Alameda, California

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is a city 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.

[edit] History

The island which Alameda occupies today was originally a peninsula connected to what is now Oakland south of the Lake Merritt channel. Much of the peninsula was low-lying and marshy, but on the higher ground, the peninsula and adjacent part of what is now downtown Oakland were home to one of the largest coastal oak forests in the world and the area was therefore called "encinal", Spanish for "oakland". "Alameda" is Spanish for "a stand of cottonwood trees", which must also have been growing in the area.

The inhabitants at the time of the arrival of Spanish explorers in the late 1700s 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. Early European settlers at the onset of the Gold Rush in the 1850s included French lumberjacks supplying lumber to the quickly expanding San Francisco and Chipman and Auginbaugh, major landowners who founded the village of Alameda near the corner of Encinal Avenue and High Street in Alameda.

The city was founded on June 6, 1853. Originally three small settlements grew in town "Old Alameda" which was the village at Encinal and High, Hibbardsville at the North Shore ferry and shipping terminal, and Woodstock 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. The terminus was moved to Oakland a few years later.

In 1917, an attraction called Neptune beach was built in an area now known as Crab Cove. This park was a major attraction in the 1920s and 1930s and was often compared to Coney Island. 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. Its 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 that 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. While some of the resort homes from Neptune beach still exist and can be seen near Crab Cove, the vast majority of the structures -- the hand-carved carousel from the world-famed Dentzel Company, the ferris wheel, roller coaster and other rides were auctioned off in 1940 for mere pennies on the dollar of their original cost. Today, an Alameda resident looks to preserve some of the historic artifacts from the Neptune Beach era in a museum 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 their collection, this new museum would focus more on the games, rides and other machines that brought amusement to Alameda's bay shore. Look up the Neptune Beach Amusement Museum for more information.

As 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 the location of Park Street.

The need for expanded shipping facilities in the late 19th century in both cities led to the excavation of a tidal canal between the two cities in 1902 which resulted in Alameda becoming an island with most of the dug up soil used to fill in nearby marshland. Bay Farm Island to the south was originally a small island which was enlarged and connected to the mainland by filling. 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. 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. <ref>http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20060322/ai_n16140812</ref>

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. The SP'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 Naval facility included a large airfield as well as docks for several aircraft carriers. It closed in 1997.

[edit] Geography

Alameda is located at 37°46' North, 122°15' West ^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.5 km² (23.0 mi²). 28.0 km² (10.8 mi²) of it is land and 31.5 km² (12.2 mi²) of it (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.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 72,259 people, 30,226 households, and 17,863 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,583.3/km² (6,693.4/mi²). There were 31,644 housing units at an average density of 1,131.3/km² (2,931.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 56.95% White, 6.21% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 26.15% Asian, 0.60% Pacific Islander, 3.29% from other races, and 6.13% from two or more races. 9.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 30,226 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $56,285, and the median income for a family was $68,625. Males had a median income of $49,174 versus $40,165 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,982. About 6.0% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] 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 be transferred to the Water Transit Authority shortly. 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.<ref>http://www.speedtrap.org/speedtraps/ste.asp?state=CA&city=Alameda</ref>

[edit] Attractions

Image:Vichouse.jpgDue 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 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 2 to 4-unit dwellings.<ref>http://www.eastbayexpress.com/bestof/award.php?oid=oid:18492&section=oid:17192&year=2002</ref>

[edit] Economic development

Image:Alameda Theater.jpg

The (old) Alameda Theater

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 Alameda Point 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 being developed at Alameda Point. In September, 2006 the developer, Alameda Point Community Partners withdrew from development of Alameda Point.

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 that was damaged during the Loma Prieta earthquake. The city also received state funds for the new library and just opened the doors to the new facility in November 2006.

City officials continue to seek ways to spur economic development on the island including the reconstruction of the city's shopping mall and restoration of the historic Art Deco city landmark Alameda Theater. The theater restoration project is currently the subject of much controversy in the city, pitting the city's pro-development and anti-development factions against each other once again.

[edit] Local newspapers

Alameda's first newspaper, the Encinal, appeared on the scene in the early 1850s and the paper's editor was instrumental in the movement to incorporate the city. Following the Encinal several other papers appeared along geographic lines, but the Daily Argus would eventually rise to prominence. Around 1900 the Daily Argus began to fade in importance and east and west papers The Times and The Star combined to take the leading role as the Alameda Times-Star in the 1930s. Under the ownership of the Kofman family, the Times-Star thrived until selling to the Alameda Newspaper Group (an out-of-town news corporation) in the 1970s.

As a direct response to the lack of a local news source, Alameda realtors John Crittenden and John McNulty decided to combine their two publishing efforts into a new East End voice, Alameda Journal, in 1987. Crittenden had published a real estate shopper while McNulty was known for the Island Journal, a provincial publication focused on local restaurant reviews. The new paper found itself the hometown paper of choice until it sold to the Hills Newspaper chain owned by Chip and Mary Brown. The Browns, Oakland residents, had assembled a chain of five East Bay weeklies or biweeklies: The biweekly Alameda Journal, The biweekly Montclarion (serving the Montclair district of Oakland), The Piedmonter (Piedmont), The Berkeley Voice, and The Albany/El Cerrito Journal.

In 1997, the Hills Newspaper chain sold out to Knight Ridder, at the time, the second-largest newspaper chain in the U.S. Following the buyout, former Hills Newspapers employees recognized the lack of a local community voice in Alameda, and again formed a new locally-based newspaper, the Alameda Sun, in 2001. In 2006 Knight Ridder announced its impending sale to McClatchy Corp., a Sacramento-based publishing firm. McClatchy Corp., has put the Contra Costa Times, which under the Knight Ridder reorganization now included all five of the original Hills Newspapers, up for sale. The current owners of the Alameda Times-Star, MediaNews, Inc., based in Colorado, have announced a strong interest in buying both the Contra Costa Times chain and the San Jose Mercury News, consolidating the daily newspaper market of the East Bay, effectively under one owner. The California State Attorney General as of June 2006 has been investigating the sale of the former Knight Ridder properties to MediaNews in the event of a potential breach of anti-trust laws. The upshot of the sale to MediaNews would be the original victor of Alameda's newspaper wars losing in the end, being bought out by the newspaper company once considered vanquished.

[edit] Alameda Power and Telecom

Unlike surrounding communities, Alameda has a municipal power and telecommunications service (Alameda Power and Telecom) that delivers services directly to consumers.

There have been proposals by the power producer to produce energy from waste, but not within the city of Alameda. Instead this energy would be produced at a waste transfer station located in neighboring (and downwind) San Leandro. Owing to the expected release of toxic emissions from what is essentially a garbage incinerator, the mayor and city council of San Leandro rejected the proposal. The mayor vowed to fight this proposal, suggesting that Alameda could instead place this near their municipal golf course.

Also, unlike the three major power producers in California, as a municipal utility, Alameda is not required to establish net metering for home photovoltaic power producers, so the city currently lags far behind other communities in producing truly "green" energy, even though they have a potentially productive site for supplemental wind energy on the western edge of the former naval air station.

[edit] Arts and culture

The Alameda Arts Council (AAC) serves as the local Alameda City arts council.

[edit] "Alameda Civic Light Opera"

In 2006 "Alameda Civic Light Opera" celebrated its 10th Anniversary Season. Founded by Fred Chacon, "ACLO" brings "Broadway" style musical productions to the "East Bay".

[edit] "Art In the Park"

Art In the Park is an annual event that takes place in Jackson Park (Encinal and Park Ave) and is produced by the management and staff of the Alameda Recreation & Parks department [1]. This event is held in the late summer and features over 100 local artists, two music areas, a children's activity area, food, poetry readings and art demonstrations. This event is free to the public.

[edit] "Shining Stars In The Arts"

Held in May, Shining Stars In The Arts is an evening event that celebrates the community members in Alameda who have made an outstanding contribution in the Arts in the city. Features a fundraising silent art auction, food and music concludes in an award ceremony for the Shining Star Honorees.

[edit] Sister cities

Alameda participates in a town twinning with Wuxi, China. Established in 2004 by Workgroup Organizer Stewart Chen, the goal is to foster economic and cultural ties between the two cities.

Another sister city is Lidingö in Sweden The initiatve came from Alameda in 1959 and was part of President Eisenhower´s people-to-people-movement, whos purpose was to develop better understanding between people from different countries after World War II. Both Alameda and Lidingö are islands with a bridge connecting them to a big city.

[edit] Miscellaneous

The Posey tube was used, along with other Bay Area tunnels, in the filming of the 1970 version of THX 1138. It was also used in the filming for The Matrix Reloaded.

Image:Alameda high Animatrix.jpg

The city was mentioned in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, when Chekov was trying to find the "Nuclear Wessels".
Alameda has been home to many movie sets. Some of the movies filmed on the island have included "Bicentennial Man", "The Net", "The Matrix Reloaded", "The Matrix: Revolutions", "Bee Season" starring Richard Gere, and the movie musical "Rent".
Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, 2003 National League Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis, MLB Baseball player Jimmy Rollins, NBA Basketball player J.R. Rider, and NFL football players Melvin Carver and Junior Tautalatasi all attended Encinal High School.
NBA Star Jason Kidd attended Saint Joseph Notre Dame high school in alameda.
Alameda is the original home of Skippy Peanut Butter, and Every year a Peanut Butter Jam Festival is held on Webster St.
Parts of Alameda High School were animated for the Animatrix episode Kid's Story.
A massive hangar at the former Naval Air Station Alameda was used to film special scenes requiring Computer-Generated Imagery for movies such as Bicentennial Man, Flubber, What Dreams May Come, Mission: Impossible II and many scenes from the Matrix trilogy, including the signature bullet time scene.
One of Alameda's most famous natives was General James Doolittle, who won the medal of honor for his bombing of Japan during WWII.
Many people from naval families, including celebrities such as Tom Hanks and Jim Morrison, lived in Alameda for a time.
Poet Timothy Earwood, The Great Expansion: Prose and Poetry, now calls Alameda home, just recently relocating from San Francisco.
Don Perata, the current President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate, lives in Alameda and once taught at Encinal High and Alameda High, among other Alameda County schools.
Alameda Terminal was the western terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad. It is located at the end of pier two of the former Naval Air Station Alameda, now Alameda Point.
Noted photographer John Harrington (photographer, author) was born and raised in Alameda.
The open spaces of the decommissioned Naval Base often hosts Mythbusters' more dangerous experiments.

[edit] Schools

[edit] Community College

College of Alameda, a part of the Peralta Colleges

[edit] 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 1-8
St. Joseph Notre Dame High School 9-12
The Child Unique Montessori School Preschool-K

[edit] Public schools

Main article: Alameda Unified School District

Like almost all cities in California, the municipal government and the school administration are two separate entities. The Alameda Unified School District has the same boundaries as the City of Alameda, but has a separately elected board to oversee its operations, and its funding comes directly from the county and state governments without oversight by the City Council. The AUSD educates approximately 10,000 students each year, in 8 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, two traditional high schools, two alternative learning schools, one continuation school, and one high school within the College of Alameda. Most high school students attend Encinal High or Alameda High.The district also operates an Adult School and a "Child Development Center". Two elementary schools were closed at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. However, a new elementary school, Ruby Bridges, opened for the 2006-2007 school year.