USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume I > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
261
202
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
and was indorsed by the democrats and by the Municipal League. He was reelected in 1907, 1909, and 1911, retiring in July, 1915, declin- ing further political honors.
SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
A summary of some of the events of those ten years and of some of the changes and improvements which took place during the time Mr. Mott was mayor of Oakland included the following items :
The waterfront controversy of fifty years standing was settled, resulting in the recovery of the waterfront for the city.
Municipal control of the entire waterfront and tidelands was ob- tained.
A municipal system of docks, quays, wharves and belt line railways was inaugurated.
The development of the Key Route Basin was commenced, including the completion of wharves there, and wharf and quay wall construc- tion was carried on in the inner harbor.
The city limits were extended westerly to the San Francisco line, thus including the railway moles and tidelands.
Forty-four square miles of territory, including 200 miles of streets, were annexed to the city; bringing the street mileage to 520 miles.
The system of public parks and playgrounds were greatly developed, including the purchase and improvement of several new sites.
Lake Merritt was dredged, and many acres of swamp land were reclaimed south of the Twelfth Street dam.
Water rates were materially reduced, both for the municipality and to private consumers.
A new city charter was adopted for the city after being written by fifteen freeholders.
The city acquired a public museum.
Civil service was adopted by the municipality.
A salt water high pressure auxiliary system of fire protection was installed.
The fire department was increased in efficiency, re-organized and enlarged; and the number of fire hydrants was doubled.
The police department grew from sixty-five men on its force to 208, and it was re-organized on a metropolitan basis. Modern buildings were erected for the police and fire alarm service.
A reduction in carfare to annexed districts was secured.
263
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
Twenty-five new sanitary and storm sewers were built ; and all elec- tric wires, except trolley wires, were placed underground in the business district.
The magnificent new city hall was erected, the Municipal Audi- torium built, and modern school buildings added to the school equipment.
More modern street lighting was adopted; a municipal woodyard was established; and the Woman's Protective Bureau created.
The city experienced a steady building growth and increase in pop- ulation, and forward steps were taken along industrial activities.
The above summary of some of the outstanding events of those ten years indicate an advancement of which any city might be proud, and some of those accomplishments will now be treated in more detail.
RECOVERY OF THE WATER-FRONT
For more than fifty years the great natural heritage of the people in the splendid waterfront stretching from San Leandro Bay along the inner harbor of Brooklyn basin and the estuary of San Antonio, thence covering the western shore, had been in litigation. This unsettled question had retarded, to a more or less degree, the full development of the water-front. With the exception of two shamm wharves at the foot of Franklin and Grove streets, all of the harbor on the western and southern shores was in private hands. The compromise of 1868 had not settled matters, as some had believed at that time. The Supreme Court of California in the suit of the City of Oakland against the Oakland Water Front Company had decided that the land between high tide and the mean low tide line of 1852 had passed into private ownership under that compromise. Subsequent to that decision the United States Cir- cuit Court of Appeals in the action of the Southern Pacific Company against the Western Pacific Railway Company had decided that the City of Oakland had the wharfing-out right and the right to grant fran- chises on the water-front. This decision was an entering wedge which renewed the efforts to recover the important holdings. In November, 1910, after two years of work on the part of city officials, a final settle- ment was made. When negotiations were commenced in this last effort to secure control, the Western Pacific, the Southern Pacific, and the San Francisco, Oakland and San José Railway (the Key Route) occu- pied terminals on the western water-front. It was recognized, of course, that it was necessary for the welfare of everyone concerned that these
264
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
utilities should continue their operations. It was also believed important that the city should have control. The present S. P. mole had been constructed about 1890 upon lands which the company believed they owned under purchase from the Oakland Water Front Company. The city government decided to endeavor to compel the company to accept a limited franchise and to acknowledge the city's control. This com- promise was finally agreed upon, and at the end of the term the entire property reverts to the city, with absolute title vesting in the city.
