photo of the week: The Living and the The Dead

Lots of dead people, and thanks to the rain last week and sun this week, lots of living flowers and grass in St. Mary's Cemetery.

signs: Farmer Joe's

No, not that Farmer Joe's. About 1973, Farmer Joe's opened on Lakeshore. It's not related to the two Farmer Joe's on MacArthur and on Fruitvale. Apparently it was run by Joe Sasso, who also had a stand at College and Claremont. Sometime in the 1980s it changed to Lakeshore Produce. The sign was revealed recently when Peet's decided to expand, and Lakeshore Produce had to move up the street, where they are now at 3312 Lakeshore.

Oakland Urban Paths walk: Cleveland Heights and Borax Smith

On Saturday we had an overwhelming turnout for the Oakland Urban Paths walk focused on the Cleveland Heights neighborhood and the nearby former home of "Borax" Smith. A record 132 people enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather to learn about this part of Oakland.

We started at the Cleveland Cascade, a water feature on the shores of Lake Merritt, built in 1923. It fell into disrepair, but a group of neighbors has cleaned it up and is raising money to restore it. Keeping our eyes out for gnomes, we wound our way around to the middle of the Haddon Hill neighborhood. It started as an exclusive development in 1912 by Wickham Havens, son of Frank C. Havens.

We had a longer stop at 552 Montclair Avenue. This c.1897 Victorian was built for Judge Edward C. Robinson and his family, including son Bestor Robinson who was law partners with Earl Warren and led the Sierra Club for many years. The house has lots its "witches hat" and been divided into apartments, and the tankhouse has lost its tank and windmill, but it's still a spectacular property.

Our path took us past the Park Community Garden (the artwork I mentioned, "Her Resilience", has been moved indoors for the rainy season) and a couple of murals, including one by Peter Lee. After walking past several beautiful apartment buildings that date back to the 1920s and 1930s, we stopped to talk about "Borax" Smith.

Francis Marion Smith, known as Frank to his friends, and to his consternation, "Borax" Smith to the rest of the world, was a legendary local of Oakland. After making a fortune in borax (used as a cleanser), he invested in Oakland. He was the force behind the creation of the Key System street cars; the Realty Syndicate (where he partnered with Frank C. Havens) developed areas of Oakland and built the Claremont Hotel. His estate was called Arbor Villa; the row of tall palm trees on 9th Avenue marked one edge of the estate. While the grounds and the magnificent Oak Hall were being constructed, Frank and his wife Mary moved into the "old red house" (currently painted green) nearby. The Smiths entertained and hosted fundraising events in a grand style: "The most brilliant affair of the week of course was the reception which Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Smith gave on Wednesday evening at their charming home, Arbor Villa, in East Oakland, to which over 1300 guests from both sides of the bay were bidden." (April 23, 1899 San Francisco Call).

Mary R. Smith was inspired by reading Benjamin Farjeon's Blade O' Grass about orphans in London, and the Smiths took in a number of young girls. Frank gave her some land nearby, and they set up a trust. The Mary Smith Home for Friendless Girls became home to numerous orphaned girls. The girls lived in cottages, each run by a house mother; the older girls helped take of the younger girls. Many of the cottages, including one designed by Julia Morgan, still stand.

Our final big stop was across from the Haddon Hill home of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. We also looked at some former steps that used to go from the end of Haddon Rd. down to MacArthur Blvd. Those are closed off, and the statue that graced the plinth is long gone.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the walk! The regular second Saturday walk for March 12th hasn't been set yet, but there will be a special walk on Saturday, March 19th, focused on women's history. Check the website calendar for more info, and hope to see you on the paths!


More photos from the walk here.

photo of the week: colors

Yesterday, K and I toured some of the galleries taking part in the Saturday Art Stroll, the quieter alternative to First Fridays. We talked with artist John W. Wood for a while (we've seen his artwork before, at Gray Loft Gallery in Jingletown), and he showed us a few of the tools he uses to create his art.

Jack London History Walk

Last Saturday, Oakland Urban Paths and Annalee Allen of the Oakland Walking Tours program collaborated on a special walking tour exploring the Oakland of author Jack London. While Oakland has changed a lot since Jack London's time, there are still a lot of connections to the Oakland he would have known. 71 people (and 2 dogs) braved the chance of rain to join us.

