A virtual exhibit presented by Camron-Stanford House
Camron-Stanford House is pleased to present an inaugural artist spotlight, featuring the work of Jorge Bejarano. in Town Landmarks: Abstract Oakland by Jorge Bejarano, the artist explores some of Oakland’s most well known historic landmarks, presenting them through his own modern, vibrant lens. Artworks are paired alongside historic images of each building to offer visitors a chance to consider both the evolution and permanence of some of The Town’s most beloved buildings.
We invite you to learn more about the histories of the buildings Jorge selected by exploring this virtual exhibit. While visiting today, we also invite you to think about your own favorite landmarks, whether here in Oakland, or around the world.
How do they make you feel when you think about them?
What do they mean to you or to your community?
Oakland City Hall
Location: 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612
Oakland’s original City Hall was completed in 1914, a classic example of Beaux-Arts architecture. At the time of its opening, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi and is considered the first high-rise government building in the United States. The building replaced a prior 19th century building that stood on what is now Frank Ogawa Plaza.
The building was designed by New York-based architecture firm Palmer & Hornbostel in 1910 following a nationwide design competition. The exterior is built of white granite and terra cotta, while the inside is detailed with white and black marble. The building was nicknamed "Mayor Mott's Wedding Cake" after former Oakland Mayor Frank Kanning Mott – a key player in passing the bond to pay for the new City Hall – who was married the same year construction began.
You might be surprised to learn that the top floor of this section (the 12th floor) houses a 36-cell jail with an outdoor yard that has gone unused since the 1960s!
After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the building suffered major structural damage and was immediately closed. Instead of replacing it with a newer building, city leaders decided to retrofit the building. The building can now move laterally 18-20 inches in an earthquake!
Oakland City Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places (1979), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #28 (1979).
Artwork: THE GREAT GLITCH IN THE SKY by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
The Oakland Tribune Tower
Location: 409 13th Street, Oakland, CA 94612
The Tribune Building was built in 1906 to house Joseph R. Knowland's publication, The Oakland Tribune. In 1918, Judge William Donahue proclaimed the Tribune, both the successful publication and the building, which had plans to expand, as a symbol of Oakland’s progress as a young city.
Its famed tower was erected in 1923. At the time the tower was completed, the building was the tallest building in Oakland. Today, it remains the 11th tallest building in Oakland. The top of the tower is coated in bronze, its green color resulting from nearly a century of oxidization.
In 1979, the newspaper and the Tower were sold to the Gannet Company. In 1983 the building and the paper were sold once again, this time to its editor and publisher, Robert C. Maynard, and his wife, Nancy Hicks Maynard. The sale made them the first Black Americans to own a major metropolitan daily newspaper in the United States.
When the tower was conceptualized, it was originally intended to be a Zeppelin blimp landing, with ships tying to the flagpole atop, and a ladder dropping down to the walkway on the 20th floor. This plan, however, never came to fruition.
The Oakland Tribune Tower is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Downtown Oakland Historic District (1998), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #15 (1976).
Artwork: TIME by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
The Camron-Stanford House
Location: 1418 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA 94612
The Camron-Stanford House was built in 1876. The Camron Family were the first residents of the home, which was among one of several large single-family homes that made up a private, upscale community surrounding the Lake.
Alice Marsh Camron and her husband, William Walker Camron, purchased the home using funds from Alice's inheritance. The family, which included their two daughters Amy and Gracie, lived in the home for just under two years. Their youngest daughter, Gracie, passed away in 1877 at the age of two. Soon after, the family left on an extended voyage to Europe and never returned to the house.
In the years following, the house would be rented and owned by several prominent families including the families of David Hewes (known as the "Maker of San Francisco"), Josiah Stanford, and Capt. John Tennent Wright, Jr.
In 1907, the city of Oakland purchased the House and many additional residences bordering Lake Merritt. The city razed the other homes and created Lakeside Park. It established the Oakland Public Museum in the Camron-Stanford House, which occupied the house for the next fifty years.
The house was vacated in 1965 when the Oakland Museum of California was opened, bringing the collections of the Oakland Public Museum, The Snow Museum of natural history, and the Oakland Art Gallery.
The fate of the Camron-Stanford House was uncertain, and at one time faced the possibility of demolition. Dedicated volunteers came together in the 1970s to form the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association and raised funds to save and restore the house for public use once more as a historic house museum.
The Camron-Stanford House is on the National Register of Historic Places (1972), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #2 (1975).
