous walk up many steps.

Sunday, July 11, 10 am - 12:30 pm

Mountain View Cemetery

Led by Michael Crowe & Barbara Smith ¥ Meet at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue

Take a walk into the past in California's most historic cemetery to meet some of our state's early movers and shakers along with monuments that preserve their memory. Charles Crocker, Domingo Ghirardelli, and Samuel Merritt are among those you'll encounter. A hilly walk.

Saturday, July 17, 10 am - 12 noon

F.M. 'Borax' Smith Estate

Led by Phil Bellman. Meet at the redwood tree, corner of McKinley Avenue and Home Place East (one block off Park Boulevard)

Visit the remnants of Arbor Villa, Francis Marion 'Borax' Smith's palatial estate. Smith founded an international industry ('20-Mule Team Borax'), established the Key Route System, and became one of Oakland's most famous, colorful entrepreneurs. The tour visits the 9th Avenue palm trees, the Mary R. Smith Cottages and historic houses, including examples by Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan. A hilly walk.

Sunday, July 18, 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Middle Elmhurst

Led by Steve Lavoie. Meet at Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center, 7701 Krause Ave. (at 77th Ave.)

Explore Alameda County's agricultural past, now at the heart of the inner city. Visit beautifully restored Arroyo Viejo Amphitheater, a relic of the New Deal. Explore the Nisei origins of California's horticultural industry. Find the birthplace of the greatest minor league baseball player of all time. Travel a major thoroughfare in the history of the hot-rod, outlaw-motorcycle, funk, gospel and hip-hop cultures. Revisit the legacies of the Black Panther Party and the beginnings of La Raza Movement and admire the hard work of the African-American church in years thereafter.

Saturday, July 24, 1 pm - 3:30 pm

Mills College Campus

Led by Dean Yabuki & Adele Pham. Meet on the lawn of Alderwood Hall, left inside the Richardson Gate, 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Park in the lot to the right as you enter

Celebrate Mills' legacy as we explore its beautiful campus. Listen to an anecdotal history of the college while viewing buildings by architects including Julia Morgan and Walter Ratcliffe, Jr. Learn about the architectural phases of Mills College as it evolved in the 1870s, after World War I, in the sixties and into the nineties.

Sunday, July 25, 1 pmÐ3 pm

Uptown Art Deco

Led by Dean Yabuki. Meet in front of the Mary Bowles building, 1718 Telegraph Avenue

Oakland's distinctive 1920s-30s retail and entertainment district has one of the finest collections of Art Deco and terra cotta buildings on the west coast. The tour includes the Fox Oakland Theater, Oakland Floral Depot, Paramount Theatre, I. Magnin, and many others. Recent preservation efforts and development proposals will also be highlighted.

Saturday, July 31, 10 am - 12 noon

Glenview

Led by Kathleen DiGiovanni & Betty Marvin. Meet at Glenview Elementary School, corner of Hampel and LaCresta

Enjoy a walk through Oakland's charming Glenview district, tucked between Trestle Glen and Dimond Canyon. From its earliest years as a ranching district to development as Fourth Avenue Terrace and beyond, we will explore Glenview's lively period revival commercial strip and its lovely residential streets adorned with houses representing a variety of architectural styles. A hilly walk.

Sunday, August 1, 10 am - 12:30 pm

Fruitvale Commercial

Led by Betty Marvin & Pamela Magnuson-Peddle. Meet at the Pedestrian Plaza at East 12th Street and 34th Avenue (Avenida de la Fuente)

In the 1920s Fruitvale was Oakland's 'second downtown,' with its own skyscrapers, banking temples, lodges and courthouse. A century of active development along International Boulevard can be read in the buildings, the multi-ethnic names, and the unique businesses. Today a new transit village and pedestrian plaza are changing the dimensions of the district. Stay for lunch!

