Timeline of Oakland, California

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

19th century

• 1852 – Town of Oakland incorporated. ^[1]
• 1854 – Horace Carpentier elected mayor.
• 1855 – Lyceum founded. ^[2]
• 1860 – Population: 1,543.
• 1863 – Heald's Business College established. ^[3]
• 1864 – Vander Naillen School of Practical Engineering established. ^[3]
• 1866 – Police Court established. ^[4]
• 1868
  • Oakland Evening Transcript newspaper begins publication. ^[5]
  • University of California and Oakland Library Association established. ^[2]
  • Oakland Long Wharf bought by Central Pacific Railroad.
• 1869
  • Railway begins operating. ^[6]
  • Lake Merritt Wild-Fowl Sanctuary ^[6] and Oakland Fire Department established.
  • Oakland Long Wharf becomes the western terminus of the First transcontinental railroad. ^[7]
• 1871 – Mills Seminary relocates to Oakland.
• 1872
  • Brooklyn becomes part of Oakland.
  • Theosophical Society Library founded. ^[2]
• 1873 – University of California relocates to Berkeley.
• 1875 – Oakland Daily Evening Tribune newspaper in publication. ^[5]
• 1878 – Oakland Free Library opens. ^[8]
• 1880 – Population: 34,456. ^[1]
• 1884 – Horton School established. ^[3]
• 1899 – Oakland Conservatory of Music established. ^[3]
• 1900 – Population: 66,960.

20th century

• 1904 – Pacific Technical College established. ^[3]
• 1906
  • April 18: San Francisco earthquake; refugees flee to Oakland. ^[6]
  • August 6: Newman´s College, one of the first sportsbars, was registered as a corporation in Oakland. ^[9]
• 1907 – California School of Arts and Crafts founded. ^[6]
• 1909
  • Samuel Merritt College founded.
  • Moore & Scott Iron Works in business.
• 1910
  • Oakland Public Museum and YMCA open.
  • Population: 150,174.
• 1912 – Oakland School Women's Club ^[10] and Children's Hospital founded.
• 1913 – Oakland Yacht Club established. ^[6]
• 1914
  • Oakland Technical High School established.
  • Oakland City Hall and Civic Auditorium built.
• 1917 – Joaquin Miller Park established. ^[6]
• 1920 – Population: 216,261.
• 1922 – Snow Museum of Natural History opens.
• 1923 – Tribune Tower completed.
• 1924 – Granada Theater opens. ^[11]
• 1927
  • Oakland Airport begins operating.
  • Port of Oakland opens.
• 1928
  • Clorox Chemical Company in business.
  • Posey Tube (traffic tunnel) built. ^[6]
• 1931 – Paramount Theatre built.
• 1933 – Oakland Symphony active.
• 1936
  • San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens.
  • Alameda County Courthouse built. ^[6]
  • Alameda County Botanical and Zoological Society established. ^[12]
• 1937 – Caldecott Tunnel opens.
• 1940 – Population: 302,163.
• 1944 – Oakland Army Base active.
• 1946 – 1946 Oakland General Strike begins on December 3 and ends on December 5.
• 1954 – Oakland Junior College established.
• 1961 – Coliseum Drive-In opens. ^[11]
• 1966
  • October: Black Panther Party established.
  • Oakland Coliseum opens.
• 1968 – Athletics baseball team relocates to Oakland.
• 1969 – Oakland Museum opens.
• 1970 – Regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission established.
• 1971 – Your Black Muslim Bakery in business.
• 1972 – 12th Street Oakland City Center station, 19th Street Oakland station, and MacArthur station open.
• 1973 – Rockridge station opens.
• 1974 – West Oakland station opens.
• 1977 – Lionel Wilson becomes mayor.
• 1985 – Alameda County Community Food Bank established. ^[13]
• 1988 – Oakland East Bay Symphony established.
• 1989 – October 17: 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
• 1990 – Population: 372,242. ^[14]
• 1991 – October 20: Oakland firestorm of 1991.
• 1998 – City website online (approximate date). ^{[15] [ chronology citation needed ]}
• 1999 – Jerry Brown becomes mayor.
• 2000 – Allen v. City of Oakland lawsuit filed.

