Oakland's Cemeteries - St. Mary's turns 150

You'd expect plot 1 in a cemetery as old as Mountain View Cemetery to have a lot of history, and in that regard, it doesn't disappoint. It's the resting place of a number of people who were instrumental in the shaping of the early town of Oakland, like Solomon Alden, John McElrath, Moses Chase (the first American citizen to settle in Oakland), Enoch Pardee and George Pardee, Jane Waer (the first burial in Mountain View) and many others.

While Mountain View is the biggest cemetery in Oakland, it wasn't the first. It's not even in the top 3. The first cemetery was the Oakland Cemetery, near where Laney College is now. When it was started in 1852, Oakland was a brand new town, and the location was out of the way. But Oakland was growing rapidly, and within 5 years the cemetery was in the way of expansion.

The larger Webster Street Cemetery was started in 1857, but it barely lasted 10 years. Mountain View Cemetery was founded in 1863, but the first burial didn't take place until 1865. Burials stopped at Webster Street in 1867. In preparation for development, most of the remains were moved from Webster Street to other cemeteries. The 'most' part makes it unsurprising that in 1877, an excavator accidentally hit one of the remaining coffins and spilled the contents: "the left hand and arm nearly to the elbow protruded from the ground, the hand drooped over gracefully from the wrist. Portions of the coat and vest were visible, as were the outlines of the face, but over these still rested a coating of fine earth."

The third cemetery to open in Oakland was Saint Mary's Cemetery in 1863. This Saturday, Saint Mary's will be celebrating its 150th birthday with a ceremony and tour. It's a great chance to learn more about this smaller neighbor of Mountain View Cemetery, and learn some Oakland and California history in the process.

Lots more pictures from Plot 1 in Mountain View Cemetery:

how to find out what to do in Oakland (and beyond)

On the most recent Oakland Urban Paths walk in Old Oakland and West Oakland, the subject of "how do you find out what's going on in Oakland?" came up while we were walking.

The group had a bunch of responses, because there are a lot of different ways to find out about stuff. Some sources try to list everything going on in Oakland or the East Bay, while others are shorter lists that try to capture an interesting selection. The upcoming Oakland events (which you can get to easily at any time by clicking on the the "events" button at the top of each page) is a list of things that's interesting to me or I've been told about, so it's somewhere in the middle.

Here are the sources I know about, sorted roughly from "all inclusive" to "most selective".

Visit Oakland - The Oakland Visitor's Bureau maintains the most comprehensive list of things to do in Oakland, both ongoing activities and specially schedule ones. It's such a huge list that it can be a little daunting, but fortunately you can narrow your list by date or category.

East Bay Express - The East Bay Express maintains a long list of events all over the East Bay. You can narrow your search by date, category or neighborhood.

Fun¢heapSF - Johnny's Guide to San Francisco for Cheapskates maintains a large list for the whole Bay Area, but it's restricted by one important criteria: cost; the event has to be either free or cheap. And while there's not a category just for Oakland, there is one for East Bay events.

Oakland North - Oakland North is a project of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Their This Weekend in Oakland posts list a variety of upcoming events in Oakland. The 'staff' of the paper changes as students move through the journalism program, so the list has a slightly different feel depending on who compiled it. Unfortunately there's no single link (that I can find) to get the most recent events post.

Oakland Local - Hyper-local news source Oakland Local has a list similar to Oakland North's. I previously cross-posted my upcoming Oakland events to Oakland Local, and now it seems that different people compile the list, so it also has a different feel depending on who compiled it.

Our Oakland - my list of upcoming Oakland events. It's a combination of things that interest me plus events other people let me know about. So it tends to be slanted towards my interests: history, food, beer, bicycling, etc.

Jean Quan's Newsletter - Regardless of how you feel about her politics, someone in the mayor's office puts together a great newsletter of things to do in Oakland. The only downside is that sometimes it comes out too late—some of the events may have already happened or be happening later that day, too late to plan for.

Oakland's Own: Don't Miss of the Week - An Oakland blog with a selection of things to do in Oakland.

EBX Culture Spy Blog - In addition to the lengthy list noted above, the East bay Express also has the Culture Spy Blog with the shortest list around: Weekender: This Weekend's Top Five Events.

upcoming Oakland events

This week's big event is the 5th Annual Eat Real Festival, but there's lots of other interesting stuff going on, too.

