Saturday, July 12, 10 am –1:30 pm

TEMESCAL

Led by Ray Rainieri

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

Explore 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 brewery. See Victorian and early 20th century stores, which are still in use. Discover residential streets with period homes, though close to the commercial bustle their setting is remarkably tranquil. 60


Sunday, July 13, 10 am–12:30 pm

MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY

Led by Barbara Smith and Michael Crowe

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 Ghiradelli and Samuel Merritt are among those you will encounter. A hilly walk.


Saturday, July 19, 10 am–1 pm

FLAVORS OF FRUITVALE!

Led by Betty Marvin and Pamela Magnusson-Peddle

Meet at Fruitvale BART Station.

Named for its early orchards, Fruitvale has long been associated with food – with its ranchos, dairies, farms, and canneries. Immigrants after World War II gave the neighborhood its current flavor, bringing the Mexican street food tradition north. Join us for history and international food. Meet the Tamale Queen, taste Vietnamese sandwiches, huaraches ala Mexico City, and New Orleans' beignets - stay for homemade ice cream.


NEW! Sunday, July 20, 10 am–1 pm

LAKESIDE PARK

Led by Kathleen diGiovanni

By Reservation Only; tour limited to 25 Call the OHA office 510 763-9218 for reservations or reserve online at www.oaklandheritage.org

Tour Children's Fairyland with us and learn about the history of this unique local treasure; visit its original sets and discover its newest features. We’ll then tour the Lakeside Garden Center, home to garden wonders from century-old bonsai to butterflies. We will discuss the history and development of this recreational area of the lake. We’ll also visit the nearby Lawn Bowling Club, founded here in 1903. Lawn bowling? After the tour, you’ll have a chance to see championship lawn bowling.


Saturday, July 26, 10 am –1:30 pm

RAIL MEETS WATER: THEN AND NOW

Led by Celia McCarthy

Follow 7th Street to Middle Harbor Shoreline Park. Meet in the parking lot.

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park preserves a wealth of Oakland history. Moles and wharves met passengers and freight riding the transcontinental railroads. See the wall that “trained” the Oakland estuary for ship traffic. Walk the footprint of the Oakland Naval Supply Center, largest facility of its kind in the world. See the Hanjin container terminal, today’s meeting of rail and water in Oakland. Hear front-line staff talk about preservation of history as well as meeting the challenges of the present and future.


NEW! Sunday, July 27, 11 am–1 pm

WEST LAKE MERRITT TO THE BANDSTAND

Led by Annalee Allen

Meet at the El Embarcadero pergola, across from Lakeview Library.

Learn the history of Oakland’s jewel–from Ohlone habitation, to the coming of the Spanish, the transformation from tidal slough to residential enclave, and the era of public improvements paid for by voter approved bond measures. Tour goers are encouraged to linger afterwards and enjoy the free summer concert in Lakeside Park, sponsored by the Friends of the Oakland Municipal Band, from 1 pm to 3 pm.


NEW! Saturday, August 2, 10 am–1:30 pm

THE CIVIL WAR AT MOUNTAIN VIEW

Led by Dennis Evanosky

Meet at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Avenue.

Get to know Civil War-era denizens at Mountain View. We’ll meet Senator William McKendree Gwin, David Doughty Colton and Jack Hayes and learn about their involvement in an 1859 duel. We’ll also meet “drummer boy” Annie Glud, Doctor Chloe Buckel and other veterans from both sides of the conflict. The 3 1⁄2 hour tour will highlight the restored Grand Army of the Republic plot, the final resting-place for over 200 veterans. (72 words)


Sunday, August 3, 1:30 pm–4 pm

EICHLERS OF OAKLAND: MODERNISM AT HOME IN THE HILLS

Led by Michael Crowe

By Reservation Only! One tour only, limited to 40.

Includes an open home and reception at the end of the tour. Call the OHA office 510 763-9218 for reservations or reserve online at www.oaklandheritage.org

Oakland has its own residential district of modern houses (1964-65) by Joseph Eichler that match the modernist buildings of downtown. This tour will focus on this enclave and why it is significant in oh-so-many ways. Tour leader Michael Crowe will reveal the wonders of modernism as applied to the family home.

Saturday, August 9, 10 am–12:30 pm

FORMER SCHILLING ESTATE GARDENS, SNOW PARK AND THE REGILLUS

Led by Naomi Schiff

More information will be provided shortly.
 

Saturday, August 10, 10 am–12 noon

WOODMINSTER AND THE ABBEY

Led by Phoebe Cutler with Chris Pattillo

Meet at the Abbey, corner of Sandborn and Joaquin Miller Roads.

At the turn of the last century Joaquin Miller was arguably this country’s most famous poet. Visit his home, “the Abbey”, now memorialized as Joaquin Miller Park. Twenty years after Miller died, a group of eminent East Bay artists, politicians, and scientists launched a campaign to build a monument to the writers of California. See the result, the Woodminster Cascade, one of the most outstanding examples of the Italian Renaissance Garden Revival of the first decades of the 20th century. Learn of the new national program to identify and preserve such landscapes, the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS). A hilly walk; wear comfortable shoes.


Saturday, August 16, 10 am –1:30 pm

RAIL MEETS WATER

Led by Celia McCarthy

(See Saturday, July 26 for detailed description and meeting place)


Sunday, August 17, 10 am–1 pm

SOUTH PRESCOTT AND SEVENTH STREET

Led by Betty Marvin

Meet at West Oakland BART Station, 5th Street at Center Street.

West Oakland became the terminus of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 and Bay View Homestead Tract (South Prescott) was subdivided that same year. The tract developed rapidly with tiny cottages that housed railroad workers and a succession of immigrant groups. We will look at the layers of history in the South Prescott neighborhood, including present-day infill and rehabilitation, and the remaining fragments of the Seventh Street business district and rail yards.