21st century

• 2002 – Taoist Center opens. ^{[16] [17]}
• 2003
  • April 7: Anti-war protest.
  • Women of Color Resource Center headquartered in Oakland. ^{[18] [19]}
  • Urban Habitat headquartered in Oakland (approximate date). ^[20]
• 2004 – Middle Harbor Shoreline Park landscaped.
• 2007
  • East Bay Meditation Center opens. ^{[17] [21]}
  • Ron Dellums becomes mayor.
• 2008 – Cathedral of Christ the Light dedicated.
• 2009
  • January 1: BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant.
  • March 21: 2009 shootings of Oakland police officers.
  • Oakland Local begins publication. ^[22]
• 2010
  • Ace Monster Toys founded. ^[23]
  • Population: city 390,724; metro 4,335,391. ^[24]
• 2011
  • October 10: Occupy Oakland begins.
  • Jean Quan becomes mayor.
  • Sudoroom established. ^[25]
• 2012
  • April 2: 2012 Oikos University shooting.
  • Oakland Wiki begins publication. ^[26]
• 2014
  • Oakland Police Beat begins publication. ^[27]
  • Libby Schaaf becomes mayor.
• 2016
  • 2016 Oakland warehouse fire.
• 2020
  • George Floyd protests in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• 2022
  • Sheng Thao becomes mayor.
• 2024
  • Thao is recalled in an election.
• 2025
  • Barbara Lee becomes mayor.

See also

• History of Oakland
• List of mayors of Oakland, California
• Timeline of the San Francisco Bay Area
• Timelines of other cities in the Northern California area of California: Fresno, Mountain View, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose

References

1. Disturnell 1883.
2. Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
3. Patterson, Homer L. (1916). Patterson's American Educational Directory. Vol. 13. Chicago. hdl:2027/nyp.33433075985949.
4. B.F. Stilwell, ed. (1869), Directory of the Township and City of Oakland, Oakland, Calif.: Oakland News Office, OL   24159483M
5. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
6. Federal Writers' Project 1940: "Oakland"
7. "Railroad celebration at Oakland". California digital newspaper collection. Daily Alta California, Volume 21, Number 7172, 9 November 1869. Retrieved May 10, 2019. New York and Oakland are bound together by ties strapped with iron.
8. "Oakland Public Library Historical Timeline" . Retrieved October 30, 2014.
9. Gem, Kentucky. "Football Season" . Retrieved April 15, 2025.
10. California Digital Library. "Browse the Collections". Online Archive of California. University of California. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
11. "Movie Theaters in Oakland, CA". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
12. "History". Oakland Zoo. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
13. Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei, ed. (May 9, 2013). "Oakland, California". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica . Retrieved November 5, 2013.
14. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
15. "OaklandNet: Official Web Site Of The City of Oakland California". Archived from the original on February 9, 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
16. "Taoist Center". Oakland. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
17. Pluralism Project. "Oakland, California". Directory of Religious Centers. Harvard University. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
18. "Women of Color Resource Center". Archived from the original on February 16, 2003.
19. "Organizations". International Relations and Security Network . Switzerland: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich . Retrieved October 30, 2014.
20. "Urban Habitat". Archived from the original on August 15, 2014.
21. "Mission and History". Oakland: East Bay Meditation Center. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
22. "California". CJR's Guide to Online News Startups. New York: Columbia Journalism Review . Retrieved November 5, 2013.
23. "Bay Area Consortium of Hackerspaces". Hackerspaces. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
24. "Largest Urbanized Areas With Selected Cities and Metro Areas (2010)". US Census Bureau. 2012.
25. "FAQ". Sudoroom.
26. "About Us". Oakland Wiki. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
27. "Scary Things You Learn From 23 Years of Oakland Police Records", Atlantic Cities, April 10, 2014

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• "Oakland", Disturnell's Stranger's Guide to San Francisco and Vicinity, San Francisco: W.C. Disturnell, 1883
• Husted's Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley Directory, San Francisco, Cal.: F.M. Husted
  • 1890 ed.
  • 1892 ed.
• "City of Oakland", Bay of San Francisco, the Metropolis of the Pacific Coast and Its Suburban Cities: a History, Lewis Publishing Company, 1892, OCLC   8666576
• Jos. Alex Colquhoun, ed. (1893), "City of Oakland", Illustrated Album of Alameda County, California, Oakland, Calif: Pacific Press

Published in the 20th century

• Husted's Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley Directory, San Francisco, Cal.: F.M. Husted
  • 1905 ed.
  • 1909 ed.
  • 1911 ed.
  • 1915 ed.
  • 1924 ed.
• San Francisco-Oakland Directory. Oakland: Walter S. Fry Co. 1907.
• Joseph Eugene Baker (1914), "Oakland", Past and Present of Alameda County, California, Chicago, Ill.: S.J. Clarke
• Polk's Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda City Directory, San Francisco, Cal.: R.L. Polk & Company, 1928
• Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley and San Leandro street address telephone directory, Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co
  • 1938 ed.
  • 1944 ed.
• Federal Writers' Project (1940), "Oakland", San Francisco: The Bay and Its Cities, American Guide Series, NY: Hastings House

External links

• Items related to Oakland, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)