Saturday, August 7, 10am - 12:30 pm

Lake Merritt Modern

Led by Bill Coburn. Meet at the Lakeview Branch Library, 550 El Embarcadero, between Grand and Lakeshore Avenues

This tour will look primarily at apartment houses and dwellings along the east shore of the lake, with emphasis on the history and evolution of development along the shoreline. Several periods and styles will be covered, but a special focus will be post-World War II architecture. Moderate hike, with a few hills. Tour ends at the Merritt Bakery.

Sunday, August 8, 10 am - noon

New Era/New Politics: _An African American Tour _Of Downtown Oakland

Led by Annalee Allen, Everett Thomas & Pamela Magnuson-Peddle. Meet on the steps of the new African American Museum and Library (formerly the historic Greene Library) at 14th Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way

Stroll through downtown and discover the places where Oakland African Americans have made their mark. Learn how Lionel Wilson, Delilah Beasley, Robert Maynard, the Dellums family, Josephine Baker and others have changed the City and the Bay Area.

Saturday, August 14, 1 pm - 3:30 pm

Temescal

Led by Sharon Moore. Meet in front of Genova Delicatessen, 5095 Telegraph Avenue (inside the Temescal Shopping Plaza)

Tour the commercial district that developed around the Oakland Street Railway car barn, built in 1870. Visit the sites of pioneering enterprises, including a hotel and a brewery. See Victorian and early 20th century stores, which are still in use. Discover residential streets with collections of period homes; though close to the commercial bustle their setting is remarkably tranquil.

Sunday, August 15, 10 am - 12:30pm

Laurel Neighborhood

Led by Dennis Evanosky & Pamela Magnuson-Peddle. Meet at Albertson's parking lot, 4055 MacArthur Boulevard

Once an area of dairies and vegetable gardens, the Laurel district began life in 1909 when local streetcars extended service to 38th Avenue and Hopkins (now MacArthur). With growing industry in East Oakland, homes sprouted and businesses thrived by the 1920s. This tour highlights Laurel's history and architectural heritage with its fine examples of Õ20s brick and tile commercial buildings.


Saturday, August 21, 10 am - 12:30 pm

Richmond Boulevard

Led by Valerie Winemiller. Meet at the pergola, Croxton Avenue and Richmond Boulevard

Walk along Glen Echo Creek, one of Oakland's living creeks. This charming residential neighborhood was developed between 1895 and the 1920s. It has structures by Frederick Reimers, Julia Morgan, A.W. Smith and C.M. MacGregor with surviving elements from the 'City Beautiful' movement. Although scarred by freeway incursion, it remains a unique, tranquil setting and boasts fine examples of California bungalows, Mission and Mediterranean style homes.

Sunday, August 22, 10 am - 12 noon

Rockridge Arts And Crafts

Led by Jane Powell. Meet at the pillars on the corner of Broadway and Rockridge Boulevard

Join author and Arts and Crafts expert Jane Powell on a walk to explore the bungalows, brown shingles and other Craftsman residences on either side of College Avenue. The tour includes historic buildings of the Rockridge Commercial district. A slightly hilly walk.

Saturday, August 28, 10 am - 12 noon

Broadway Meets The Water

Led by Dennis Evanosky & Deborah Cooper. Meet at the C.L. Dellums statue in front of the Amtrak station, Second and Alice streets

Learn about Oakland's founding on the waterfront. Shake hands with C.L. Dellums in front of the Amtrak Station at the beginning of the tour. Come explore the estuary from the former Alice Street Bridge to the first ferry landing at the foot of Broadway. Then shake Jack London's hand at the end of the tour. An easy walk.

Sunday, August 29, 10 am - 12 noon

New And Old In MCClymonds-Clawson

Led by Michael Willis & Betty Marvin. Meet at Chestnut Court, West Grand Ave. & Linden St.

Get a close-up look at new projects in West Oakland, side by side with longtime homes, churches, and industries. Learn how the neighborhood's buildings transformed the West Oakland marsh. This flat but long walk will explore urban revitalization from the new Chestnut Court project to adaptive reuse projects including Adeline Lofts and Clawson School.