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Renting an Apartment in Alameda
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on a small island of the same name next to Oakland, California in the San Francisco Bay. An additional part of the city is Bay Farm Island, which is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. The city has a small-town feel with its Victorian homes and tree-lined neighborhoods. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,259. Alameda is a charter city, rather than a general law city, meaning that the city can provide for any form of government. Alameda became a charter city in 1916, and adopted a council-manager government then, which it retains to the present.
History
The island that Alameda occupies was originally a peninsula connected to Oakland. Much of the peninsula was low-lying and marshy, but on higher ground the peninsula and adjacent parts of what is now downtown Oakland were home to one of the largest coastal oak forests in the world. The area was therefore called "Encinal," Spanish for "Oak Grove." "Alameda" is Spanish for "grove of poplar trees" or "tree-lined avenue," and was chosen in 1853 by popular vote. The name Encinal survives as one of the main north south trunk route streets on the island.
The inhabitants at the time of the arrival of the Spanish in the late 18th Century were a local band of the Ohlone tribe. The peninsula became part of the vast Rancho San Antonio granted to Luis Peralta by the Spanish king who claimed California. The grant was later confirmed by the new Republic of Mexico upon its independence from Spain.
The city was founded on June 6, 1853. Originally three small settlements grew in town. "Old Alameda" referred to the village at Encinal and High, Hibbardsville was at the North Shore ferry and shipping terminal, and Woodstock was on the west near the ferry piers of the South Pacific Coast Railroad and the Central Pacific. Eventually, the Central Pacific's ferry pier became the "Alameda Mole" while the Central Pacific itself became the Southern Pacific. The Alameda pier was the site of the first train across the Transcontinental Railroad into the San Francisco Bay Area on September 6, 1869. The transcontinental terminus was switched to the Oakland Long Wharf two months later on November 8, 1869.
In 1917, an attraction called Neptune Beach was built in the area now known as Crab Cove. Often compared to Coney Island, the park was a major attraction in the 1920s and 1930s. The original owners of the facilty, the Strehlow family, partnered with a local confectioner to create tastes unique to Neptune Beach. Though many do not know it, both the snow cone and the popsicle were invented at Neptune Beach. The Kewpie doll, handpainted and dressed in unique hand-sewn dresses, became the original prize for winning games at the beach - another Neptune Beach invention. The Strehlows owned and operated the beach on their own, even filling in a section of the bay to add an additional olympic-size swimming pool and an exceptional roller coaster which must have given riders a tremendous view of the bay.
Neputune Beach's two huge outdoor pools hosted swimming races and exhibitions by famous swimmers like Olympian Johnny Weismuller, who later starred as the original Tarzan, and Jack LaLane, who started a chain of health clubs. Unfortunately, the park closed down in 1939 because of the Great Depression, the completion of the Bay Bridge, people circumventing paying the admission price and in general, the rise of car culture. Once the Bay Bridge was complete, the rail lines, which ran right past the entrance to Neptune Beach on the way to the Alameda Mole and the Ferry, lost riders in droves. People began using their cars to escape the city and the immediate suburbs like Alameda and travelling further afield in California. Alameda lost its resort status as more distant locations became more attractive to cash-rich San Francisco tourists. Youngsters in town became aware of ways to avoid paying the dime for admission to the park. Strong swimmers or even waders could sneak in on the bay side, just by swimming around the fence.
Some of the resort homes and buildings from the Neptune beach era still exist in present-day Alameda. The Croll Building, on the corner of Webster St. and Central Ave., was the site of Croll's Gardens and Hotel, famous as training quarters for the some of the greatest fighters in boxing history from 1883 to 1914. James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Jim Jefferies, Jack Johnson, and many other champions all stayed and trained here. Today this beautiful preserved building is home to Croll's Pizza and the New Zealander Restaurant. Neptune Court, just a block away on the corner of Central Ave. and McKay Ave., provides another glimpse of what resort life was like in Alameda in the 1920s. A short walk near Crab Cove will reveal many more historic gems.
Sadly, the vast majority of the Neptune Beach structures - the hand-carved carousel from the world-famed Dentzel Company, the ferris wheel, the roller coaster, and other rides - were auctioned off in 1940 for mere pennies on the dollar of their original cost. Today, an Alameda resident Michael Schiess looks to preserve some of the historic artifacts from the Neptune Beach era at the Neptune Beach Amusement Museum, NBAM specifically dedicated to the resort and all "amusement machines." While the existing and more general Alameda Museum has quite a few artifacts from Neptune Beach in its collection, this new museum will focus more on the games, rides and other machines that brought amusement to Alameda's bay shore.
As the Neptune Beach era faded and Park Street developed into the major thoroughfare of the city and the location of the main Alameda train station, residents of Old Alameda pulled up stakes and moved across town to the new downtown. The street's location was chosen by two landowners who wished to attract tenants and development to their land. As a result they designated their mutual border as Park Street.
The need for expanded shipping facilities led to the dredging of a canal through the marshland between Oakland and Alameda in 1902, turning Alameda into an island. Most of the soil from the canal was used to fill in nearby marshland. The area of Alameda called Bay Farm Island is no longer an island, but is attached by fill to Oakland. In his youth, author Jack London was known to take part in oyster pirating in the highly productive oyster beds near Bay Farm Island, today long gone. The Alameda Works Shipyard was one of the largest and best equipped shipyards in the country. In the 1950s, Alameda's industrial and ship building industries thrived along the estuary, where the world's first-ever, land-based, containerized shipping crane was used. Today, the Port of Oakland across the estuary serves as one of the largest ports on the West Coast, using the shipping technologies originally experimented with in Alameda. As of March 21, 2006, Alameda is a "Coast Guard City," one of seven in the country.
