Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • Page 31

is OAKLAND'S LOCALLY OWNED AND LOCALLY CONTROLLED DAILY NEWSPAPER WANT ADS 'J MAIN 127H AT FRANKLIN PHONE. TEMPLE BAR IN BERKELEY; 2040 APDISON ST. Alt ICIlTtl SEIIICC VOL CLVI OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1952 31 NO. 122 a 'Kg II)!) HI 11)11 V4Z. 4 (: Vs.

1 m. IIBLygJ' yjtrzr i 4i v. iX.7 Juncfloo of CloBtmont and Tlarapli ATnut Jookd lik this In '83. Tank houMs water and homu win incd country-glyli. Not horoar tracks, ioroaround.

4l which Carpentier appropriated move stood on Saturday, Janu- the entire Oakland waterfront ary 10, 1852. i i Oakland might have become a town several weeks before May 4, 1852, if John Bigler.had not been a suspicious sort of an officiaL He had, It must be admitted, ome grounds. i For one thing, the bill for in corporation of Oakland was not accompanied by the usual lengthy petition from citizens of the There was good reason for thltr Hardly anyone," except Horace Carpentier, Edson Adams Sr. and Alexander Moon the 3 4, Apparently, however, he didnt see much prospect for the new town. While, no details were ever made public, the story is that Carpentier paid him off and Estill relinquished his a Some historians report that the incorporation of Oakland as a town was voted while the Legislature was meeting at Benicia, but a check of state records confirms the bill was passed at Sacramento.

Over the week-end, a Senator Anderson, who had been one of those voting to remain at Vallejo, had a decidedly unpleasant experience. According to report from one of his more dignified colleagues, the senator was attacked by "unpleasant insects" in his bed. 'After two sleepless nights, he arose early if not bright on Monday morning, and as soon as the Senate convened, moved for reconsideration of the bill. Whereupon he changed his vote from "no" to "yes," reversing the one-vote margin. By 2 Lakaahora Avenua waa fust a muddy, rutty road on the east ahora of Laka Merritt before iha turn of the century.

Salt water lake was mostly swamp land considered eyesore by public, remained so until 1807. In Gay Klne-ties, private Homes on knoll Oeft) used pier for early-day boating. blaise inn three squatters knew anything about it. I It is not surprising that the DLAEES UI? p.m. the Governor and Legisla error occurred.

state capital was shifting around so frequently 01? AIULAtTD everyone was confused. ture were en route to Sacramento. They were not too happy in Sacramento, either. Several of the legislators had harrow escapes The first session of. the Legis v.

lature was held in San Jose, from On top of that there was some very peculiar language in the charter which Carpentier had managed to get approved by the -y Governor Bigler read one para-graph 'several times. It authorized the Board of Trustees to "license and suppress cram Shops, horse racing, gambling houses, and houses of ill-fame, and1 all indecent or immoral practices, shows and December 15, 1849, to April, 22, from drowning in a flood that swept the city on March 7, which ft 18507 During the second session at San Jose (January 6, 18517 to Puzzle Is Vhere BlaSsa Was Located la Olden Days Among the most controversial XT may have influenced them to give Vallejo another try in 1853. May 1, 1851) the Legislature accepted the offer of General-Senator Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo 0 Three Oakland mayors to establish the capital at the town bearing his name. He of Charles Campbell (1855) Benja photographs to come to the at tention of editors who prepared today's historic Centennial edi- fered to give the state 156 acres min F. Ferris (1865) and C.

K. Robinson (1882) apparently I The governor was concerned over whether Carpentier intended to license" or to "sup tion is one on this page depicting' of land and $370,000 to finance erection of state buildings, and didn't photograph welL Lakeview Cottage" at 15 Twelfth Street At any rate, they don't seem to- have left any portraits for 'There was more than a suspi There is no date available for posterity. Four months of search by Tribune staffers has failed to the lawmakers moved to Vallejo to open the third session on January 5, 1852. They moved out to Sacramento, seven days later, and remained at Sacramento un the photo but the last Oakland City Directory to list the address' as a restaurant was that of 1896. uncover them.

cion he had the former in mind. Already the most pretentious buildings in the cluster of shacks around what was then called Main Street (now First and But today's Centennial Edition The proprietor was A. Dupont til the session ended on May 4, does carry photos of 38 of the Historians are both "pro" and 1852, the date of Oakland's in Broadway) Vere the fandango tuu as vj nucum iuu uuuuuu city's 41 mayors, and that almost a perfect score. corporation. houses which seemed to be the was the resort better known as the "House of Blazes" and "The The Legislature returned to town's principal business.

