Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • Page 4

i 1 caeca chovdzd alahedats ueeiuiie eeach on sura I WEEK-ENDS IT WAS WONDERFUL WHILE IT LASTED seems to have- been it shooting complete with a-long bar fequir LEONA HEIGHTS III 1G87; BACK OF MILLS COLLEGE AT END OF CALIF. Hit range and, perhaps because of this limited appeal, The Willows was a min6r success. Whatever' the reason, Wlard leased the park in 1880 to Cap tain Ludwig Siebe; a San. Fran-J dsco grocer. Siebe- had the showman's flair.

A renowned marksman, Siebe reconstructed the shooting range on the tide flats, added billiard tables, bowling alleys and the inevitable, bar to the range pavilion, and invites the public to have a good time at his park. The. public in droves On improvement, a. pavilion atop a. huge, ahoreside shell moune, earnea zrom siebe al new.

nam for his, "Shell Br 1813 the park included an. enormous daneehaU i 4 If 5 I 1 1 TEPPEETS quent free-for-alls displeased the community; San Francisco, which had lacked an amusement center, now had one; and the 'advent of Prohibition changed the habits of its patrons. 1 Even though the golden days ended with the first World War, it was not until 1924 that the park finally closed The land on which it stood had become too valuable. Slowly, as succeeding years, passed, the tract upon whieh Shell Mound Park stood was converted to factory and warehouse sites. IDORA PARK Idora Park wonderful, lively Idora became a part of Oakland in 1903 and made gayer the lives of hundred of thousands, until, ia 1928, it succumbed to radio, movies the automobile and the rising value ol Its land When it first opened its gates, i ing.the services of 50 bartenders, merry-go-rounds, games, of skill and chance, -concessions and all the- appurtenances which go to make a.

gayway irresistible to the fun-loving. In the BO'S and 905, Shell Mound's popularity was unprece dented. Crowds of 20,000 and 30,000 were common during, its picnic season, which extended from March to late September. Labor and fraternal organizations used its grounds for annual picnics, one of which, the Butchers' Union Day, was a pageant of flashing cleavers wielded by brawny men. parading, steer, and a happy throng of men women and gam boling children descending on the park en masse.

Many factors contributed to the end of Shell Mound Its fre it St v. Idora Park, Shea Mound Park, Heptane Gardens, Neptune Beach these are name misted with! nostalgia for those who remem ber them as a part of way of living that 1 no more, but which pretty-- wonderful it lasted, -i. -'4'l These four were- the great namas tmoaf the Eastbay's ssnuaement parks that helped, in a Terr real wayj to build the metropolitan area.1 jThe atory of our amusement park begins, shortly after the Gold Rush period. All manner of men had fought Cgais way to California They had spilled serosa the plains. rfamdad that Eon or braved the dangers They had lived a hard) dangerous 1 Tost had madasi great gam bist end not found themselves tx wjondtrfally fertile land thai had everything to offer but the amusements, of the great Eastern-title.

Alt thi betas to cxnKdn tit phenomenal growth of the amuse ment parks which, from 1860 to 130, followed a simple, success ful pattern. 1 jThie- pattern was to combine too outdoors sports, athletic con- tests, hand concerts, horse racing, dancing, dining and drinking, all cbv a anper-ooloaaal. Brobding- nagiaaL. scale, la- a setting, of shaded walks rockeries, tinkling! fountains- and flower gardens. jThe old-time, amusement parks fnp trim arhnl fgmlrv 4Viov were, for picnics from, stuffed hampersi far loafing in the sun; far fishing Junior from the creek.

They were places: where youi canld have-a rousing good time, Shell Mound Park, a huge! amusement park, that operated far 48 from 11878 to 1924,1 and brought happiness to many sx, small boy, many a shirt-waisted zaa i an witEt I straw-hatted swain at her side. Situated between Park Avenue and Powell Streets; and extend-iSX front, the JBay shore to San Pshlo Avenue in- what is now QneryviUaV Shell, Mbuad was erected hy 1878- on a part of 150 acres owned by Tnard one- Edward i park The Wlard called1 Ids' TTTllows." It mailt attraction hapt. THn5 I --rt 'K 9 1 a Jf 'V sheltering oaks, it became a showplace. But Badger seems to have been a restless soul and, having Continued Page 4, CoL i i ii. WATERFALLS GARDENS.

OUT HOPKINS STREET, 1890 Idora's 17 acres were literally "way out in the. country, ex tending from Telegraph to Shat- tuck and from 56th to 58th Streets. Idora was fabulous, a success from the first day. It offered, by 1913, 30 conces sions, including the Scenic Rail wayThe Toboggan, The Hapids, The Social Whirl, The Circle Swing, and a tremendous device known as The Race Through the Clouds (i $50,000 enterprise fee a tins two gravity-propelled trains that raced at a purported 90 miles per hour. "The winner; Idora's publicity claimed, "is left to It may have been San Fran Cisco's misfortune, the 1906 fire, which cave Idora its quick popu larity.

The old Tivoli Theater in that city was destroyed and Idora became the Bay opera center, presenting a succession ox musical comedies directed by Paxil Steindorff. Such artists as Lon Chaney (a scene shifter), Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (who worked for $30 a week), Ferris Hartmaa, Hope May, Walter Catlett, and many another appeared on its stage. I Idora's theatrical popularity was not ephemeral. Shortly; be fore the first World War it offered a 20 week season of musical comedy with the audience cov ered by "a great canopy which' comprises the greatest single stretch of canvas erected for the purpose in the state." 30 CALIFORNIA PEACHES Furthermore, Idora's advertis ing happily proclaimed "a trained chorus of 30 California peaches representing every kind of beauty produced in the state." Yes, Idora was quite a. place It had everything ostrich farms, rodeos, circuses, the world's then largest skating rink, the Japanese i 1: from Seventh to Eighth Avenues and East 10th Street to the Estuary, just beyond what was known as Clinton Station, i Badger's property sloped to the.

water and. offered charming vistas. Improved with winding yjjwwraww mi iMiii BLAIR PARK Ill i Am--W SAIf FRANCISCAliS LIKED SHELL MOUND PARK IN 80s gardens. Its gayway echoed with the cries of concessionaires hawk- ijhg.hot dogs, soda pop, and the other snacks which an amusement park is incomplete. By the early twenties, however, Mora ultimate fate was appar ent.

Times were changing. Des pite the management show- $nanly efforts, Idora was on its ray out It gave up the ghost in 1928. I In a community which wel comed amusement jarks so Wholeheartedly, there were other, smaller enterprises which offered the pleasures of a day in the Open without the great crowds Of the bigger parks, i One of the first in the 60's was Zimmerman's Gardens, on the Aorth side of Second Street be tween Harrison and Alice, I A two-story frame building housed its restaurant and saloon, the former famed for its excellent fifty-cent dinners. Miller's Garden, at the same time, was on the west side Of Broadway between 13th and 14th Streets, covering an entire block. i Eventually Miller moved his gardens to Temescal at Telegraph and 51st In this new location the Gardens covered 22 acres, with Temescal Creek splitting the property.

Badger Park was another no table early-day gathering place. Its proprietor, one Capt Thomas W. Badger was a wealthy Forty-niner who found the Eastbey's mild climate Just to bis liking. I Badger bought property on San Antonio Creek (the estuary) A' Ttnnrsrrr mr. nil t- it i thptt TnnTjQPnmwn PFGrnpisirp now osotr ioto.