Oakland Urban Paths: Old Oakland and West Oakland

A special thank-you to Robert Perricone and Fran Estrada for the use of their photos. For a variety of reasons, OUP was short-handed for Saturday's walk, and I've found it difficult to lead a walk and take pictures of it at the same time, so I'm very grateful to them for the use of some of their photos.

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These days it's easy to think of Old Oakland and West Oakland as separate areas of Oakland because of the freeways, but in the past they were connected into one continuous neighborhood. Saturday about 35 people and two dogs joined Oakland Urban Paths for a walk exploring these areas.

Tina Tamale
photo by Robert Perricone

We started the walk in front of La Borinqueña Mex-icatessen, where Tina "Tamale" Ramos told us about some of the changes in the area. Tina is a 3rd generation Oaklander and 3rd generation running a business in Oakland, so she and her family have seen a lot of the changes over the years. Her mom, "Mama Tamale", is retired from running the business, but still comes in on Saturdays and for special events, to give tamale advice and talk about the old days.

In front of Tina's tamale shop is a marker for the 10,000 Steps Project. It's an art project highlighting the historic parks of downtown Oakland. We passed by a number of other markers on the walk, including ones at Lafayette Square Park, the Pardee Home, and Jefferson Square Park. There are 37 markers total, and more than half of them have an associated audio segment, including interview clips with Tina and her mother.

We headed up to Lafayette Square Park, which was the original location of the Chabot Observatory. It was a gift of Anthony Chabot, who is probably best known as the founder of the water company that eventually became EBMUD. The observatory was in downtown Oakland from 1883 until 1915, when increasing light pollution from the growing city required a move to the hills.

A short walk from the park took us to the Pardee Home Museum. It was the home of Enoch Pardee, who was mayor of Oakland from 1876–1878, and later the home of his son, George Pardee, who was mayor of Oakland and later governor of California. Besides preserving the historic house, it also serves as a museum. George and Helen Pardee's daughters, Madeline and Helen, lived in the house their entire lives, changing very little over the years, so it is well-preserved. George Pardee was also involved in the creation of EBMUD and somewhat indirectly the creation of the East Bay Regional Park District.

Across the street is Preservation Park. There are 16 historic buildings there, but 11 were moved from elsewhere to save them from the wrecking ball when the freeways were built. The park is now run by a private company and houses offices for different non-profits as well as a small restaurant. Unfortunately there was an event so the park was closed, preventing us from getting a closer look at the homes and at the Latham-Ducel fountain in the middle of the park.

First Unitarian Church
photo by Fran Estrada

Around the corner from Preservation Park is the First Unitarian Church. The lovely brick structure was damaged in the 1906 earthquake and again in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The church was started when Presbyterian pastor Laurentine Hamilton was charged with heresy for his teachings. He left the Presbyterian church, and much of the congregation went with him.

Our next stop was further away, on the other side of I-980. Blocks and blocks of homes and businesses were destroyed for the construction of the freeway, but some of the homes were saved and moved to Preservation Park. A block or so south of our route was the original location of Oakland High School, but it was gone long before the freeways came through.

We eventually came to de Fremery Park. The park is a hub of West Oakland, with a recreation center, picnic tables, tennis courts, and a skateboard park. It hosts a variety of events, including the annual Black Cowboy Parade, which has been around almost 40 years. Even more years ago than that, the Black Panther Party held rallies and food giveaways at the park. But originally it was the grounds of the de Fremery family house known as "The Grove". James and Virginie de Fremery were a wealthy couple and had numerous descendants in Oakland. But what is less well-known is that Viginie was the child of a Dutch merchant and a former slave he purchased then later married.

We discussed gentrification and the broader sweep of West Oakland's history. Although there were exceptions like William Shorey, the largest number of African Americans came to Oakland during WWI and WWII. Some had found work as Pullman Porters, and Oakland was the end of the line for the transcontinental railroad. Many settled in West Oakland, not necessarily because they wanted to, but housing covenants as well as unspoken rules made it so West Oakland was the only place they could live.

From there, we walked past the former site of the Miller home. Keeping with our earlier utilities theme, Albert Miller and his son C.O.G. Miller were involved in the creation of Pacific Gas & Electric. There were questions about the food mill across the street. Although there are no signs, it's still an active business. It began back in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Shredded Wheat Company; now it produces organic rice flour, crisp rice, and corn flakes, most of which goes to Japan.

