USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume I > Part 44
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On January 2, Thomas W. Ryan, building inspector for Oakland for over four years, tendered his resignation on account of ill health, and Arthur S. Holmes, structural engineer, was appointed to fill the vacancy.
The Oakland Community Chest established headquarters at Thir- teenth and Clay streets for the third annual chest drive of February 24 to March 6. Ralph T. Fisher was general chairman of that drive, and W. W. Garthwaite was president of the organization.
When the members of the board of supervisors met on the fifth of January they selected Charles H. Heyer as their chairman. He suc- ceeded William J. Hamilton to that honor. The new member on the board was Judge Ralph V. Richmond, of Niles, who succeeded Thomas E. Knox, of Livermore, from the fourth district.
Early in the month the city council of Alameda agreed to the trans- fer of about 1,750 feet of land on Webster Street adjacent to the bridge to be used for the Alameda side of the approach to the proposed tube under the estuary. This decision removed the last big obstacle in the way of completing final plans for the tube, as most of the other title involved had been acquired.
On January 12 Assistant District Attorney Earl Warren was named as district attorney for the county, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ezra Decoto, who had recently received his ap- pointment as a member of the state railroad commission. This change also brought about the promotions of Charles Wade Snook and Milton W. Sevier in the office.
During the month the Oakland Chamber of Commerce completed an industrial survey of several weeks of all cities between Hayward and Albany, and which had required several weeks time. The survey showed, among other important factors, that these east bay cities and towns possessed more than 800 industrial plants, employing more than 35,000 workers, and turning out products valued at more than $270,-
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000,000 annually. It showed that more than 1,400 different commo- dities were manufactured by these concerns, and that the total invest- ments of manufacturing companies, including lands, buildings and equipment, reached $95,500,000.
On January 20th, the Oakland school board let an electrical con- tract for the Woodrow Wilson school. This was the last official act in the completion of the expenditures of money under the five million building program, inaugurated under the bond issue of 1919. At the same time the board cleared the way for an early start on the ten mil- lion building and improvement program authorized the preceding fall by the voters of the city. This initial act was the decision to purchase additional lands for an addition to the Cole school at Twelfth and Union. The old Cole school had burned in 1924.
The five Oakland high schools held commencement exercises be- tween January 21 and 23. The Oakland Technical High school gradu- ated 173 seniors; the Fremont 146; Oakland High 93; University High 57 and McClymonds High 18.
The first unit of the Hawthorne elementary school, at Twenty- Eighth Avenue and East Seventeenth Street, was opened for students on January 26. It was built across the creek from the old Hawthorne building, which was destroyed by fire. The old building stood at Fruit- vale Avenue and Tallant Street. The new structure was a part of the five million bond issue, and cost $115,000, with its equipment.
Another of Oakland's old estates went on the market during the latter part of January, when the Arbor Villa grounds of F. M. ("Bor- ax") Smith on Park Boulevard were advertised for sale. The trees on this famous tract had been cut down, grading had been carried out, and the tract subdivided into many smaller parcels. It had remained until this time as one of the largest of the old-time East Bay estates.
EVENTS OF FEBRUARY
An important event in the history of Alameda harbor development occurred on February 1, with the formal opening exercises of the first unit of the Encinal Terminals. This first unit and pier, 700 feet long and 200 wide, completed at a cost of $1,050,000, at the north end of Benton Street, was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies presided over by E. K. Taylor as chairman of the day. Two other units of this large plan were also under construction at that time. The first boat to visit
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the new terminals was the K. I. Luckenbach, which tied up to the pier the night preceding the dedicatory exercises.
The first annual Northern California horse show opened at the Municipal Auditorium in Oakland on February 6. This annual affair has been held each year since that time, and has grown to hold a fore- most place in the live stock shows of the nation.
The new Franklin Theatre, at Franklin and Fifteenth streets, late- ly remodeled and improved, opened to the public on the seventh of the month, under the management of Ackerman & Harris.
The stern-wheel river snagboat Yuba was launched at the A. W. de Young Shipyards in the Alameda estuary on February 7. Mrs. Katherine W. Dorst christened the new boat, which was to be put into commission on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers on April 1. Its cost was $200,000.