The logical place to start on a Jack London tour is Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon in Jack London Square. Jack studied there as a child, and based some of the characters in his writing on the sailors and others he saw there. And later, Johnny Heinold loaned Jack the money to attend the University of California (though Jack decided after a year that university wasn't for him.) On the back of Heinold's is a large mural called "Hello Jack" that features things from Jack's life: Jennie Prentiss, the woman born into slavery who did much of the raising of Jack; his cabin in the Yukon; the Snark, his boat that he sailed the South Seas on; Wolf House, the mansion he and Charmian had built in Glen Ellen; and more. The cabin from the Yukon is just beyond the deck of Heinold's. Well, part of it, anyway. Part is in Dawson, part is in Oakland, and pieces have been replaced as needed.

From Jack London Square, we went up to the Oakland Grill, where Jack is featured in another mural, along with other figures from Oakland's history. Then it was up to Lincoln Square in Chinatown, where we talked about Jack and Charmian's South Seas voyages, Jack's photography, his time as a war correspondent, and his portrayal of other races in his writing. Jack was raised by a black woman, but wrote about a "great white hope" to defeat black boxer Jack Johnson; he wrote about the "yellow peril" of Asian immigrants, but also wrote full, rich characterizations of non-whites in some of his novels; etc.

We walked past the Hotel Oakland. When it was completed in 1912, Jack and Charmian had moved to Beauty Ranch in Glen Ellen, but it would have been a notable new presence during his return visits to Oakland. A short distance away is the original site of the University of California. By the time Jack attended in 1897, the university had moved to its newly-built campus in Berkeley. But one of the buildings of the original campus became the Dietz Opera House, the first theater in Oakland. Jack later spoke to audiences there, and the local Socialist party had their headquarters in the building.

On the way to the Jack London Oak in Frank Ogawa Plaza, we passed by the Athenian-Nile Club building. Built in 1901, Jack would have known it, because it was home to the "power elite" of Oakland and was just down from city hall and the Oakland Free Library. The oak tree wasn't planted until one year after Jack's death. Further down 14th Street, we stopped between the African American Museum and Library of Oakland (AAMLO) and the First Unitarian Church of Oakland. We talked more about Jenny Prentiss, who took Jack to church at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (First AME), and about Jack's first wife, Elizabeth "Bessie" Maddern, who attended the Unitarian church.

Around the corner in Preservation Park, we looked at the Remillard House, where a young Jack London may have been tutored by Lillian Remillard (Dandini) in French. We talked about Preservation Park (one of the Oakland Walking Tours focuses on it), the Latham-Ducel Fountain, and the nearby Pardee Home Museum. These homes and ones like them would have been familiar to Jack. A quick walk took us through Old Oakland, where we looked at other buildings Jack would have known and talked briefly about Mayor John Davie (whose autobiography was titled His Honor, The Buckaroo.)

Heading back towards Jack London Square, we stopped to talk about the Hickmott Canning Company and Cole Grammar School in West Oakland. The Hickmott cannery was at 1st and Filbert, and was where Jack had one of his first jobs—stuffing pickles into jars, for 10¢ an hour, working 12-18 hour days. The noisy, dangerous conditions doubtless helped shaped some his views on workers' rights. Jack attended school at Cole, where J.P. Garlick was principal, and Jack's love of books was apparent: according to classmate Frank Atherton, Jack was "occupied with books. Not only did he apply himself diligently to his studies during class, but also during recess and the noon hour, he would sit on one of the benches in the school yard, reading some strange tale of romance and adventure, while other boys and girls were at play. ...he read many books some seeming far beyond the comprehension of a ten year old boy. And it was remarkable how well he remembered the details of so many stories." And Jack was no stranger in principal Garlick's office. Author James L. Haley in The Lives of Jack London wrote: The leader of the Cole School toughs was a budding young thug named Mike Pinella, who called Johnny a sissy, threw a book he was reading across the schoolyard, and was surprised to learn the "sissy" could hold his own. Both boys ended up in Mr. Garlick's office, who ruled that they would not be punished if they would embrace and make up. Mike Pinella was willing, but Johnny, his keen and growing sense of injustice offended, refused. "I'll take the licking, Mr. Garlick," he said. "I know I was in the right, and I'll do it again if I have to."

A brief rain shower sent a lot of people to their cars or other destinations, but others stuck with us to the end of the walk at the statue of Jack London at the base of Broadway. Thanks to everyone who came out for the walk. We hope to do the walk again later this year, though no date has been set.


Pictures from the walk: