Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 36

04 THEOAKLANOTHf8UNE SUNDAY Octobers 1997 rrr district themsdves by buying toe then kmg-vacant Dunn building along wito its neighbor next door (formerly an undertaker partorh 7 Their painstaking tlon of both buildings took years Book sales to support toe library have been sponsored by the Friends group for at toast 25 years The dd firehouse (now HEUBRARY-spon-sored Bookmark Bookstore is loca ted not tar from the site 7 of Oakland's first 11- brary-" 7 7 v- A four-day annual sale Wednesday to Saturday will be -a good time to Visit the store at 721 Washington St In the heart of Old Oakland Hard-cover books first edi- tlons vintage magazines and collectible paperbacks are available at big reductions and all pro- ceeds go to support library proj- ects and special programs 7 i Local history fifes reveal the city's first libr-ary opened in 1872 at -12th arid Washington streets The library was main- tabled by a readers' club whose members paid $6 a year in dues Six years later In 1878 a state law was passed permitting cities to tax their Citizens for li- -braries Oakland was one of the demolished) at 14th and Martin Luther King Jr Way was one location where the sales were held Jack London Square and City Center also were used Itallanatiei commercial structure listed lathe National Register of Historic Places! After a careful restoration the Dunn exhibits a Ugb architectural quality panic- ularly with respect to the unusual cast-trob piers at the -main entry and the articulated double-bay windows -Cultural Heritage Survey re- searchers were not able to determine the architect but did uncover information about the original owner Martin Dunn an irishman who came west during -thetoldRush7 7 Oakland'sdesignation hi 1869 as the terminus ofthe' transcontinental rail line sparked land speculation and 7 rapid development Dunn in-veked what the downtown (Broadway and Washtogtonbe-' tween 7th and 10th streets) He also acquired ranch land north of town in what now is the Claremont District Dunn put lip the three-story hotel -7 (tallest building in town to that point) to 1878 the same year the little library was movedmext to the city hall The new hotel was located around the corner from the7th Street train station Travelers disembarking to Oakland after the bone-jarring weeklong 7-cross-country journey were Ten years ago the group decided to look for a permanent site and a location on Washington Street next door to Ratio's Delicatessen filled the bill for a time heartened to find hotels restaurants barbershops and other conveniences clustered on toe blocks surrounding the station By the turn ofthe century! Oakland's commercial hub had gravitated north to 14th and Broadway This trend accelerated alter the 1906 earthquake when thousands fled devastated Sari Francisco and made their way to Oakland setting off a ro-: bust building boom 7 It is remarkable that somany of the buildings dating from toe pre-1900 era still are standing One of the flrst to recognize these unique architectural treasures was Laney College pro- fessorTom Woff In the late 70s as part of his Oakland History course Wolf took students on walking tours ofthe old downtown commenting on the then-revolu- ttonary city strategy to acquire and rehabilitate the aged yet -still serviceable structures In 1978 Wolf and his wife Robin decided to invest to the The sale's organizers still are accepting donations and volunteers are welcome Call 444- -0473 first in Californtoto support a mh city funds Wolfs walking tours became so popular that they became the nucleus for the Tours Pro gram Volunteer guldes gradu- ates of the history course began offering free tours to school groups and the public bn a year-round basis The Tours' Pro- 7 gram's next tour is Oct 15 Call 238-3234 The existing building was lifted off its site and moved a few blocks north next to the city hall where it served Oakland residents (including the likes of Jack London and Isadora Duncan) for 28 years Bookmark is in the historic Dunn Building a three-story 7 Star The Bookmark book store i located bn historic Washington Street In Oakland By Jodi STAFF WWTBt puters' remain programmed to recognize years according to their last two digits For ex ample 1997 is simply 97 if you have a silicon chip for a brain But unless reprogrammed those computers won't be able to- tell the difference between 2000 and 1900 which could make anything involving a time element to cess among thousands worldwide bidding ion contracts to debug! computers forY2K- or to develop bullet" software that will 'da the trick for everyone The problem has been the subject of congressional hearings the target of intensive academic study the' focus of dozens of Web sites 7 Morehous said the legal community Is carefully watching a lawsuit to which produce supplier has sued Its software vendor for contract and warranty breaches because the company's cash registers cannot process credit cards with expiration dates in '2000 The produce firm Is seeking 810000 plus