Another old land-mark of the county gave way to modern progress during the month, when the old Central Hotel in Hayward was de- molished. The old hostelry was famous when the county fair grounds were situated on the Meek acreage. It orginally stood on the corner of Castro Street and the road leading to the fair site, but when the Southern Pacific railway laid its tracks through the city it was shifted to the more desirable location at Castro and A streets.
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The new Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic school at the head of Lake Merritt, opposite the Embarcadero, was dedicated February 18. Arch- bishop Edward J. Hanna presided at the dedicatory ceremonies.
HARBOR ENGINEERS MAKE REPORT
The first formal report made of the survey of contemplated im- provements on the Oakland inner harbor and the western waterfront was made February 20 by the three nationally-known engineers re- tained by the city for that purpose-Professor Charles D. Marx of Stanford University, Charles T. Leeds of Los Angeles; and George B. Hegardt of Portland, Oregon. They filed their report with Albert E. Carter, commissioner of public works. The outstanding recommen- dations of these engineers can be summarized under five main divis- ions: First, the immediate completion of dredging operations being carried on in the estuary by the federal government. Second, the award-
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ing of a contract for the construction of the tube under the estuary connecting Oakland and Alameda, and thus eliminating the Webster Street bridge. Third, the construction of a dike from the foot of Den- nison Street on the Oakland shore line to the eastern end of Govern- ment Island. The commission found that the lack of such a dike was holding up government work and operations. Fourth, the immediate improvement of certain facilities on the inner and outer harbors to solve the railroad problems then facing the city in attempting to please three railroads relative to waterfront freight shipments. Fifth, the speedy ending of the dispute between Oakland and Alameda relative to the ownership of Government Island, then in litigation.
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Another relic of the old days, the last one of its kind in Berkeley, was torn down during February to make way for a factory site. This was the Raspiller's brewery located on San Pablo Avenue, between Del- aware and Francisco streets, and which had been a landmark for over thirty years. It covered the entire block, and had been erected in 1893 at a cost of $100,000. In 1911 the Raspiller Company consolidated with the Golden West Brewing Company, at Seventh and Kirkham streets, Oakland, and for a time the old brewery was used by the California Fibre Company.
The new parish house of the St. Paul's Episcopal Church was ded- icated with impressive ceremonies February 22. It was built in an "L" form around the north and east sides of the main church, with entrances on both Montecito Avenue and Bay Place. The new addition gave the church an improvement planned for years.
Leroy R. Goodrich was appointed as commissioner of Public Works on the Oakland city council February 23, taking the place of Hon. Albert E. Carter, who had resigned to take his place in Congress.
The bronze tablet and marker in Lakeside Park, commemorating the old San Antonio land grant of 1820, was dedicated by members of the Daughters of the American Revolution February 25. Early history of California and Alameda county was recalled by those participating in the ceremonies.
MORE PUBLIC BUILDINGS STARTED AND COMPLETED
The cornerstone of the new St. Leo's Catholic church, Ridgeway and Piedmont avenues, Oakland, was laid March 1. The ceremonies
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were directed by Archbishop Hanna of San Francisco. The new house of worship represented an investment of $100,000. Another note- worthy building operation of the week was the breaking of ground for the new $100,000 library building for the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. This new addition to the campus at Le Conte and Scenic avenues is the gift of Charles Holbrook of San Francisco, formerly of Berkeley. The Oakland school board accepted the proposed plans for the new Cole school at Tenth and Union streets on March 5, the plans calling for an expenditure of $200,000. Oakland's new fire station at Seventy-third Avenue and Trenor Street was officially opened on the second of the month. The Parker Street Improvement club had charge of the ceremonies. Engine No. 23, with Captain Herbert Waldron, was assigned to this latest addition to the city's fire department. Dur- ing the month the board of regents of the University of California let the first contracts for the construction of the new Hearst Hall. This million dollar structure took the place of the one burned two years previously, and was given by William Randolph Hearst as a memorial to his mother, the late Mrs. Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who gave the first Hearst Hall to the women of the university. The new structure was designed by the united efforts of Bernard Maybeck and Miss Julia Morgan. Berkeley also dedicated two new fire stations. One was on Arch Street, near Spruce; and the other on Virginia Street, near Le- roy Avenue. The latter replaced the station destroyed by the fire of September, 1923.
