Montclair, Oakland, California
Encyclopedia
Montclair is a neighborhood of Oakland, California
. Montclair is located in the hills east of Piedmont
in a valley formed by the Hayward Fault
. Although there is no formal definition of the neighborhood, the general boundaries are Highway 24 to the north, Highway 13 to the west, Skyline Boulevard to the east, and Joaquin Miller Road to the south. The center of the neighborhood is a compact shopping district known as Montclair Village, which is located next to Highway 13 in the bottom of the valley. It lies at an elevation of 892 feet (272 m). The hills of Montclair are heavily forested, and generally characterized by winding streets and large single-family houses. The neighborhood includes several of the highest ranked public schools in Oakland - Montclair Elementary, Thornhill Elementary, Joaquin Miller Elementary, and Montera Middle School.
down to the Hayward Fault rift and beyond.
On the northwest, the upper reaches of Temescal Creek run down Thornhill Drive and Pinehaven Road. The creek remains visible above ground in the upper sections along Thornhill and Pinehaven. The creek has two branches that join at the intersection of Thornhill and Pinehaven. From this confluence the creek flows down the south side of Thornhill until Thornhill Elementary School were it then undergrounds and flows down the remainder of Thornhilll and then down Mountain Blvd. to Broadway Terrace, before draining into Lake Temescal
.
On the southeast end of Montclair, the north fork of Sausal Creek (also called Shephard Creek) runs down Shepherd Canyon. At Highway 13, near the parking lot of the Montclair Golf Course, the north fork of Sausal Creek has its confluence with the south fork (also called Palo Seco Creek) running from the eastern hills (encompassing Joaquin Miller Park). The creek then runs down through Dimond Canyon and across the flatlands (mostly in culverts) to San Francisco Bay
.
Indians populated the general area.
In 1820, Montclair and Dimond Canyon were part of the land from El Cerrito to San Leandro, which was granted to Luis Maria Peralta
. In 1842, Peralta divided his land among his sons and the San Antonio section including Montclair and Dimond Canyon went to his son Antonio Maria Peralta.
In the northern creek valley, Thornhill Road dates back to some of the earliest development history of Montclair. This was an old 19th century logging road built by and named after Hiram Thorn. Thorn's road brought redwood logs to Oakland out of the vast forest known as the Moraga Redwoods, where he ran a lumber mill at Pinehurst Road near Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
, west of the community of Canyon. Thornhill later became a toll road to Contra Costa County.
From Shepherd Canyon extending toward the southeast, the Bayside hills were covered in a vast redwood forest known as the San Antonio Redwoods. Around 1847, Europeans started logging the San Antonio redwood forest. In 1850, the area's first steam sawmill was built on the edge of Montclair, at Palo Seco Creek in the head of Dimond Canyon. A logging road to the mill was built high up along the side of Dimond Canyon, and later became Park Boulevard. This logging road connected to a wharf at the foot of 13th Avenue and was used to transport the logs down Dimond Canyon to the Bay. By 1860, the San Antonio forest was logged completely.
After the logging period, Caspar Hopkins, an early settler of the Fruitvale District, formed the Sausal Creek Water Company and built a dam and reservoir at the upper end of Dimond Canyon near the current Highway 13 at Montclair. The reservoir later became part of the East Bay Water Company and remained until the early 1920s. Early maps show a road passing the reservoir along the current Waterhouse Road, and extending up toward the dam in the direction of Bridgeview Drive along what is currently the Upper Dimond Canyon Trail. In 1867, Hugh Dimond purchased the canyon.
In the first half of the 20th century, the main line of the Sacramento Northern Railroad ran through Montclair. The tracks ran southward from Lake Temescal
and crossed into Montclair over a trestle at Moraga Ave. and Thornhill Dr. There is now a "pocket park" located at this location in remembrance of this crossing. Then the route ran along a high berm between Montclair Recreation Center and Montclair Elementary School, before crossing Mountain Blvd. and Snake Road via trestle, and continuing up Shepherd Canyon to a tunnel, the west portal of which was located immediately below Saroni Drive. Today, much of the old right-of-way above the village and in Shepherd Canyon is a pedestrian and bicycle path. Although the old railroad trestles throughout Montclair were all removed decades ago, in recent years a pedestrian bridge was built in the same location of one of them, across Snake Road, to connect the two major sections of the pedestrian pathway. The trail was paved as well at the same time.
One of the first schools located in Montclair was at the current site of the now-closed Moraga Avenue firehouse, and was named in honor of John Coffee Hays
, one of the founders of the city of Oakland. The Hays school was closed in 1913.
Though already sparsely populated since the logging days, major residential subdivision of the village and hills began in the 1920s.
The 1927 Montclair firehouse was designed in the Hansel and Gretel style
by famed regional architect Julia Morgan
. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
, the Oakland Fire Department built a new station house on Shepherd Canyon Road, and upon completion, vacated the 1927 structure.