Under this franchise which granted an additional strip of territory south of the mole to the S. P., that company accepted as final the deci- sion of the Circuit Court of Appeals. It also dismissed a case in the same court relative to the Broadway wharf, and deeded all of its in- terests to the city. The company also withdrew any opposition to changes of harbor lines within the north arm of the estuary, this tide- land having been granted to the city by an act of the state legislature. A street through the S. P. property in West Oakland was also dedicated to the city, giving an outlet to a thousand feet of water-front reserved to the city between the S. P. and Western Pacific moles. The S. P. also
relinquished all claims under the so-called Stratton patent to lands con- tiguous to Brooklyn basin, and gave the city immediate possession, a small portion, however, being reserved for railroad purposes between Fifth and Ninth avenues. Other important concessions included the dedication of the western end of Seventh Street as a free and open street, and the conceding that Eleventh, Fourteenth, Sixteenth and Thirty- fourth streets were open public streets over and across the railroad right-of-way at West Oakland. The S. P. had been the principal claim- ant under the old Oakland Water Front Company's assertion of title. Following the full settlement, leases and franchises were granted to the large industrial firms and occupants of the water-front holdings. The settlement opened the way for waterfront improvement. Along the southern water-front property under private ownership was purchased or acquired by condemnation proceedings. On the western front, after negotiations with the federal war department, aided by grants from the state, the city gained control of several hundred acres of lands fronting on the harbor. Improvements followed, including the building of an extensive rock levee, apron wharves, and the reclamation of shore- ward land. At the upper end of Brooklyn basin Livingston Street pier, a modern concrete structure, was constructed. This was the first im- provement made under a bond issue of $2,503,000 voted for harbor
265
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
development. The quay wall, 2,000 feet long, on the inner harbor, was also completed.
One of the interesting phases of the water-front question now dis- covered related to the Brooklyn basin, that is, in the portion of the inner harbor extending easterly from the north arm of the estuary to the tidal canal. This frontage was not included in the grant of 1852, and was, therefore, not affected by the water-front cases mentioned. These lands had fallen into private ownership through the state. City officials decided that the state had disposed of them without authority, and that they could be recovered. Eventually the city, after an effort of two years, and aided by a legislative enactment, secured quit-claim deeds from the holders involved, and thereupon leased the lands back to the former holders for a period of years. Thus the city secured absolute control of the Brooklyn basin, the occupants becoming tenants, paying a yearly rental. Carrying out the water-front problem, all that portion of the bay lying westward to the San Francisco boundary line was annexed, giving Oakland jurisdiction over all of the territory within which were located the S. P. mole, the W. P. mole, the Key Route pier, and contiguous territory.
HARBOR DEVELOPMENT
The recovery of the harbor lands, and the settlement of the water- front controversy renewed public interest in the development and im- provement of the harbor and shipping facilities. These improvements have already been mentioned. The city organized a Harbor Develop- ment Department to secure additional business for the port, to outline a plan of future development, and to work for the further improvement of the water-front. A Harbor Bureau was organized which adopted a clear-cut policy and plan for the management and operation of the city's wharves and harbor. A harbor and traffic manager was placed at the head of the bureau. Upon him was given the responsibility of develop- ing the shipping business and of working with the engineering depart- ment of the harbor in making plans for equipping and installing modern facilities for handling ocean, river and bay freight and passenger traf- fic. During the ten-year period of the Mott administration there was an increase of 50 per cent in the water-carried tonnage handled at Oakland. The way seemed to have been cleared for a larger and brighter future for Oakland and the East Bay region in matters rela- tive to ocean shipping and transportation.
266
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
BUILDING OPERATIONS OF TEN YEARS
Oakland was grievously deficient in respect to some of its public buildings in 1905. Its city hall was an antiquated, wooden structure, and a virtual fire trap. The city jail and police department were housed in its unwholesome basement. It was not only an eye-sore in the heart of the city, but it had become ill-suited and inadequate to the needs of the day. On October 13, 1911, President Taft laid the corner stone of the new city hall, one of the finest in the nation. Governor Hiram Johnson was present and took part in the ceremonies, which were wit- nessed by an immense assemblage. Other prominent men of the state were present to participate in the parade which was a part of the day's celebration. It might be mentioned in connection with the visit of President Taft that he went from Oakland after the ceremonies to break ground for the P. P. I. E. in San Francisco. Hardly second in rank to the new city hall, one of the foremost public buildings on the American continent, and a monument to the progressive spirit of Oak- land, was the new Municipal Auditorium, nearing completion at the close of the Mott regime. Built on the southern approach to Lake Merritt, it was placed on a site worthy of its superb architecture and usefulness. New public schools were erected, and included in the num- ber was one of the noteworthy examples of modern architecture-the Oakland Technical High School. Several elementary school buildings were erected during the time written about. Then there was the new fire alarm and police telegraph station at Thirteenth and Oak streets among the public buildings erected. The new municipal boathouse on Lake Merritt, the Embarcadero and other boat landings on the lake, the attractive clubhouses and restrooms in parks and playgrounds were all added to the public building record. New fire engine company houses were also erected.