Saturday, August 23, 10 am and 1 pm

PHILBRICK BOATWORKS

Led by Russ & Debra Donovan

Meet at Philbrick Boatworks, 603 Embarcadero, at Clinton Basin.

Step back in time to a world of mahogany, hand tools, and sawdust. Visit a business unchanged since1946, the last of the twenty wooden boat builders that once graced the Oakland Estuary. Meet Russ Donovan, master wooden boat builder, and learn from him about the craft of wooden boat building. His hand-made boats are nationally recognized for their superb craftsmanship and design. Tour his workshop on the Oakland Estuary. See the beautiful mahogany runabout boats that are in various stages of construction and repair. Please note: There are no restrooms, no heat, no air-conditioning.


Sunday, August 24, 10 am–12 noon

TILES AND TERRA COTTA IN UPTOWN OAKLAND

Led by Riley Doty

Meet at Southeast corner of 17th & Webster Streets (at the Howden Building).

We will explore twenty buildings - exhibiting a variety of styles - whose facades are clad with architectural ceramics. All were built between 1914 and 1931 during a period when fired pottery materials were used on the exteriors of many important structures. The nature of this medium will be examined, and its unique beauty highlighted. Emphasis will be given to its special needs in terms of maintenance, preservation, and restoration.


Saturday, September 6, 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 (1 block off of Park Blvd).

Visit the remnants of Arbor Villa, Francis Marion "Borax" Smith's palatial estate. Known for his "20-Mule Team Borax," Smith founded an international borax industry, established the Key Route System, and became one of Oakland's most famous, colorful and successful entrepreneurs. The tour will visit the mansion site, the 9th Ave. palm trees, several historic houses, and the Mary R. Smith Trust for Orphan Girls cottages (including houses designed by Bernard Maybeck & Julia Morgan). A hilly 2-mile walk.


Sunday, September 7, 11 am–1 pm

LAKE MERRITT AND OAKLAND’S CIVIC CENTER DISTRICT

Led by Annalee Allen

Meet at the Camron Stanford House, 1418 Lakeside Drive.

Follow in the footsteps of city planners who, starting in the 1930s, envisioned the south end of Lake Merritt as a grand civic center district. A stroll along this end of the lake includes highlights such as the WPA Moderne Alameda County Courthouse, the Public Library Main, the historic Fire Alarm Building, and the Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium. Also included–updates on the progress of Measure DD 12th Street road redesign.

Saturday, September 13, 10 am–1:30 pm

THE REDWOODS OF OAKLAND

Led by Dennis Evanosky

By Reservation Only! Tour is limited to 30 experienced hikers.

Call the OHA office 510 763-9218 for reservations or reserve online at www.oaklandheritage.org

Enjoy breathtaking views in the hills above Leona Heights, glimpse an old sulfur mine and see the workings of the tramway that carried stone from the nearby quarry. Learn about the birth, growth and harvesting of the redwood trees and see the oldest tree in Oakland. This moderately difficult 3 1⁄2 hour hike has its ups and downs, but will be worth the effort! Wear hiking shoes; bring binoculars, cameras and extra water.


Sunday, September 14, 2pm–4 pm

MILLS COLLEGE CAMPUS

Led by Bert Gordon & Karen Fiene

Meet in front of Mills Hall on the Mills College campus

A walking tour of the eucalyptus tree-lined Mills College campus. Stops include Mills Hall, one of California's earliest buildings to have gas, built in 1871, the Susan Mills room, furnished with artifacts from one of the founders of the College, the President's House, dating to the 1860s, and Julia Morgan structures including the Campanile, which withstood the 1906 earthquake, and the Margaret Carnegie library. Architectural and historical commentary by specialists; moderate walking, wheelchair accessible.


Saturday, September 20, 10 am - 1 pm

DIMOND

Led by Dennis Evanosky

Meet at the Boy Scout Hut in Dimond Park.

This walk will introduce you to the characters who shaped the district's early history. We’ll meet, among others, the Dimond, Hopkins and Rhoda families. We’ll also learn about the German community with their Altenheim on the heights and beer gardens below. This 3-hour walk includes a stroll along Sausal Creek as well as stories about the district’s horse-drawn streetcars and the resort that the neighbors sent packing.


Sunday, September 21, 1 — 3 pm

HIDDON HADDON HILL

Led by Page Yarwood

Meet on the triangle, at Kenwyn Road and McKinley Avenue.

Visit this distinctive neighborhood of predominantly Mediterranean-style houses, built between the wars, and situated on the hill between Lake Merritt and Park Boulevard. Set off as one of the first neighborhoods with underground utilities, its homes and gardens were designed by some of the Bay Area’s most distinguished: Dickey, the Newsome brothers, A. W. Smith, Schirmer. A visit to the Cleveland Cascade and a private garden may be included. Light refreshments will be served.


Saturday, September 27, 10 am–1:30 pm

OAKLAND’S WALKWAY AND STREETCAR HERITAGE

Led by Jason Patton

By Reservation Only! Tour is limited to 28.

Call the OHA office 510 763-9218 for reservations or reserve online at www.oaklandheritage.org

Free parking is not readily available at the tour meeting place. Participants should either take transit or be prepared to pay for parking. The tour ends in Grand Lake, not at the starting point in downtown. Participants will be given instructions and a map on how to return to downtown by either foot or transit. Oakland has over 200 off-street pedestrian routes that provide short-cuts 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 hilly walk of over 2 miles and at least 500 steps. 70

Sunday, September 28, 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, whose charming residential neighborhood was developed between 1895 and the 1920s and 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 in our city and boasts fine examples of California bungalows, Mission and Mediterranean style homes.
over 2 miles and at least 500 steps. 70