Cypress Freeway Memorial Park

To the west we came to the Cypress Freeway Memorial Park. More recent arrivals to Oakland may not know that where Mandela Parkway is now was originally the location of the Cypress Structure which collapsed in the 1989 earthquake. The park is a memorial to those who died, and features a sculpture recalling the twisted wreckage of the freeway, the dust rising from the debris, and the ladders that people in the neighborhood brought to help reach the victims. There is also a mural called "15 seconds" which is a trace of the seismograph of the main temblor of the earthquake. Unfortunately part of it has been damaged and painted over.

We headed down Mandela to 7th Street. We didn't have time to walk there, but I pointed out where Esther's Orbit Room and other music clubs in West Oakland made up what was once known as the "Harlem of the West". Noted jazz and blues musicians from all the U.S. came to Oakland to perform, and some even got their start here.

We walked past The Crucible and talked about its art programs, as well as the Oakland Running Festival that passes through the area. Then it was down to Linden Street Brewery. The brewery itself is in a building that was originally cable manufacturing plant. But we were there to see the former location of the nearby Moore Dry Dock Company, which built ships including ferryboats for the Key System, as well as structural steel for projects like The Paramount Theatre, the High Street Bridge, and caissons for the Bay Bridge.

Our return journey took us past Urban Legend Cellars, one of Oakland's wineries. Turns out one of the people on the walk works for a winery in Alameda [ sorry, don't remember name ]. Both of them are members of the East Bay Vinter's Alliance, which holds a number of fun wine events in Oakland and Alameda. Then it was through Jefferson Square Park and back to La Borinqueña. A number of us stayed for lunch and for a sneak peek of the new garden space behind the restaurant. It was featured the next day at the Viva Tamales! fundraising event.

Thanks to Tina for her hospitality, special thanks to Robert Perricone and Fran Estrada for the photos, and thanks to everyone and everywoof that came out for the walk.

October's walk will be on the second Saturday, October 12th, and will feature the new Bay Bridge Trail and pathway.

Lots more photos from the walk:

A Brief History of Beer

In honor of Oakland's 160th Birthday, all this week I'll be running articles about Oakland history. For more about some of the events going on, check out my article on Oakland Local. See past posts about Oakland history here.

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Linden Street Brewery

Earlier this month, members of the Oakland Heritage Alliance learned about beer at an event called On Tap: Oakland's Beer Brewing History. Adam Lamoreaux, founder of Linden Street Brewery, showed us around the brew house and gave us a brief history of beer in the Bay Area.

Beer itself is fairly simple, with water, barley, hops and yeast combined in different ways to make a wide range of styles and flavors. Yeast is what makes the magic happen, converting grain sugars into alcohol and CO2. The type of yeast dictates the type of beer; lager yeast ferments at cooler temperatures near the bottom of the fermenter, while ale yeast ferments at a higher temperature at the top. The cooler temperatures for lager yeast could easily be found in caves and cellars in Europe much of the year, but in the mid-1800s, immigrants to the Bay Area found things a bit too warm. So they adapted by creating steam beer. Steam beer uses a lager yeast, but at the warmer ambient temperatures of the Bay Area. That plus the choice of available barley and hops makes for a uniquely flavored beer style, probably best known today because of Anchor Steam.

The yeast was influenced by the wild yeasts in the Bay Area, which are part of what makes sourdough bread around here unique. A small amount of active yeast was added for the beer to finish in the cask, which gave it a higher level of carbonation. That is likely the source of the name, as tapping the high-pressured kegs would sometimes blow off "steam" (CO2). Apparently sloppy stocking practices by some publicans and variations in production even lead to the occasional burst keg. In any event, the term "steam beer" is now a registered trademark of Anchor Brewing. That might rankle some people if were any other company; Fritz Maytag who bought and saved Anchor in 1965 is considered the father of the modern craft beer movement.

Adam Lamoreaux

The history of beer in Oakland is similar to the history of Anchor: started in the 1880s; growing at a healthy pace up to Prohibition in 1919; a resurgence in 1933 after Prohibition ended; a decline towards 1960 as lighter, mass-marketed beers took over. At its peak, beer production in Oakland was massive. According to Oakland: The Story of a City:

By 1890, there were four breweries flourishing in the city of Oakland. At a time when Oakland's population was 48,682, breweries in Oakland alone turned out 35,000 barrels of beer annually.