During 1913 more steel business structures were built in Oakland than during all previous years. More than a thousand new residences went up during those twelve months, and everywhere new churches, schoolhouses and business blocks arose, the latter including ten and twelve story structures. The great Hotel Oakland was opened to the public and dedicated the day before Christmas, marking another great event in the growth of the city. W. W. Garthwaite was president of the company which financed and built the hotel. The average total cost of construction in Oakland for the ten years between 1905 and 1914, both inclusive, was over $6,700,000, as revealed by the following table :
267
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
Year
New Construction Repairs & Alterations
Total
1906
$6,614,885.88
$1,075,309.25
$7,690,195.13
1907
7,240,832.95
1,003,150.30
8,243,983.25
1908
5,604,187.76
716,374.60
6,320,562.36
1909
4,546,497.98
772,014.05
5,318,512.03
1910
5,922,517.87
991,125.60
6,913,643.47
1911
6,202,685.10
789,577.40
6,992,733.85
1912
7,942,484.45
1,067,249.40
9,009,733.85
1913
8,248,581.55
857,609.85
9,106,191.40
1914
4,541,726.20
675,793.80
5,217,520.00
The agitation for a more modern and timely form of city govern- ment culminated in July, 1910, when fifteen freeholders were chosen at an election to draw up a new city charter. The men selected to perform this task were individuals who had gained prominence in various acti- vities and had the confidence of the electors. They were W. C. Clark, I. H. Clay, C. H. Daly, G. W. Dornin, A. H. Elliott, R. B. Felton, John Forrest, R. M. Hamb, Hugh Hogan, Albert Kayser, G. C. Pardee, H. S. Robinson, F. L. Shaw, R. H. Chamberlain, and J. J. McDonald. After weeks of labor these men presented a final draft of a proposed city charter, and at an election held during the following December it received the ratification of the voters. There were 8,884 votes for the charter, and 2,884 against, a majority of even 6,000 voting in the affirmative. Mayor Mott was reelected under this charter at the fol- lowing city election.
STREET AND SEWER IMPROVEMENTS
On July 1, 1905, the area of Oakland was 16.61 square miles. Ten years later it was 60.24 square miles. Its acreage had increased from 10,631 to 38,561. Streets paved with asphalt had been increased from 10.8 to 37.2. Instead of 203.2 miles of streets paved with various types of macadam, there were 305.3. There were 59.5 miles of streets par- tially improved with macadam turnpike on July 1, 1914; and none ten years before. There were 104.37 miles of streets unimproved in 1905; 127.6 ten years later. The total street mileage had grown from 318.38 to 529.71. The number of miles of sidewalks grew from 502.29 to 685.09; and that of sewers from 209.80 miles to 393.61 miles. These figures show that the street department was called upon to make rapid
268
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
progress to keep pace with the growth of the city. Perhaps no other branch of the city government advanced more rapidly or scientifically than did the street department during these ten years. In 1905 the street department included a superintendent, a few clerks, seven fore- men and about seventy laborers, a sewer crew, thirty-five sprinkler drivers, and one steam roller with two men in charge. It then rented a lot at the corner of Fifteenth and Franklin streets at which point a few tools and supplies were stored. It then also owned one work horse and two driving horses and buggies. The department was then about the first one to receive a cut in appropriations when economy was prac- ticed, and often the funds allowed were meagre.
By 1915 the department had undergone a complete re-organization, and included a bureau of engineering, a department of street cleaning, a department of street repairs, a department of sewers, a department of garbage disposal, and a municipal garage. The department then owned three yards, the central yard being at Ninth and Fallon streets. At that point was located the garage, stables, laboratory and separate shops for blacksmithing, horseshoeing, woodworking, painting and harness- making, besides store and work rooms for the carpenter and sewer crews. The department owned its equipment for all operations, in- cluding four steam rollers, thirty-six sprinklers, two pavement flushers, thirty-two wagons, a modern outfit for street oiling and eighty-six horses. Sewer extensions, both sanitary and for storm water removal, were extensive during these ten years. This included the sewering of the recently annexed districts which were built up, and which required about one hundred and ten miles of sewer.