Friday

Eat Real Festival - September 27-29. The annual food festival is back, with tasty eats, beer, music, and how-to sessions. (free)

Bites off Broadway - Fridays, 5:30-8:30pm. My favorite food truck event, held Fridays outside Studio One Art Center just off Broadway. Read more about Bites off Broadway. (free)

Dancing Under the Stars - Fridays, 8:30-10pm. The popular free dance classes at Jack London Square are back for another season. (free)

Saturday

Anza Trail caravan - Saturday, September 28. Join the National Park Service to explore part of the Anza Trail, starting in Fremont and finishing up at Peralta Hacienda in Oakland. (free)

Oakland Walking Tours - Saturdays, 10am. Free downtown walking tours highlighting Oakland's history, architecture and people. Read about past Oakland Walking Tours. (free)

Eat Real Festival - September 27-29. The annual food festival is back, with tasty eats, beer, music, and how-to sessions. (free)

Sunday

WasteNot: e-waste drop-off - Sunday, September 29. Support the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and get rid of your e-waste at the same time. At St. Theresa church, 30 Mandalay Road. (free)

Sundays in the Redwoods - Sundays, starting September 22. Hang out in beautiful Joaquin Miller Park and listen to live music amongst the redwoods. ($14+$2)

Eat Real Festival - September 27-29. The annual food festival is back, with tasty eats, beer, music, and how-to sessions. (free)

Wednesday

Oakland Walking Tours - Wednesday, 10am. Free downtown walking tours highlighting Oakland's history, architecture and people. Read about past Oakland Walking Tours. (free)

ongoing events:

• Oakland Walking Tours (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
• Bites off Broadway (Fridays)
• Off the Grid at OMCA (Fridays)
• Dancing Under the Stars at JLS (Fridays)
• Art Murmur (1st Fridays)
• Jack's Night Market (1st Fridays)
• Saturday Art Stroll (Saturdays)
• Oakland Urban Paths walk (2nd Saturdays)
  
• Mt. View Cemetery Tours (2nd and 4th Saturdays)
• Piedmont Avenue Stroll (3rd Thursdays)

looking further ahead:

Fences - from the Lower Bottom Playaz - opening in October. The Lower Bottom Playaz continue working their way through August Wilson's remarkable Century Cycle.

Opening Reception for Indisputable Still Life - Friday, October 4, 6-9pm. Opening reception for the new exhibit at the Transmission Gallery. (free)

Black Cowboy Parade - Saturday, October 5, 10am-5pm. The long-running Black Cowboy Parade, a staple of West Oakland for almost 40 years. Read about the 2011 parade. At Defremery Park, though the parade goes for a number of blocks. (free)

Oaktoberfest - Saturday, October 5, 11am-6pm. Oakland's annual, family-friendly craft beer festival. Food, beer, music, activities for kids, and more. See pictures from the 2011 Oaktoberfest. (free)

Rockridge Out and About - Sunday, October 6, 12-6pm. Food, music, activities for kids, crafts, and more at the annual Rockridge street festival. Check out coverage of Rockridge Out and About 2011. (free)

Tall Ships visit Oakland - October 8-14. The tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain will be back in Oakland at JLS. Tours ($3) and battle sails ($40-$60) available. Read about a visit last year.

Life is Living Festival - Saturday, October 12 at 10:00am. The annual West Oakland festival celebrating urban life through hip hop, inter-generational health and environmental action. Music, vendors, food, health screenings, skate demos and more. (free)

CityCamp Oakland - Saturday, November 9. The 2nd annual "unconference" brings together citizens, city government, and businesses to innovate, enhance transparency and increase civic engagement. (free)

photo of the week: arachnophobes beware!

Spotted outside K's office door this morning.

food: Aria

It's taken me almost a year, but I finally got around to trying Aria Mediterranean Grill and Afghan Cuisine. I first spotted it right at its opening, but hadn't gotten around to trying it until I was downtown during the lunch hour a couple weeks ago.

I had the sabzi challow, but vegetarian instead of with the traditional lamb, and it was amazingly delicious. I ate it embarrassingly fast, but if any of the other diners or take-out customers noticed, they were too polite to say. There are only a few vegetarian entrees, but if the others are as good as the sabzi, I'm sold. There are also some vegi appetizers like falafel. Check it out next time you're downtown.