The new Veterans' Hospital near Livermore, was completed during the month. It is one of the finest institutions of its kind in America, specializing in the care and training of veterans. It is situated about four miles from Livermore, at an elevation of about seven hundred feet, and commands an excellent view of the Livermore Valley. The build- ings consist of a main infirmary, convalescent cottages, an administra- tion building, a central heating plant, a recreation center, a dormitory for women, bungalows for junior officers and the commandant and a series of manual training shops, all in uniform Spanish architecture. The infirmary building is four stories in height, and accommodates 190 beds. The hospital and various buildings represented an investment of $1,500,000.
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Extensive improvements were also made at the Neptune beach, Alameda, in preparation for the 1925 season. Twenty acres of land,
UNITED STATES VETERANS' HOSPITAL, LIVERMORE
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filled in by dredging operations, were added to the area of this famous playground, more than doubling the previous acreage. A new swim- ming pool 150 by 600 feet was also added and a village of vacation cottages built. These extensive operations involved an expenditure of $200,000, and were completed for the opening of the resort on April 5th. The new Alvarado school house, replacing the one which had served the community for over 40 years, was dedicated on March 23.
The validity of the recent $39,000,000 bond issue for the East Bay Municipal Utility District was upheld in a decision rendered by a visit- ing Superior Court judge, Judge J. J. Trabucco, on March 25. Their legality was questioned in a suit filed by four citizens of the district.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CELEBRATES 73RD ANNIVERSARY
The First Presbyterian Church of Oakland celebrated its 73rd an- niversary March 26, in their church at Twenty-sixth and Broadway. This event recalled to mind the early history of the organization, which was founded under an Oak tree by six people on March 26, 1853, by the renowned Rev. S. B. Bell, father of Harmon Bell, Oakland attor- ney. From this humble beginning, the church had grown to a member- ship of over 2,300 at this time, and had property holdings well over the $200,000 mark. The six original organizers were Rev. Bell, D. M. Van Dyke, William McNair, George C. Aldrich, John Kelsey, Mrs. Caroline Fogg and Miss Hannah J. Jayne, and the first church build- ing was at Sixth and Harrison streets. This soon blew down, and an- other was erected to replace the first flimsy structure. The next site of the church was on Broadway, between Twelfth and Thirteenth, and it so remained until 1876, when the site at Fourteenth and Franklin was secured-the present site of the Title Insurance building. This was abandoned in 1915 for the Gothic edifice at Twenty-sixth and Broad- way, representing an investment of $200,000. §
The Piedmont Center Community House, on Magnolia Avenue, located on property formerly owned by Frank C. Havens when he established the resort near the sulphur springs in 1900, was dedicated to the city's public uses April 3. Speeches were made by W. I. Bro- beck, Mayor Oliver Ellsworth and Charles H. Bradley. The basement
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was set aside for the use of Battery D, of the 143rd. Field Artillery, the Piedmont unit of the National Guard forces.
Officers for the Oakland Community Chest drive for 1925 were elected early in April. W. W. Garthwaite was again chosen president ; Joseph R. Knowland and R. M. Fitzgerald, vice presidents; H. W. Capwell, treasurer; and E. W. Williams, secretary. The quota for 1925 was set at $501,000, about $30,000 in excess of the 1924 figures.
A recall petition against City Commissioner William J. Baccus was filed with City Clerk Eugene K. Sturgis on April 2. It was circu- lated by the Thirteenth Avenue Improvement Club, and filed by L. B. Self, president of the Civic Organization of East Oakland. The charges grew out of the improvement operations on Thirteenth Avenue, the club members claiming that the paving had been improperly paved. It was claimed that 8,000 names appeared on the petitions, which re- quired 6,740 verified signers to make it legal. Many signatures were question and later thrown out; and the effort to recall the official did not come to a vote.
The new University Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church, South. at Durant Avenue and near Telegraph Avenue, in Berkeley, was dedic- ated April 5. It was built a half block from the site of the old church, and followed cathedral lines in architecture. Its cost was $225,000.