PARKS AND BOULEVARDS
The parks of Oakland in 1905 consisted of seven small squares, an unimproved plat of ten acres at West Oakland, an old Independence Square, at Sixteenth Avenue and East Seventeenth Street, compris- ing eleven acres which was also unimproved. The total area was 33.80 acres. This figure did not include Lake Merritt, which was also con- sidered unimproved. There were no boulevards or drives worthy of the name. A Park Commission was organized in 1908, and this was suc- ceeded under the new charter in 1911 by a Board of Park Directors, with full control of the parks. This commission handled the park de- velopment under the $992,000 bond issue of 1907; and men of expe- rience, with a determination to advance the attractiveness of the city,
OAKLAND SKYLINE WITH LAKE MERRITT IN FOREGROUND
270
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
commenced to improve the old tracts and buy new park sites. By 1915 the parks improved in the ten years had a total acreage of 350 acres, including Lake Merritt. Many sites of unequaled beauty were bought and developed. The history of Oakland's parks goes back to the early '50s. At that time the little town known as the Embarcadero San An- tonio lay in the little nook of what is now the foot of Fourteenth Avenue. Behind the town was a plaza, evidently set apart from the public domain. This was the center for the social life of the village, with its festivals, horse races, and annual rodeos. On the higher ground a tower had been erected from which boats could be seen in San Antonio Estuary and the bay. Oakland annexed the Embarcadero San Antonio in the course of events, with its plaza and all; and for a half century thereafter this plaza, later known as Independence Square, and still later named San Antonio Park to honor the memory of early history, was the largest park of the city. The few public squares acquired by pur- chase and gift in the meantime, had not been very extensively improved.
The pioneer parks of the city, and the acreage of each, as they existed prior to 1905 were as follows :
Name Acres
Independence Square, (San Antonio Park), between Sixteenth and Eighteenth avenues, and Sixteenth and Nineteenth streets 11.12
West Oakland Park (Bay View), Eighteenth and Campbell streets
10.08
Clinton Square, East Twelfth Street and Sixth Avenue 2.40
Madison Square, Madison and Eighth streets 1.82
Lincoln Square, Harrison and Tenth streets
1.82
Harrison Square, Harrison and Seventh streets
1.82
Jefferson Square, Grove and Seventh streets
1.82
Lafayette Square, Grove and Tenth streets 1.82
City Hall Plaza 1.10
33.80
The park sites secured between 1905 and 1915, with acreage of each, follows :
Name Acres
Lakeside Park ( Adams Point ) 45.00
Peralta Park (south of Twelfth Street dam) 25.90
Bushrod Park (Sixty-first and Shattuck) 17.61
271
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
Eastshore Park (northeast arm of lake) 11.00
De Fremery Park (Eighteenth and Union streets ) 10.40
Adams Point Park (Harrison Boulevard and Grand Avenue) . 2.20
Edge Lake Park (east side of lake ) 5.46
Athol Plaza (Dr. Woolsey, Second Ave. and E. Eighteenth St.) .90
Chichester Plaza ( Adeline and Stanford) .02
Aloha Plaza (Watson and Newton avenues)
.05
Ridgeway Plaza ( Ridgeway and Gilbert streets)
.08
Brooklyn Plaza (Fourteenth Ave. and E. Sixteenth St.)
.60
Union Plaza (Thirty-fourth and Peralta streets) .60
Lakeshore Willows (Fourteenth and Oak streets) . 8.14
Lakeshore Harrison Boulevard (Harrison and Twentieth sts.)
1.70
Pine Knoll (Chabot lot, Lakeshore Avenue and Hanover ) 2.00
Athol Circle (East Eighteenth St. and Boulevard) .03
Oak Glen (Richmond Avenue and Napier ) .
2.00
Boulevard Park (Fourth Ave. and E. Twenty-first St.)