Artwork: THE POST WAR DREAM by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
The Fox Theater
Location: 1807 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612
The Fox Theater, then called "The Oakland," opened in 1928 among the golden age of 20th Century movie theaters. When it opened the 3,200 seat theater was the largest in Oakland and larger still than San Francisco's Orpheum Theater. Designed by Charles Peter Weeks and William Peyton Day, its eclectic blend of Eastern-inspired architecture impressed audiences for decades until it closed its doors in 1966.
The first film shown in the theater was The Air Circus, an early sound film produced by the Fox Film Corporation. In addition to films, the theater hosted live performances, often supported by a house band and organist on the Wurlitzer Opus house organ. During its peak in the 1920s, the theater typically required a staff of 150 to run.
The theater was renamed "The Fox Oakland" when William Fox purchased West Coast Theaters and merged the company with his own Fox Theaters. The chain and the theater thrived until the 1960s.
Suffering years of neglect, the Fox was rescued in 1978 when locals banded together to restore the building. While it retains the Fox name, it is no longer owned by the media conglomerate, and is instead operated by Another Planet Entertainment. It still functions as a live performance venue today, and remains a favorite Oakland landmark for many locals.
The Fox Theater is on the National Register of Historic Places (1978), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #23 (1978).
Artwork: ECHOES by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
The Paramount Theater
Location: 2025 Broadway Street, Oakland, CA 94612
When it opened its doors in 1931 to fanfare and ceremony, the Paramount was the largest multi-purpose theater on the West Coast. Designed by Timothy L. Pflueg (who also designed the Castro Theater in San Francisco) and James Rupert Miller the theater cost an estimated $3 million to complete.
Like many Art-Deco era theaters, the Paramount was abandoned and fell into disrepair until the 1970s when it underwent meticulous restoration. Today, it is home of the Oakland Symphony and Oakland Ballet and remains one of the finest examples of Art Deco Palace theaters.
Walking into the main lobby, with its gold ornamentation along the walls, curving staircase, and glowing light fixtures is like taking a trip back through Old Hollywood. Public tours of the Paramount Theater are given on the first and third Saturdays of each month.
Paramount Theater is on the National Register of Historic Places (1973), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #9 (1975).
Artwork: LET THERE BE MORE LIGHT by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
Lake Merritt
The lake we know and love today has seen many manifestations and uses over time. From being a site of fishing, hunting, and gathering by the Ohlone people, to part of a Spanish land grant to Luis Maria Peralta, to a private recreational site, and finally a publicly enjoyed park, the lake has always been at the heart of Oakland.
Originally a tidal slough, the marshy land was transformed into Lake Merritt in 1870. Thanks largely to efforts by Dr. Samuel Merritt, the waterway to the San Francisco Bay was dammed and the sewage redirected, thus creating the lake. The area was established as the first official wildlife refuge in 1870 and remains the site of the Lake Merritt Wild Duck Refuge.
Today, the lake features grassy shores, several artificial islands intended as bird refuges, and several public educational and recreational spaces including the Rotary Nature Center, The Gardens at Lake Merritt, and the Camron-Stanford House.
One of the most iconic features of the lake is the "necklace of lights" which encircles Lake Merritt. Featuring 126 lampposts and 3,400 "pearly bulbs," the necklace was first lit in 1925. In 1941, the lights were removed to comply with World War II blackout conditions. After a decade-long campaign by the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, the lights were again illuminated in 1987.
Lake Merritt is on the National Register of Historic Places (1983), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #39 (1980).
Kaiser Convention Center
Location: 10 10th Street, Oakland, CA 94607
This Beaux-Arts landmark was built in 1914 and designed by architect John J. Donovan. Originally known as the Oakland Civic Auditorium, the building has been used as an art gallery, makeshift hospital during the 1918 flu pandemic, roller derby space, and theater. Its stages have welcomed the likes of Iggy Pop, Elvis, The Grateful Dead, James Brown, and the Dali Lama.
On December 28, 1962, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to an audience of 7,000 at the auditorium to mark the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
In one memorable, yet unfortunate performance on November 23, 1969, Western swing pioneer and TV personality Spade Cooley received a 72-hour furlough from Vacaville prison to play a benefit concert for the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Alameda County. During the intermission, following a standing ovation, he died of a heart attack. He was to be paroled on February 22, 1970.
The building retained its name until 1984 when following a large renovation, it was renamed in honor of American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser.
The facility was owned by the City of Oakland until 2011 when it was sold to the local redevelopment agency. However, the agency was dissolved by the State of California in 2012 and ownership of the property reverted to the City of Oakland once more.
In recent years, the City has been working with developers to renovate the facility. Potential uses have been explored including a commercial tenant such as a manufacturer or brewery on the ground floor, and offices on the second floor. The Calvin Simmons Theater will be renovated and performances are expected to return.