Vallejo for the. opening of. the fourth session on January 3, 1853, Getting 30 of the photos was easy. if you call several weeks of search through old books and picture collections easy. There was practically no trouble at all Workmen from the sawmills of San Antonio and Clinton, up the creek, and pleasure seekers from San" Francisco, staged boisterous but for only a month.

It moved Cottage," an inn and tavern which stood on 12th Street near the Lake Merritt Dam. The spot' was a favorite haunt of early-day gourmets and fun-seekers. It was vacated a few days before Christmas in 1896. to Benicia February 4 and finished the session there May 19. Im A I a 4 4Immmm mivni finding a photo of Cliff RishelL Benicia was the capital for the But the job got really tough Cortra Costa, as Oakland was with eight to go then called, had a very, bad name The "House of Blazes" was one opening of the fifth session on January 2, 1854, but the Legislature moved to Sacramento March Onry after he received fervent Deep in the archives of the Bancroft Library, searchers found of Oakland's earliest -restaurants.

It was founded by Charles Blaise 1 and has remained there ever LEdward Gibbons (1864). Mack and was first known as "Beilevue pledges from Carpentier that he would "suppress" rathe than "license, did Governor Bigler sign the bill and he waited until since. Webber (1875) turned up in the Du Lac." The first City Directory of 1869 locates the tavern on 12th Street near Oak. The move from Vallejo to Sac Athenian-Nile Club, where there is a portrait painted when he was president of the dub. The Oakland Museum, after several the very last day of the legisla tive session to doit A.

inn Researching Oakland's '100 ramento in 1852, by the Legislature that voted Oakland's incor year-old history often took edi days of hunting found a photo poration, was a matter of bright Incidentally, there- was con tors and reporters down of A. Henry (1884) lights and bed bugs. j- You're an old-timer If you can identify this rustic setting as siderable conjecture as to how It was pretty dead in Vallejo, Carpentier managed to get such day alrview Avenue. Early automobila radng toward camera In proverbial cloud of dost will be in downtown Oakland in half-Hour or eo with good luck. That cut the missing mayors to" five, and two of' them were located within hours of press end" streets and seldom did they two persons who would agree on Historic dates and places, 'i Grand Avenua above Boulevard Way in the good old summertime of 1908.

Lane at right is a few feet above present- a charter past the legislators. no night life, no excitement Sacramento, where the gold miners went to play, was the liveliest time. Some" said it was slipped in with, a stack of other bills that went through with little or no One, of W. H. Bovee (1863), came from Mrs.

Frank Lucas of town in the state, the photo of James E. Blethen (1880). It came from Mrs. Elsie L. Hanson of Dover, N.H., by way of St Petersburg.

where So the legislators wanted to move to and that consideration, probably pushed somewhat by David C. Broderick, state senator and personal friend Hillsborough, a descendant of George Toy, who was the father of Harvey Toy, famous California city was more than willing. Its representatives lavished free of Carpentier. pSllllilii hotel operator. she was vacationing.

Blethen was her grandfather. i drinks and parties on the legis The trail to the picture was uncovered when it was noted And later, the recollection that State Senator James M. Estill was one of those who were most la tors and it is not surprising that the Assembly voted unanimously that Bovee and Toy had been associated in the real estate busi persuasive in importuning Gov to move. y4 14 i 'I ,1 .) ri'-' i 4. ernor Bigler, to sign the bill.

What is surprising is that the The -cross-country connection was made through Mrs. Irene M. Harmon, daughter of Mrs. 'Hanson, and her daughter. Miss Elsie Anna Harmon, who, live here at 7520 Greenly Drive 4 THE KNAVE- ness here in the early days, and Senate defeated the bill.

The caused 'lifted eyebrows. i Estill turned up with one Bdyee's photo was, found in ma terial left by his partner. L' margin was one lone vote. That is how the Sacramento fourth interest in the deal by The grand prize, however, was 4 I 1 1 A "4-, rt In those well-advertised Gay lunettes, tha Lakeview Cot token ca lcaa dxen, peers frcra end -Heady cnxtHorities claim ills onca Housed tHa House of Elozes, on adae of laka silpuaH, whera "wis tage at 15 TwelftH Street presented a festive appearanca Caloen (cantar) banaoSi sign Heralding 5-cent bear. Beyond Weill trcJa Xic raovlsg to Eisbcrcadero TlzH czi C-rttJ la Cia CS'a.

Enployeca cf Flilicr cd Teylcr, cccl cierchcsU, Una plank aliawc2e to bora jp for 'guests celebrating lHa Fourfii of July in 1934. dome flowed, light spirits danced, mirth aniWusic ruled." sHed bigHt) are masts of Tassel moored on Estuary, i.