“Oaktown” (among its other distinctions) is my birthplace (Kaiser Hospital) – it’s an illustrious born-in-Oakland group which also includes Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) and Beast Mode himself, Marshawn Lynch.
Bruce Lee lived in Oakland; so did Gertrude Stein (the Stein quote “there is no there there” is said to be referring to Oakland). Clint Eastwood graduated from Oakland Tech High School. Tom Hanks went to Skyline High. The Warriors play there (at least for now). The Raiders, too (also at least for now). The Oakland Athletics have won four World Series championships since the move to Oakland in 1968. That’s just scratching the surface.
Here are just a few images of Oakland along or close to the Lincoln Highway route starting out at the water and then through the historic downtown – more of Oakland to come when I finally do some galleries on this new site. These were taken on various dates going back several years.
The woman in the picture is a dancer – super friendly, and we had a nice conversation when I was photographing the wall murals in a parking lot at 14th and Alice. She walked up to me and pointed out that she was the model for the dancer featured in the mural below. She says the murals are endangered – the lot is slated for development. Across the street on Alice is the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts (not pictured) where she dances; read about it here. This is the sort of thing happening in Oakland now as it reinvents itself. The other person – a very dapper dresser – had no objection when I asked to take his picture. He runs dancing classes.
The former Hotel Oakland – once Oakland’s grand hotel – is now a seniors’ residence, and the Lincoln passes right by it. They have a history of this storied hotel on their site. Four presidents stayed there (Wilson, Coolidge, Hoover and Roosevelt); so do did Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and many others. The US Post Office (1932) on 13th is also right on the Lincoln.
It is a very historic downtown, and there is much to photograph. These are just some of the images in my backlog – there is lot there: much surviving deco, other grand architecture, two historic (and restored) theaters in the downtown (the Fox and the Paramount), lots of other street art, the produce market, the comeback Uptown District, some very cool neighborhoods and much more.
As you can see, this is personal. I have great affection for Oakland and not just because I was born there. Despite its political mismanagement and other challenges it is moving forward – very much so. For now, however, it remains a little stuck in time – especially downtown – which is great for the photography. One wonders how long some of that old signage and the throwback businesses will survive – a story all along the the Lincoln Highway. All the more reason for this photography project.
It seems like Oakland will always stand in the shadow of San Francisco but it’s getting a lot more recognition these days, although the whole thing with “Brooklyn-by-the-Bay” is a little overhyped.
Check it out for yourself.