Through its many uses and yet-to-be-determined future, the building retains its dedication plaque, which reads, “Auditorium of the City of Oakland dedicated by the Citizens to the intellectual and industrial process of the people.”
The Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center is on the National Register of Historic Places (1978), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #27 (1979).
Artwork: GOODBYE BLUE SKY by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
Morcom Rose Garden
Location: 700 Jean Street, Oakland, CA 94610
A public-space project conceived in the 1920s, the Municipal Rose Garden, as it was originally know, opened in 1933 with an honor rose planted by Oakland Mayor Frank Marcom.
Before the rose garden existed, the public open space was known as Linda Vista Park. The idea for the rose garden came to be from a local group of gardening enthusiasts called the Oakland Businessmen's Garden Club. The rose garden project was largely spearheaded by Charles Vernon Covell, a local dentist and member of the club.
The Club hired Arthur Cobbledick to bring their vision to life. Cobbledick molded the rose garden after carefully manicured gardens popular in Europe, especially those found in Italy.
Over the next few decades additional gardens, pathways, and fountains were added to comprise the grand manicured space visitors enjoy today.
The Morcom Rose Garden is known as the site of Oakland's annual Mother's Day ceremony where each year a Mother of the Year is awarded to one person, nominated by members of the Oakland community. The Mother of the Year tradition began in 1954 and has carried on most years since. Visitors to the garden will find brass plaques along the "Mothers' Walk" listing the names of each honoree.
The Morcom Rose Garden is Oakland Designated Landmark #45 (1980).
Jack London's Cabin
Location: Jack London Square, Oakland, California
Jack London’s original cabin was built in 1887-88 in the Yukon territory while he was a spectator in the Klondike Gold Rush. The cabin was abandoned after the Gold Rush and later discovered by local trappers who noted London's signature on the wall.
The cabin was dismantled and the materials were used to support the building of two replica cabins – one in Dawson City near the site of the original cabin, and one in Oakland, where London lived for much of his life. The materials were shipped by truck from the Yukon forest to Vancouver where they boarded a ship to Seattle. The materials were then driven by truck yet again down the coast, through Sacramento, and finally to Jack London Square in Oakland.
Jack London was part of what was then considered by many to be a radical literary group in San Francisco called "The Crowd." He was also a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers. He wrote several works concerning these topics, including his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his non-fiction expose The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.
His first book, The Call of the Wild, is said to have been inspired by his time in his Yukon cabin. The canine character in the story, Buck, was likely inspired by a dog belonging to an acquaintance Jack London knew during his Gold Rush years.
The Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. As early as 1852, large shipping wharves were in use along the Oakland Estuary. By the turn of the 20th century, the area had been dredged as a deep water port making it an ideal location for transport and trade. Officially named the Port of Oakland in 1927, it was the first major Pacific Coast port and remains one of the busiest shipping ports in the United States.
Oakland's was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it remained the fifth busiest container port in the United States, behind Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newark, and Savannah.
Artwork: WELCOME TO THE MACHINE by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
Children's Fairyland
Location: 699 Belvue Ave. Oakland, CA 94610
Built in 1950, Oakland’s Fairyland was one of the earliest “themed” amusement parks in the United States. Fairyland is comprised of 10 acres of playful sets, small rides, animals, and more for young children to explore. The park is also home to the Open Storybook Project, the country's longest continuously running puppet theater.
Fairyland was developed by the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club,. During the City Beautiful Movement, the park inspired other cities to develop their own fairytale and other themed parks for children.
Walt Disney is known to have toured Fairyland in the 1950s as he was touring the country for ideas for his own in-development Disneyland. Dorothy Maines, the first Director of Fairyland was recruited by Walt to serve as Disneyland's Youth Director – a position she held until 1972.
Fairyland is also the original home to the famed "Magic Keys." Oakland television personality Bruce Sedley was a regular guest storyteller at the park. Over time, he grew concerned about his voice straining during the storytelling process. He worked with Fairyland to develop a system of "talking books," allowing a child to approach the box, enter their Magic Key, and listen to stories throughout the park. The Magic Key system spread to many zoos (including Oakland's zoo) and childrens' parks across the country. Fairyland's Magic Key system is one of only a few remaining systems still in use.
Artwork: LEARNING TO FLY by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
Oakland California Temple
Location: 4770 Lincoln Ave. Oakland, CA 94602
Opened in 1964, the Oakland California Temple is is the 15th temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is currently the only LDS temple built with a modern five-spire design.
Originally referred to as the Tristake Center, the temple served the LDS communities in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco.
The construction of the Oakland Temple, as well as several others along the California coast, were planned as early as the mid 19th century. During a sea voyage around Cape Horn, Brigham Young was documented proclaiming that, "in the process of time the shores of the Pacific may yet be overlooked from the Temple of the Lord."