Ground was broken for the new Boy Scout amphitheatre in Di- mond Park, Oakland, April 6. This improvement for the benefit of the youth of the East Bay was financed by the Exchange Club of Oak- land, and a large portion of the materials necessary in its erection were generously donated by many local firms. The first shoveful of ground was turned by Dr. Sam Downing, as president of the club. On the same day plans were adopted by the city council of Oakland for the largest street paving project in its history to date-that of East Fourteenth Street from Fifteenth Avenue to the San Leandro boundary. The es- timated cost was $550,000, of which the county agreed to pay $200,000, Oakland $100,000 and property owners the balance. Plans included the laying of the Key System street car tracks in the middle of the thoroughfare, instead of at the south side, where they had been.
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ROCKRIDGE CLUBHOUSE DEDICATED
Hundreds of club women of the East Bay region attended the laying of the cornerstone of the Rockridge Women's Clubhouse at Keith and College avenues, Berkeley, April 7. Mrs. W. A. Divoll, president of the club, and Mrs. C. F. Craig, president of the building association, broke ground at the ceremonies, and laid the large block of white marble which came from Columbia, Tuolumne County. The new structure cost $25,000. Another dedication of the month was that of the Piedmont Masonic Temple, on Vista Avenue. This occurred on the 25th of the month. The building, purchased by the lodge the year previous, had been remodeled and redecorated. The Piedmont lodge was then enter- ing upon its fourth year, and had a membership of 180.
Permits were also issued during the latter part of the month for the erection of three of six newly planned units for the Highland Ala- meda County Hospital. These were for the pathological unit, a power station, and for a garage, and the estimated cost was $153,000. On the 27th of the month the contract for the building of the great tube be- tween Oakland and Alameda was signed by the county supervisors. The successful bid was in the amount of $3,882,000, submitted by A. J. Crocker & Co. Of the two bids opened, this one was $1,200,000 lower than the other. Formal ground-breaking ceremonies for the tube took place on May 19.
The large club house of the East Bay Country Club, built in old English style, in Crow Canyon, forty minutes ride from Oakland by automobile, was also completed during May. The club owns an estate of 720 acres, and then had a membership of approximately 1,000.
OAKLAND PIONEERS HAS MANY OLD RESIDENTS
Secretary René J. Cavasso of the Oakland Pioneers, which was organized five years previously, made a summary of the membership of the organization in May, showing that it had 275 members who had lived in the county for over 50 years. Eleven of its members had been born or settled in the county between 1850 and 1854; 29 between 1855 and 1859; 55 between 1860 and 1864; 95 between 1865 and 1869; and 85 who had claimed Alameda County as their homes between the years 1870 and 1875. Fred L. Button, the pioneer Oakland attorney, who died the latter part of 1927, was then its president, and had been since its organization.
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The Oakland Chamber of Commerce conducted a membership and financial campaign during May. It was the aim of the club to add 3,000 new members, and to secure an advertising and expense fund of $150,000. President E. C. Lyon was ably assisted in this campaign by five former presidents-Harmon Bell, H. C. Capwell, Joseph H. King, O. H. Fisher, and Harrison Robinson. The membership was greatly augmented by the drive, and all previous records for financial sup- port broken. It was pointed out that Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and even Long Beach and Stock- ton had been giving more financial support to their commercial clubs than Oakland citizens had in the past. It must be noted in this connec- tion that Alameda County, through the Oakland Chamber of Com- merce, had been getting more results per dollar than some of the other cities mentioned. The campaign was a success from both objects de- sired.
The dedication services for the new Service building at Del Valle Farm, Livermore, were held May 3. This was the second unit in the construction of the Preventorium for Alameda County's children pre- disposed to tuberculosis, and its cost of construction and equipment was realized from the generous contributions received through the sale of Christmas seals of 1924.
MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE ELECTS OFFICERS
The Merchants' Exchange of Oakland elected officers the first of the month for 1925. For the fifth consecutive time, I. H. Spiro was chosen president. All other officers were also reelected, including Charles A. Nesbitt, vice president; Wilber Walker, treasurer; and E. H. Hart, secretary. The board of directors as then constituted, consisted of Julius Young, W. W. Wise, Harry G. Williams, A. Walthew, W. E. Strei, George E. Shelden, W. J. Sears, J. P. Potter, Morris Schneider, Fred D. Parsons, E. F. Muller, V. D. Mulkey, Charles G. Munroe, Grant D. Miller, J. W. McCombs, W. A. Knowles, Ira L. Kelly, Jack Killam, Theo. Gier, O. A. Chilgren, Jack Block, George Bernhard, Lee Bertillion, Lew Blake and Abe Bekins.