.86
Rock Ridge Park (Rock Ridge Boulevard, east of Broadway)
1.50
Linda Vista Park (Linda and Grand avenues ) 6.28
Bella Vista Park (E. Twenty-eighth St. and Eleventh Ave.) .. 2.20
Mosswood Park (Thirty-sixth and Broadway)
11.00
Santa Fe Park (Fifty-second and Grove) .50
156.03
Lake Merritt, once known as Peralta Lake, then, as today, was the gem of the collection, near the center of the city, and surrounded by walks and drives, with the charming Lakeside Park along the northern borders. Nearly every foot of the lake was owned by the city in 1915. No city in the nation can offer a more picturesque park or beautiful body of water. In 1913 the pergola at the northeast end of the lake, named the Embarcadero, was completed at a cost of $17,000,and was so named because in pioneer days it was an embracadero before Twelfth Street was built across the arm of water. Small boats used to come up the estuary and land there. In 1914 the Municipal Boathouse was com- pleted at a cost of $35,000, replacing the old boathouses which stood for so many years on Twelfth Street. South of the Park is Peralta Park, nearly twenty-six acres in size-the site of the beautiful Muni- cipal Auditorium. The Bushrod Park of 17.61 acres was presented to the city by Dr. Bushrod W. James. The popularity of the parks was given further impetus in 1911 by the inauguration of municipal band concerts.
272
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
PLAYGROUNDS
One of the developments in city government of this period along the line of social service fostered by a progressive municipality was that of public playgrounds. The first Playground Commission in Oakland was appointed by Mayor Mott on November 14, 1908, under a new city ordinance. No funds were available at first, and playgrounds were not opened until the following June, under an appropriation of $750. At that time the Tompkins school and the Prescott school grounds were equipped with temporary apparatus. Under the supervision of two young women and a superintendent, the playground movement was thus launched in Oakland. The successful experiment resulted in an appro- priation of $10,000 the following year. Out of this sum the Bushrod and de Fremery grounds were equipped, and land was set aside in many of the public parks for this purpose. By 1913 there were thirteen large municipal playgrounds, and in 1914 twenty-five more playgrounds were opened up. The new Municipal Boathouse on Lake Merritt was placed under the control of the Board of Playground Directors, and an ex- cursion launch was secured to provide regular trips around the lake. Ten public tennis courts had been built by 1915, and among those who might be seen in frequent exhibition and match games of that day were many experts, including Maurice Mclaughlin, the world's amateur tennis champion. Basketball, volley ball, soccer, rugby, baseball and other outdoor sports, including field and track meets, became more and more popular as these new play fields were opened up. Physical train- ing, folk dancing, out-door singing and story-telling hours, hiking trips, festivals, pageants and national holiday celebrations became a part of the field of work and supervision of the Recreation Department. The attendance at these playgrounds increased from 11,125 for eight months of 1909-1910 to 978,569 for the fiscal year 1913-1914. Base- ball games increased in number from 112 for the fiscal year 1908-1909 to 28,018 for 1913-1914; basketball games increased from 52 to 8,654 during the same period; and volley ball from twenty-nine games to 24,274. The number of employees in this new phase of municipal endeavor grew from five in July, 1909, to sixty-four in 1914.
GROWTH OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The cities of Alameda County have always followed the policy of giving the best educational advantages possible. Taxes and bond issues
273
HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY
have invariably been supported when they meant better methods, facili- ties and buildings in educational lines. The county's growth has been so rapid that at times the increased school population has offered real problems; but as a whole those charged with the duty of school super- vision have met these situations most admirably. Today our schools rank with the best in the state. There was a noteworthy increase and growth in the schools of the county during the ten years now under consideration; and this was especially true regarding Oakland. In 1905 there were nineteen elementary schools, two high schools, and one kindergarten. By 1915 there were forty-five elementary schools, four high schools, and twelve kindergartens. The attendance at the elementary, kindergarten and evening schools was 8,365 in 1905, and 1,090 in the high schools. A decade later these figures were 19,804 and 2,900 respectively-an increase of approximately 140 per cent. The teaching force grew to 135 for high schools, and 607 for all other schools.
During these ten years nineteen new elementary school buildings were erected in Oakland and the $600,000 Technical High School building added to the list. In addition the Piedmont Elementary School and the Fremont High School were practically made over by new additions and improvements. Four bond issues made this growth pos- sible. In 1904 there was a bond issue for $960,000; two years later an issue of $280,000; in 1911 a larger sum of $2,493,000; and in 1914, another one of $210,000. In addition to these bond issues other money was spent out of regular school funds for additions to school buildings and for portable or temporary structures. The new Technical High School, one of the finest in the United States, was opened January 4, 1915. One of its noteworthy features is the fine public auditorium, with a seating capacity of 1,400. The expenditures for new buildings and school sites for these ten years follow :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.