In March 1930, the Montclair branch of the Oakland Public Library was opened on Mountain Blvd. near Thornhill Dr. to serve the growing village. The small building was built in the English cottage-style, and remains in use today. After 1965, additions were completed for the children's room and patio at the rear of the original building.
He has also been commended numerous times for his extensive volunteer work at the Boys and Girl's Club of America by Chief Volunteer Officer, Bradley A. Gill. Mr. Gill proclaimed his gratitude for Adrian's work by citing his "intensely hands-on approach with the children of the Greater Oakland area has helped to shape the future teachers, leaders and politicians of our great state."
is an American jazz pianist and composer. In the 1950s he and his wife built and lived in the "house in the sky" on Heartwood Drive in the Montclair District of Oakland. The house was designed by famed architect Beverley D. Thorne.
was elected Governor of California for the third time in 2010 and began this term in 2011. Prior to that he was Attorney General of California, Mayor of Oakland, Democratic candidate for the United States Presidency, Governor of California for two terms, and the Secretary of State of California among other offices.
In 2010 Jerry Brown and his wife Anne Gust, former chief administrative officer for The Gap
. purchased a home in the Montclair District of Oakland as reported by The Huffington Post
.
On Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Jerry Brown voted at Oakland Fire Station No. 6 which is a short distance from his home in the Montclair District of Oakland as reported by The San Francisco Chronicle.
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. Montclair is located in the hills east of Piedmont
Piedmont, California
Piedmont is a small, affluent city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Oakland. The population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907 and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s...
in a valley formed by the Hayward Fault
Hayward Fault Zone
The Hayward Fault Zone is a geologic fault zone capable of generating significantly destructive earthquakes. This strike-slip fault is about long, situated mainly along the western base of the hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay...
. Although there is no formal definition of the neighborhood, the general boundaries are Highway 24 to the north, Highway 13 to the west, Skyline Boulevard to the east, and Joaquin Miller Road to the south. The center of the neighborhood is a compact shopping district known as Montclair Village, which is located next to Highway 13 in the bottom of the valley. It lies at an elevation of 892 feet (272 m). The hills of Montclair are heavily forested, and generally characterized by winding streets and large single-family houses. The neighborhood includes several of the highest ranked public schools in Oakland - Montclair Elementary, Thornhill Elementary, Joaquin Miller Elementary, and Montera Middle School.
Geography
Prior to modern development, Montclair was geographically demarcated by two creek valleys, one on the northeast and one on the southwest, that both run mostly east to west from the top of the Oakland HillsOakland Hills, Oakland, California
Oakland Hills is an informal term used to indicate the city neighborhoods lying within the eastern portion of Oakland, California.-The geologic feature:...
down to the Hayward Fault rift and beyond.
On the northwest, the upper reaches of Temescal Creek run down Thornhill Drive and Pinehaven Road. The creek remains visible above ground in the upper sections along Thornhill and Pinehaven. The creek has two branches that join at the intersection of Thornhill and Pinehaven. From this confluence the creek flows down the south side of Thornhill until Thornhill Elementary School were it then undergrounds and flows down the remainder of Thornhilll and then down Mountain Blvd. to Broadway Terrace, before draining into Lake Temescal
Lake Temescal
Lake Temescal is a small lake in the northeastern hills section of Oakland, California. It is the centerpiece of Temescal Regional Park...
.
On the southeast end of Montclair, the north fork of Sausal Creek (also called Shephard Creek) runs down Shepherd Canyon. At Highway 13, near the parking lot of the Montclair Golf Course, the north fork of Sausal Creek has its confluence with the south fork (also called Palo Seco Creek) running from the eastern hills (encompassing Joaquin Miller Park). The creek then runs down through Dimond Canyon and across the flatlands (mostly in culverts) to San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
History
Prior to the Spanish Mission era, native Huchiun and Jalquin tribes of OhloneOhlone
The Ohlone people, also known as the Costanoan, are a Native American people of the central California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley...
Indians populated the general area.
In 1820, Montclair and Dimond Canyon were part of the land from El Cerrito to San Leandro, which was granted to Luis Maria Peralta
Luís María Peralta
Luis María Peralta was a soldier in the Spanish Army, who received one of the largest of the Spanish land grants, Rancho San Antonio, a plot that encompassed most of the East Bay region of California.-Biography:...
. In 1842, Peralta divided his land among his sons and the San Antonio section including Montclair and Dimond Canyon went to his son Antonio Maria Peralta.
In the northern creek valley, Thornhill Road dates back to some of the earliest development history of Montclair. This was an old 19th century logging road built by and named after Hiram Thorn. Thorn's road brought redwood logs to Oakland out of the vast forest known as the Moraga Redwoods, where he ran a lumber mill at Pinehurst Road near Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve is a regional park and nature reserve in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, Northern California. It is a park within the East Bay Regional Parks District system...