In addition to the regular trains running to the Alameda Mole, Alameda was also served by local steam commuter lines of the Southern Pacific (initially, the Central Pacific) which were later transformed into the East Bay Electric Lines. Souther Pacific's electrified trains were not streetcars, but full-sized railroad cars which connected to the mainland by bridges at Webster Street and Fruitvale (only the latter bridge survives today). The trains ran to both the Oakland Mole and the Alameda Mole. In fact, one line which ran between the two moles was dubbed the "Horseshoe Line" for the shape of the route on a map. Soon after the completion of the Bay Bridge, Alameda trains ran directly to San Francisco on the lower deck of the bridge, the ferries having been rendered unnecessary.
In the 1930s Pan American Airways established a seaplane port along the fill that led to the Alameda Mole. This was the original home base for the famous China Clipper. With the advent of World War II, a vast stretch of the marshy area southwest of the Alameda Mole was filled and the Naval Air Station Alameda established. This major Naval facility included a large airfield as well as docks for several aircraft carriers. It closed in 1997.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.5 km˛ (23.0 mi˛). 28.0 km˛ (10.8 mi˛) of it is land and 31.5 km˛ (12.2 mi˛) (52.98%) is water.
Today the city consists of the main original section, with the former Naval Air Station at the west end of Alameda Island, "Southshore" along the southern side of Alameda Island, and Bay Farm Island, which is part of the mainland proper. The area of the former NAS is now known as "Alameda Point." The Southshore area is separated from the main part of Alameda Island by a lagoon; the north shore of the lagoon is located approximately where the original south shore of the island was. Alameda Point and Southshore are built on artificial fill.
Not all of Alameda Island is part of the City of Alameda. Although nearly all of the island is in Alameda County, a small portion of the southwestern tip of Alameda Point lies west of the county line and is technically part of the City and County of San Francisco.
Coast Guard Island which is a small island between Alameda Island and Oakland is also part of Alameda and is the home of Integrated Support Command Alameda
Transportation
Vehicle access to the island is via three bridges to Oakland, a bridge to Bay Farm Island, and two one-way tunnels leading into Oakland's Chinatown. Bridges at Fruitvale Avenue, High Street, and Park Street, and the tunnels at Webster Street and Harrison Street (the latter called the Posey Tube) connect Alameda and Oakland. Public transportation includes the AC Transit buses (which include express buses to San Francisco) and two ferry services — the Alameda-Oakland Ferry and the Harbor Bay Ferry. Both ferry services may soon be transferred to the Water Transit Authority. The island is also close to the BART train service, with the closest stations being Lake Merritt, near the exit to the Posey Tube, and Fruitvale, near the Fruitvale Bridge.
Even though the island is just minutes off Interstate 880, the speed limit for the city is 25 mph (40 km/h) on almost every road. Many unaware drivers fail to slow down after exiting the highway. Groups like Pedestrian Friendly Alameda and BikeAlameda advocate stronger enforcement of speeding laws. Alameda has a reputation for vigorous enforcement of the 25 mph speed limit.[8]
Attractions
Due to its proximity to the Bay, wind surfers and kite surfers can often be seen along Crown Memorial State Beach and Shoreline Drive. From the beach there are also views of the San Francisco skyline and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
One of the recent attractions is the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, a museum ship now moored at the former Naval Air Station. This ship was originally named the USS Kearsarge, but was renamed in honor of the previous Hornet CV-8 (famous for the Doolittle raid), which was lost in October of 1942.
Alameda is also known for its large stock of Victorian houses; 9% of all single-family houses (1500) in Alameda are Victorians, and many more have been divided into two to four-unit dwellings. It is said that Alameda has more pre-1906 earthquake era homes than any other city in the Bay Area.
Economic development
The Naval Air Station Alameda was decommissioned and is in process of being turned over to the City of Alameda for civilian development. The area of the former NAS is now known as Alameda Point. Portions of this area are now in commercial use, but the transfer process has been slowed down by disputes between the Navy and the city regarding payment for environmental cleanup of the land. In late July of 2006, the City of Alameda announced a deal with Navy that would turn the land over to the city for $108M. The preliminary development concept calls for 1700 housing units to be developed at Alameda Point. In September, 2006, the developer, Alameda Point Community Partners, withdrew from development of Alameda Point. In May 2007 the City selected the SunCal Companies as the Master Developer of Alameda Point, and as of July 2007 the parties are negotiating terms for a development agreement.
After two previous failures, voters in the city passed a ballot measure in 2000 authorizing a bond measure for construction of a new library to replace the city's Carnegie library, damaged during the Loma Prieta earthquake. The city also received state funds for the new library and opened the doors to the new facility in November of 2006.
Schools
Community College
* College of Alameda, a part of the Peralta Colleges
Private schools
* Alameda Christian School K-8
* Children's Learning Center Alameda Special Education, K-12
* Peter Pan School (The Academy), K-5
* Rising Star Montessori School K-5
* St. Barnabas School K-8
* St. Philip Neri School K-8
* St. Joseph Elementary School K-8
* St. Joseph Notre Dame High School 9-12
* The Child Unique Montessori School Preschool-K