Today, the building designed by Harold W. Burton is a familiar site for most people in Oakland, as the Temple is visible throughout much of the city. The grounds, which include a manicured garden, fountains, and visitors center, is often referred to as “the beacon on the hill” as the temple is visible throughout much of the city. The FAA continues to use the temple as a navigation beacon.
Artwork: POINT ME TO THE SKY by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
Heinold's First & Last Chance Saloon
Location: 48 Webster Street, Oakland CA, 94607 (Jack London Square)
The saloon originally operated under the name, “J.M. Heinold’s Saloon” by owner Johnny Heinold. Much of the building was constructed from the wood of the Umatilla, a decommissioned paddle steamer that operated during the Gold Rush.
The name "First and Last Chance" refers to a time in which, for many sailors, the small pub with its single bar was the first and last chance to enjoy a night of drinking before or after a long sea voyage.
The saloon has often been referred to fondly as Jack London's Rendezvous as famed local author Jack London spent much of his youth reading, writing, and eating at the pub. It was the site of Jack London's purchase of his first sailboat at the age of 17, the Razzle Dazzle, under Johnny Heinold's watchful eye. It was also Johnny who loaned Jack the money to start school at the nearby University of California. As an adult, Jack London found it a favorite place to work on his writing. The atmosphere is said to have inspired scenes in many of his books.
The 1906 earthquake that shook the Bay Area also impacted Heinold's Saloon, causing the foundation to shift and the floor to slant. Even today visitors might be surprised to walk into the bar to see a quite noticeably slanted bar top on which to enjoy their pints.
Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon is on the National Register of Historic Places (2000), is a National Literary Landmark (1998), and is Oakland Designated Landmark #3 (1975).
Artwork: IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
Black Panther Party Central Headquarters
Location: 1048 Peralta Street, Oakland, CA 94607
The Black Panther Party moved their headquarters from their North Oakland location to 1048 Peralta Street, a two-story Victorian home in West Oakland in 1969. The site was established as Central Headquarters, and became the heart of the Black Panther’s efforts. It was a center of decision making by leadership, publication site of the Black Panther Party Newspaper, and the hub for many critical community services organized by the Black Panthers.
By the time the Black Panthers officially dissolved in 1982, the party had reached legendary status in the eyes of many who supported ongoing Civil Rights work. During the 16+ years they were in operation, they brought much needed free breakfast and lunch programs to Oakland's youth by partnering with local schools, senior organizations, as well as providing free health clinics throughout the city, in addition to other services.
While they may not congregate in the same Victorian house, former party members are still a large part of the community as artists, teachers and advocates, and the party's infamous manifesto, the Ten-Point Program, handwritten on yellow-lined paper decades ago continues to inform and inspire contemporary movements today.
On 14th and Peralta Streets, artists Refa Senay and Batsh Lo have painted a new mural that honors the revolutionary civil rights group and serves as a constant reminder of the neighborhood's storied past. A new mini-museum by the West Oakland Mural Project highlights the work of the women of the Black Panther Party
Artwork: TWO SUNS IN THE SUNSET by Jorge Bejarano, Abstract Oakland, 2022.
Town Landmarks: Abstract Oakland by Jorge Bejarano
Presented by Camron-Stanford House
Original Artwork Jorge Bejarano
Curatorial Support Iliana Morton
Curatorial Support Rowan Smith
About the Artist Born in Mexico city and raised in Oakland, Jorge Bejarano, also known as Abstract Oakland, has adopted the culture and vibrancy of the Bay and gives us a brilliant display of his perspective on the diversity and pulse of the city. Using a technicolor palette that ignites a fire and excitement in his audience, he shows a distinct aesthetic in his urban style that is unmistakably mirrored to him as an artist and as a person.
Artwork for Purchase Artwork and on display in this exposition is available for purchase, directly through the artist. A limited print series of Town Landmarks will be available for purchase on the artist's website. A portion of proceeds from Town Landmarks prints will be donated to Camron-Stanford House.
About the Camron-Stanford House The Camron-Stanford House is the last of the beautiful Victorian mansions that once surrounded Lake Merritt, and was the home to five influential families before becoming the first museum in the City of Oakland.
The restored home helps visitors time travel to the 1880s and enter meticulously recreated living spaces while learning about the early days of Oakland as a city. In addition, the house presents various exhibits throughout the year that focus on aspects of life and culture in the 19th century.
The mission of the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association is to preserve and protect this landmark Victorian home and garden for the public’s delight, and to promote an appreciation of local history through engaging exhibits and events.