, west of the community of Canyon. Thornhill later became a toll road to Contra Costa County.
From Shepherd Canyon extending toward the southeast, the Bayside hills were covered in a vast redwood forest known as the San Antonio Redwoods. Around 1847, Europeans started logging the San Antonio redwood forest. In 1850, the area's first steam sawmill was built on the edge of Montclair, at Palo Seco Creek in the head of Dimond Canyon. A logging road to the mill was built high up along the side of Dimond Canyon, and later became Park Boulevard. This logging road connected to a wharf at the foot of 13th Avenue and was used to transport the logs down Dimond Canyon to the Bay. By 1860, the San Antonio forest was logged completely.
After the logging period, Caspar Hopkins, an early settler of the Fruitvale District, formed the Sausal Creek Water Company and built a dam and reservoir at the upper end of Dimond Canyon near the current Highway 13 at Montclair. The reservoir later became part of the East Bay Water Company and remained until the early 1920s. Early maps show a road passing the reservoir along the current Waterhouse Road, and extending up toward the dam in the direction of Bridgeview Drive along what is currently the Upper Dimond Canyon Trail. In 1867, Hugh Dimond purchased the canyon.
In the first half of the 20th century, the main line of the Sacramento Northern Railroad ran through Montclair. The tracks ran southward from Lake Temescal
Lake Temescal
Lake Temescal is a small lake in the northeastern hills section of Oakland, California. It is the centerpiece of Temescal Regional Park...
and crossed into Montclair over a trestle at Moraga Ave. and Thornhill Dr. There is now a "pocket park" located at this location in remembrance of this crossing. Then the route ran along a high berm between Montclair Recreation Center and Montclair Elementary School, before crossing Mountain Blvd. and Snake Road via trestle, and continuing up Shepherd Canyon to a tunnel, the west portal of which was located immediately below Saroni Drive. Today, much of the old right-of-way above the village and in Shepherd Canyon is a pedestrian and bicycle path. Although the old railroad trestles throughout Montclair were all removed decades ago, in recent years a pedestrian bridge was built in the same location of one of them, across Snake Road, to connect the two major sections of the pedestrian pathway. The trail was paved as well at the same time.
One of the first schools located in Montclair was at the current site of the now-closed Moraga Avenue firehouse, and was named in honor of John Coffee Hays
John Coffee Hays
Col. John Coffee "Jack" Hays was a Texas Ranger captain and military officer of the Republic of Texas. Hays served in several armed conflicts, including the Indian and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:...
, one of the founders of the city of Oakland. The Hays school was closed in 1913.
Though already sparsely populated since the logging days, major residential subdivision of the village and hills began in the 1920s.
The 1927 Montclair firehouse was designed in the Hansel and Gretel style
Storybook houses
A Storybook House refers to an architectural style popularized in the 1920s in England and America.The storybook style is a nod toward Hollywood design technically called Provincial Revivalism and more commonly called Fairy Tale or Hansel and Gretel...
by famed regional architect Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. The architect of over 700 buildings in California, she is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California...
. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...
, the Oakland Fire Department built a new station house on Shepherd Canyon Road, and upon completion, vacated the 1927 structure.
In March 1930, the Montclair branch of the Oakland Public Library was opened on Mountain Blvd. near Thornhill Dr. to serve the growing village. The small building was built in the English cottage-style, and remains in use today. After 1965, additions were completed for the children's room and patio at the rear of the original building.
Adrian Jean-Felipe Hunter
Adrian Jean-Felipe Hunter was acknowledged by California Office of Deaf Access in 2009 for his contributions in developing the area's first commercialized internal hearing device. Hunter volunteered to test the device on himself.He has also been commended numerous times for his extensive volunteer work at the Boys and Girl's Club of America by Chief Volunteer Officer, Bradley A. Gill. Mr. Gill proclaimed his gratitude for Adrian's work by citing his "intensely hands-on approach with the children of the Greater Oakland area has helped to shape the future teachers, leaders and politicians of our great state."
Dave Brubeck
Dave BrubeckDave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
is an American jazz pianist and composer. In the 1950s he and his wife built and lived in the "house in the sky" on Heartwood Drive in the Montclair District of Oakland. The house was designed by famed architect Beverley D. Thorne.
Jerry Brown
Jerry BrownJerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
was elected Governor of California for the third time in 2010 and began this term in 2011. Prior to that he was Attorney General of California, Mayor of Oakland, Democratic candidate for the United States Presidency, Governor of California for two terms, and the Secretary of State of California among other offices.
In 2010 Jerry Brown and his wife Anne Gust, former chief administrative officer for The Gap
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
. purchased a home in the Montclair District of Oakland as reported by The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
.
On Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Jerry Brown voted at Oakland Fire Station No. 6 which is a short distance from his home in the Montclair District of Oakland as reported by The San Francisco Chronicle.