Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 24

10-LOCAL THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE SUNDAY, May 24. 1998 Lafayette man feces charges in art theft Downtown walking tourset It. police said. i as aeen In a photograph taken OAKLAND LIBRARY HETORY ROOM POSTCARD around 1912. By Ban Chamy STAFF WRITES Before barefoot walked Into Rome's national museum Tuesday and made off with millions of dollars In rare paintings, there was the great Cabbage Patch" theft.

The little-known William Wendt painting was helsted from a library In Oregon. 111., seven years ago, and knocked around galleries across the country unnoticed before being mailed back to the museum In 1994 in a plain brown box with 78 cents postage due. As it crisscrossed the country, federal prosecutors said this week the painting spent at least two months hanging In the gallery and home of Lafayette resident James R. Orosco, who operates Well-. lngton Fine Art Ltd.

In Orlnda. Federal prosecutors said Orosco was charged with felony possession -of stolen goods but was not in custody. He could be Jailed up to five years If am-. vlcted of the charge. While theft of two Van Goghs and a Cezanne from Italys national museum Is grabbing headlines, the theft of the Wendt painting is much more typical of art heists, experts say.

"(What happened to the 'Cabbage Patch) Is the common type of art theftT said Anna Klsluk, director of Tfie Art Loss Register which has recovered hundreds of stolen artworks since 199L. Not every stolen painting Is by a Dutch master." As It turned out being stolen may have been the best thing for "The Cabbage Patch." The minor work by the major California artist was secreted from the Oregon; 111., public library July 25, 1991. The thieves knocked out corners of the paintings frame, to re- move the canvas without ripping For two years, the palnUrqj changed bands 10 times. speiit time In galleries In New Los Angeles, York and according to art world sources. Prosecutors allege Orosco possessed the painting In November and December 1993.

Federal authorities said ah art-savvy customer who knew the painting was stolen spotted It hanging In Orosco's gallery and tipped off the police. A total of seven allegedly stolen paintings, valued at more than 8310,000, were later recovered from Orosco's Lafayette home and his Orlnda gallery In April 1994, according to FBI. Among the missing art recovered was a work by Wendl called Vandalism," which disappeared from storage after being displayed at the Security Pacific Bank building In San Francisco, federal agents said. The painting Is valued, at' more than $200,000, according to art experts. According to the FBI, Orosco told investigators he sold that painting to an unnamed Japanese Investor.

Somewhere along the lines, art dealers will unwittingly buy a stolen painting," said one prominent dealer who has tracked the history of the Orosco case. "But to have seven In your possession? That's very unusual." felony -charge filed against Orosco this week alleges he possessed only "The Cabbage Patch." Oregon Public Library -director Frank Novak said the' library got the painting back April 25. 1994. It had been mailed In a brown box with no return address. Novak said the package only made It as far as the Oregon Post Office because (here was 78 cents postage due.

ON WEDNESDAY, the Oakland Tours Pro- gram presents a new guided walking tour of the Down town Historic District. The free tour, which starts at 10 a.m highlights the early 20th century commercial landmarks clustered near the pivotal corner of 14th Street and Broadway. Earlier this month the State Historical Resources Commission voted unanimously to recommend the district for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This recommendation Is expected to be accepted by the Keeper of the Register In Washington. Only those properties Tecog-nlzed both for historical and ar- chltectural significance and meeting exacting standards of Integrity" can qualify for this prestigious listing.

Extending along Broadway from 11th Street to 17th Street, the district contains 58 buildings as well as Frank Ogawa Plaza the triangular park In front of City Hall. Nine of the buildings are cur- rently designated as city landmarks and several are already listed Individually on the Reg- later. The character-defining structures went up between 1903 and 1909 and represent the business and clvk core of the city after the turn of the century. An analysis by Cultural Heritage Survey researchers found that the buildings harmonize to a high degree in styk and scale. I of the best known Bay Area Many architects of the day designed buildings within the district boundaries.

The original town of Oakland, platted In 1850, extended east and west approximately seven blocks on eitherside of Broadway. The grid ended at 14th Street Beyond 14th Street the rolling drural East Bay plain remained i and largely undeveloped from 1850 to 1900. San Milo Avenue a dusty wagon-rutted country road stretched at a 45 degree angle out to the horizon. Historically, It was the stage A designbulld competition in 1994 resulted In a winning design by Hensel PhelpsFentress Brad- Guidelines developed for the -competition specified that the new buildings be compatible with the surrounding historic district However, to make way for the new complex, seven smaller Register-eligible structures had to be demoll This loss of historic fabric has been mitigated by the City's commitment to nominate the district Including the Broadway Building. to the National Register.

The complex (renamed In honor of Mayor Lionel J. Wilson) will be occupied by cify stall In June. Wednesday's tour begins on the front steps of City Hall. Reservations are recommended but not required. The tour will be offered monthly througji October.

To receive a schedule of the walks, contact the Oakland Tours 24-hour hot line at (510) 238- 3234. The FI rat National Bank Building Landmarks road route to Martinez and other points north. Ovdr time the confluence of the Intersecting street patterns came to be the hub erf downtown. The city's rapid powth In the rst decade of the 20th cer first decade of the 20th century has been attributed to, the Influx of businesses and residents displaced from San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Downtown's 1906-1915 high-rises (a "breathtaking 7 to 8 stories) were the first In Oakland to use steel-frame construction and thereby exceed earlier height 1 limitations.

Prominently sited on comer lots, they featured three-part vertical compositions, prominent cornices, and light-colored brick or terra exteriors. Beaux Arts classical ornamen-. tatlon detailing window and door openings was another distinguishing feature. Perhaps no building better exemplifies the landmark nature of the downtown Oakland District than the hlstorlc Broadway Building; the $Jht-story re- lnforced concrete terra cotta clad former bank headquarters occupies the triangular gore lot of Broadway ana San Pablo Avenue. Architect Llewellyn B.

Dutton had previously worked for the New York City firm D.H. Burnham responsible for the famous and much photographed Flatiron Building (completed 1902). Dutton kit New York to open a West Coast office for the Burnham firm but soon went out on his Dutton's version of the flat- -iron style opened In 1908 as the headquarters of the First National Bank of Oakland. Originally, a grand banking hall paneled wlth varying hues of marble occupied the wound floor. Over the corner entrance a Baroque-Inspired clock flanked by carved figures was a prominent feature.

Although the banking hall Is no more, the ornate clock is still presides over the busy Intersection. Oakland's flatiron Broadway Building has also been photographed frequently over the years symbolizing the city's status as the sixth largest city In California. In 1989, structural weakening caused by the Loma Prleta earthquake forced the building to be vacated. Its future looked uncertain for a time because the owners could not afford to make repairs or 1 provide additional strengthening Fortunately, the cify was pre-pared to step forward and incorporate the building Into Its new admlnlstrativecomplex. 1 ft; r.

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