Community

As soon as Reverend Daniel Buford took the podium in the council chambers at Oakland City Hall on Tuesday night, bright, hand-drawn, multi-colored signs with inscriptions like “Stop the Swap,” “Give the $ Back” and “Not another dollar to Goldman Sachs” popped up around the room. Buford, a minister at Allen Temple Baptist Church on International Boulevard, began speaking about the city’s relationship with Goldman Sachs, and a rate-swap deal the city and the bank agreed to in 1997 relating to $187 million in city debt.

Oakland North is continuing with our feature. Every week, we will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s photo is by Sean Reinhart.

A variety of programs that the state once funded—focusing on, among other things, criminal justice, mental health and social services—will now be the responsibility of local jurisdictions, usually the county, because of state budget cuts. Just how these cuts will play out in Alameda County, and what to do about the “financial tsunami that is coming our way,” as County Supervisor Keith Carson called it, was the topic of a budget forum hosted by the county supervisors on Tuesday morning in downtown Oakland.

Oakland North is continuing with our feature. Every Tuesday, Oakland Animal Services will spotlight an “Animal of the Week” that’s up for adoption at their facility. This week it’s Sir Galahad.

Take a look at Temescal in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – a place where rail lines ran across Telegraph Avenue, and businesses thrived on the side – and Temescal today. What has changed? What has survived?

One of Temescal’s oldest subdivisions was once of the state’s grandest amusement parks. On the blocks of what are now Spanish stucco-styled homes bordered by Shattuck and Telegraph Avenues to the east and west and between 56th and 58th Streets, Oakland’s Idora Park at one time brought thousands of visitors from near and far for its myriad attractions. Built in 1903 by railroad baron and borax king Rodney Ingersoll, the park was open about 30 weeks a year and boasted…

A lot can be learned about a place by glancing at the local newspaper. Take Temescal in 1873, for instance. The area was buzzing with activity—the bridge over Temescal Creek had recently been completed, there were at least a half-dozen saloons in the area, and the Berkeley Railway which transported people between the nearby cities of Oakland and Berkeley was running every 15 minutes. But it was also a town experiencing growing pains—Telegraph Avenue was a mess of mud, and…

Today, Oakland North is taking a look back at the history of the Temescal district with a few snapshots of what the area used to be like and look like, and who lived here. We’ll be publishing stories throughout the day, so check back for more.

As Temescal grew in 1870s, the small town became an important transportation hub for rail travelers passing between Oakland and Berkeley.