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A new dormitory for the California School for Blind in Berkeley was dedicated May 15. It was christened the "Vista del Mar" by Miss
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Francis D'Arcy, one of the blind girl students of the school. State officials were among those who participated in the opening of this $65,000 addition to the institution. On May 24 the cornerstone of the new Masonic Temple at Hayward was laid for Eucalyptus Lodge No. 243.
The fourth annual convention of the Alameda County Federation of Women's Clubs opened on the 28th of the month in the auditorium of the Y. W. C. A. Building in Oakland. At the annual election of officers Mrs. Frederick G. Athearn, past president of the Twentieth Century Club of Berkeley, was elected president to succeed the president of the previous year, Mrs. L. G. Leonard. Mrs. John A. Merrill, presi- dent of the Adelphian Club of Alameda, was chosen first vice president. The choice for second vice president was Mrs. Howard Chadbourne of the Country Club of Washington township. Mrs. F. J. Lyman of the Northbrae Club secured the office of treasurer.
San Leandro's sixteenth annual Cherry Festival opened on June 1st. Mayor Edwin Duck declared a holiday for the opening day of the week's celebration. This annual festival has not only brought distinc- tion to the city but to the entire county, and has become one of the insti- tutions of the county that has helped to advertise the agricultural advantages of the East Bay region.
Another new church edifice for Oakland was dedicated during the summer. On June 7 the cornerstone of the new First Congregational Church at Twenty-fourth and Harrison was laid. This church dates its existence from December 9, 1860, when seventeen pioneer men and women met to organize. The first church was located on Twelfth and Clay streets.
PLANS ANNOUNCED FOR LATHAM SQUARE BUILDING
The first announcement of plans for the fourteen-story Latham Square Building at Sixteenth and Telegraph was made June 10. The Latham Square Corporation, composed of a group of Oakland and San Francisco capitalists, had recently acquired this valuable building site from the Owl Drug Company. Plans called for 377 office rooms and a building with a frontage of 105 feet on Telegraph Avenue and 100 feet on Sixteenth Street.
Word reached Oakland on the 11th of the month that the Federal Government had set aside $380,000 for harbor work. Included in the plans for the expenditure of this sum was a project for a thirty-foot
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channel from the Webster Street bridge to the Western Milling Com- pany at the foot of Boehmer Street. This dredging undertaking made a clean sweep of the estuary between the bridge and Government Island. On June 14 the cornerstone of the Ladies' Relief Society nursery for homeless infants-the latest work of the philanthropic activities of this worthy association-was laid. This structure at Forty-second Street, near Broadway, cost $61,000, and is one of the many things accom- plished and carried out by the association in its existence extending over a period of nearly fifty years. Pioneers recalled that one of its early undertakings was in assisting the foundation of the Home for Aged Women in July, 1882.
The four-story, $325,000 office and exchange building of the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company in Berkeley was opened to the public June 15. It replaced the old office at 2277 Shattuck Avenue, and is its third location since the first exchange was installed in Berkeley in 1882. The new structure is located at 2116 Bancroft Way. Another modern business building was announced for Berkeley at this time by the Berke- ley Central Building Company. This was for the twelve-story "Cham- ber of Commerce" Building, so named in honor of the progressive com- mercial organization of the city. This building has been completed and occupied since that date.
Damages totaling $143,473 for property used for the approach to the estuary tube on the Oakland side were assessed June 29 in the Superior Court, Judge E. N. Rector, of Merced County, presiding. Owners had asked $232,394.66. The property, on each side of Harrison Street, varied from 25 feet in width at Sixth Street to 43 feet at Fourth Street.
A report of Judge Robert Edgar of Berkeley and his court clerk, Oliver Youngs, Jr., for the fiscal year ending the last of June revealed a large increase in court business over the previous twelve-month period. The last report showed that 2,394 cases had been handled, an increase of 1,164. Fines collected aggregated $15,554.24.
Willard E. Givens, formerly superintendent of instruction in the Hawaiian Islands, assumed his new duties July 1 as assistant superin- tendent of the Oakland schools under Fred M. Hunter. He succeeded the late E. Morris Cox.
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