legal fees relatively low stakes firms that sold them software or hardware that crashes because of Y2K Or how many might sue their Insurance companies when they cant collect claims for production time lost when Y2K shuts them down Programmers familiar with older computer languages suddenly are in high demand to flx-the millennium bug giving rise to employment law Issues Companies now must consider how to handle contracting with this type of short-term employee and how to protect confidential computer systems ami Intellectual property from a freelancer who comes In debugs the system and then leaves Penslod plan fiduciaries could lace class-action lawsuits If Y2K crashes their systems and eats up the plans' values Even the federal government Is at risk the Internal Revenue Service alone has an estimated 500 million lines of computer codes that need review to avoid Y2K glitches Morehous said the most likely law- suit we can see would be ties cases against public -companies that toll to makeac- curate disclosures about the ef- feet iff Y2K on their bottom line" he said -Even if a computer system is' made Y2K-corapllant it could become fouled up by receiving data from a non-compllant com- puter Morehous said even more possible liability Scores of Bay Area firms are Dean Morehous chairman of Thelin technology law practice 'group and Y2K team leader said be read a study that estimates the worldwide cost of Y2K' remediation could be second only to World War II (at least $350 billion to the United States alone) on the price list of 20th century upheavals Next after Y2K would come the Vietnam War ($178 billion to the United States') and the Kobe Japan ($100 billion in property Iras) and Northrldge ($40 billion' In property loss)- earthquakes he said "When those kinds iff dollars are being kicked around lAs almost an inevitable -that there's going to be some at- tempt to shift responsibility and shift the costs" Morehous said For example imagine 1 how many companies might sue the 'A' Bay Area law firm Is leading the way to prepare businesses and organizations for the millennium bug's bite The is a technological time bomb with the capacity to shake the PC world but some lawyers already see it as bloOd to the water: a computer catastrophe that couid create a trll-lion-dollar tsunami of litigation And riding that waye is San Francisco's Marrln Johnson Bridges which' Claims to be the nation's first law 'firm to assemble a team of attorneys devoted exclusively to helping clients with legal issues related to- (hey Year 2000 problem known lti technolog-lcal circles as Y2K: With less than 1000 days to go most of the wof ld's com- And when computers don't Understand data they don't work properly Programs freeze data becomes corrupted! networks crash Computers controlling everything from tele-1 communications to International trade to transportation could -be toppled in a worldwide domino effect 7 Borne people even'- believe that bank and business failures' could spar kit global recession Celebrate the Best Oakland has to Offer! The Festival joins hands of diverse culnires all ages and neighborhoods in a Celebralion of 1 5 Yeah of Festival Magid SeeyQU there! Fun for the Entire Familyl Exciting New Programs Intemational Food Fair Innovative Craft Fair Historic Oakland Display Top Quality Entertainment on Several Stages Huge Daiice Pavilion More! SATURDAY SUNDAY OCTOBER 1 1112 LAKESIDf PARK LAKE MERRITT 11AM 6PM? HOW MANY PUMPKINS CAN YOU FIND? Tickets: AihinceSalc $1 Youth (6-11) Seniors (55) Disabled 5 Aduhs Buyfickrts Onliaei CLASSIFICDS PUMPKIN HUNT LooktaoUrBayt I ENTRY FORM 7 1 Classified each Sunday through Name October 26 and find the 7 I 7' hidden pumpkins! lAddress! ''-7- I -7 Pumpkins are sprouting up allover the 4 ticketES WWW1KXE1WOXOM S10AQ11WD 7 0 Ahmeda County LoagiDnigstores rvnn pages ewiy Sunday from September 28 dirxMighOiapber 26 Gmiiu latpudu Music 2403 Myaph Beikriey CaU Festival tf toe Lake 510-286-3826 I City I I I (he number of pumpkin you find each Sunday Zip 7- and ienter them on qie Coupon below You could 1 win 4 mnvif tkJcfts! eminr the oumokliu win 4 movie tickets! count the pumpkins I in this ad of course) 7t Daytime Phone jib pUrdiate ii necessary Use the entry 7' coupononthe (eft orobtaiil one from any ANG 7 I found pumpkins Newspapers oflfkieekdays and -DhaMedtJAduhs 7' 7'-' 7 Ihuisporttoioa v-'" 'BART 10 12th Sheet and Lake Merit shims 7 FREE dwtltesio'snd from BAIT 7 AC Thuuft Iks 11 sad 58y Fesdvallnformation5ia286io6i 7 7 E-MAIL JbtiviHhKiLcniB''''- v- 7-- 77v7 YEBSITE: bAvwieOxoiVtaer(esthfii X- MAIL COMPLETED FORM TO: Cteutfled Pumpkin Hunt 7 7 I I ANO Newspapers i piaB aisssr i tires HaywixLCA 94544 7 1 i 7 MHhvneM tram th IqrtothtwiqrQ M- Alt the news from the Bay to the Valley WtirM OlYOf OAKUNP UneannkiMrpSMnpwMk EMaswWAmNwipvwtfeAmmMrtMrlMMMiMfeiiiMbMitWMl rigSMi SrtniM gggg MUpUMII UW Wl isssm pay npm "Wn IW nn tcUvii 7- 7-- 7 V7- '7' 7-7- 7' v' 7' 777 '7' V' V'7'7 7 7 7 77 7 '7 7 7V7 77: V': '7' '77- 77-v- 7777'- '7: 77-V' 7 -V-! y' 7 'v 7 A 's A.