Several of those breweries produced steam beer, including The Brooklyn Brewery:

[It] was a local product. Even after Brooklyn became part of Oakland, people liked to use the name to distinguish their neighborhood. The Brooklyn Brewery began 1872 under A. Miller at Eighteenth Avenue and East Fourteenth Street.

At its peak during summer months, Brooklyn produced 35 barrels of Brooklyn Steam Beer a day. That's over a 1,000 gallons a day. One of the longest lasting breweries was the Golden West Brewery (ever noticed the sign at Heinhold's?), later Goebel Brewing Company, which sponsored radio broadcasts of the Oakland Oaks baseball team.

Steam beer was considered a blue-collar beer and that was reflected in the literature of the time. Beer in general was cheaper than other drinks, and safer to drink than water because the brewing process killed most germs. Oakland history and Mountain View Cemetery fans may be familiar with the name Henry Cogswell, who constructed water fountains to try to reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Jack London writes about how he started drinking in John Barleycorn:

The first day I worked in the bowling alley, the barkeeper, according to custom, called us boys up to have a drink after we had been setting up pins for several hours. The others asked for beer. I said I'd take ginger ale. The boys snickered, and I noticed the barkeeper favoured me with a strange, searching scrutiny. Nevertheless, he opened a bottle of ginger ale. Afterward, back in the alleys, in the pauses between games, the boys enlightened me. I had offended the barkeeper. A bottle of ginger ale cost the saloon ever so much more than a glass of steam beer; and it was up to me, if I wanted to hold my job, to drink beer

This history of beer in Oakland is part of what inspired Adam when he started Linden Street Brewery a few years ago. While brew pubs (like Pacific Coast Brewing) have been part of Oakland for a while, Linden Street Brewery was the first production brewery* in Oakland since 1959 (*production brewery = makes beer for consumption at restaurants and bars, not on the premises, though Linden Street now has a tap room.) Linden Street has been growing at a healthy pace, and now is an incubator for other beer entrepreneurs like Dying Vines Brewing. Future plans include using a unique strain of hops grown in by farmers in Hopland, California, which bottomed out at the same time smaller brewers around the U.S. did in 1959. Linden Street already makes a beer in partnership with Tartine Bakery using the yeast from one of their breads, and recently released "Supafly" rice lager, a custom brew for Hawker Fare. Hopefully there will be more such custom brews featuring local ingredients in the future.

on the waterfront

Over the last couple of weeks I've had more opportunities than usual to spend along Oakland's waterfront, from Jack London Square down to Hegenberger. People know about the pathway along the water in Jack London Square, but you can (with some detours) take that all the way down to the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline around San Leandro Bay. It's particularly lovely in the early morning with the tide out, watching the shorebirds feeding in the mudflats. It's hard to believe it's not far from I-880.

more pictures:

a Random party

One of the fun things in Oakland yesterday was a Random Party. It was partly to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the Linden Street Brewery (congrats, Adam!), and partly a fundraiser for Random Acts of Kindness, a non-profit run by Oakland firefighters to help the people of Oakland and make positive experiences for the firefighters.

Random Acts brought the parade rig fire engine and fire hats for kids, plus there was a bounce house and various toys, and one of the food vendors featured chocolate, so it was a very kid-friendly event.

For drinking there was Linden Street Beer, naturally, but also Drake's Beer (San Leandro), Numi Tea, and Periscope Cellars wine.

For eating, El Taco Bike was on hand, sporting some of its new paint job. Adesso had a grill going, and for those with a sweet tooth, the Oakland Chocolate Company had a booth as did PieTisserie.

No agenda, just people hanging out and having a good time. I saw a bunch of people I know from Random Acts, but other familiar Oakland faces, too, including Fraggle from Beer Revolution, Nancy Nadel from both the Oakland city council and Oakland Chocolate Co., and others. And as you can see, we even had great weather for it.

more photos:

Random Party

Further reading about Random Acts of Kindness:
- OF Random Acts website
- 2011 awards
- Cora "Mom" Green

Oakland wineries

tasting at Cerutti Cellars

Believe it or not, Oakland is home to a number of wineries. Obviously they don't grow their grapes in Oakland (though we have spotted one small vineyard in the hills near us), but instead mostly source them from the well known wine growing regions in other parts of California. On Saturday, K and I took part in the Passport to the East Bay Wine Trail 2011. Twenty one wineries from all over the East Bay participated, but to keep it manageable, they were giving tastings at 6 locations in Oakland and Alameda. Several of the locations were close enough to each other to walk, but there was also a shuttle bus to get between locations, particularly those in Alameda.

shuttle bus

We started at Cerutti Cellars, which was also hosting Andrew Lane Wines (Saint Helena) and Irish Monkey Cellars. That ended up being a great place to start, as it wasn't too crowded, and we got a chance to talk with various people including winemaker Bob Lynch of Irish Monkey. I especially liked the Irish Monkey wines, as they tend to be pure grape, e.g., their Merlot is made from 100% Merlot grapes, not blended with others. Despite the powerful flavor, I thought the Irish Monkey Merlot and Petite Sirah had some of the nicest finishes.

Then we shuttled over to Dashe Cellars and JC Cellars, which were hosting Aubin Cellars, Eno Wines (Berkeley), Stage Left Cellars and Tayerle Wines. Things were getting more crowded by then, so it was harder to talk with the wine makers. But there were also great snacks to take a break from wine tasting and ultimately substitute for lunch.

barrels at Dashe Cellars

To continue our break, we took the longer walk over to Urban Legend Cellars, which was hosting Adams Point Winery, Stomping Girl Wines (Berkeley) and Urbano Cellars (Emeryville). This location also featured live music and more yummy snacks. Adams Point Winery specializes in fruit wines and dessert wines, which was an interesting break from the plethora of reds, whites and occasional rosé. Unfortunately the space wasn't as well utilized here, so the stations for all 4 wineries were in one corner, making it difficult to move around and sample everything.

Finally, we walked over to Linden Street Brewery, which was hosting Periscope Cellars (Emeryville, but opening a tasting room at Linden Street soon). It was a nice change of pace, as with only one winery giving tastes there, the crowd was much smaller. We were able to sit and relax and taste things slowly. I also got a chance to chat with Tina Tamale, blogger, proprietress of La Borinqueña Mexicatessen, and general Oakland fan. La Borinqueña was providing yummy snacks to people at Linden Street -- not quite your usual wine tasting accompaniments, but a bit heartier fare and a great change of pace.

At this point, it was late in the day, we were tired, and the next shuttle bus to the Alameda stops wasn't due for a while. Add in that we wanted to watch the NCAA men's final four games that evening, and we decided to call it a day for wine-tasting. We were hoping to sneak in a dessert at Plum, but they didn't have space available, so we headed to Pacific Coast Brewing to have some dinner and watch the games.

For even more wine, beer and food businesses in Oakland, check out the Oakland Waterfront Food Trail Map. They've marked the ones which offer purchases on-site, but check first before planning a visit.

If you're coming from outside the area, another option is to take an East Bay Winery Bike Tour. For $89 (-$15 if you bring your own bike), you get bike and helmet rental and a guided bike tour to various Oakland and Alameda wineries.

Update:
Stage Left Cellars was voted best San Francisco (?) winery by the SF Bay List, and Dashe Cellars was #2.

Celebrate Fall in Oakland!

There may not be as many fall festivals as summer festivals in Oakland, but there are few coming up. Given how we didn't have much of a summer, and now we're getting even warming than normal for September (which frequently has the warmest weather at the start of the month), it's a happy coincidence that several of them feature beer.

First up is Life is Living on Sunday, October 3rd. It's an arts and eco-justice festival. Although it's held in Defremery Park in West Oakland, it starts with a Red, Bike and Green bike ride from Coliseum BART. Oakland Local has a full write-up on it.

Then on Saturday, October 9th is Oaktoberfest in the Dimond. Last year's was a lot of fun, and hopefully they'll do a better job balancing tickets vs. available beer.

Finally, on Saturday, October 23rd is Brats and Beer at Linden Street Brewery, and is a fundraiser for Oakland: "All proceeds benefit BACS' Thanksgiving holiday food basket distribution, and the Oakland Rotary Community Endowment." Despite the name, they will have vegetarian options for food, too.