Oakland Districts

The Access Oakland Oral History Transcripts contain interviews and photos of residents from West Oakland detailing their connection to the area as well as their family histories (1940-1998).   Access Oakland was a summer youth program started in 1998 that taught West Oakland youth computer, research, and journalism skills.     (OHC COLL 2024-2)   12 folders in 1 box (.3 linear feet)   Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library. 

Survey responses to an 8-page questionnaire prepared by the Laurel Planning Group and distributed in 1988 to merchants of the Laurel District, Oakland, California. (OHC COLL 2014-4) 24 survey forms in 1 box (.1 linear feet) Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Dates: 1965-1968   Collection number: MS 198   Creator: Oakland Economic Development Council (Calif.)   Collection Size: 2 linear feet (1 oversized box)   Guide to the Oakland Economic Development Council Newsletter Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) View online items The Oakland Economic Development Council was a local agency established in 1965 to implement programs associated with the Office of Economic Opportunity and the ‘War on Poverty’ in Oakland, California. The council’s programs were funded through Office of Economic Opportunity and Ford Foundation grants and were administered at Neighborhood Service Centers in North Oakland, West Oakland, East Oakland, and Fruitvale. Programs included family planning clinics, preventative health programs, legal aid services, job training, remedial instruction, small business development, dental and eye services, head start and day care, youth employment, and emergency aid and housing for women and children. We encourage researchers to contact AAMLO before visiting so that we can be prepared to assist you. Please call 510-637-2000 or email aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org to arrange an appointment or inquire about access.

Ramond L. Raineri (1938-2015), who resided in Oakland and later Martinez, collected old photographs and other historical material about Oakland neighborhoods, Piedmont, Martinez and Contra Costa County. He also collected materials about transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area (trains, streetcars and ferries), the local Italian American community, and a wide range of other topics, including crate labels from California canning and packing companies, early automobiles and midget car racing.   (OHC COLL 2022-1) 6 boxes (3 linear feet)   Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.  

Shades of North Oakland was a neighborhood photograph collecting project conducted by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland and the Oakland Public Library in July 1999. The project was an outgrowth of a statewide photograph project, Shades of California, that sought to document the daily lives and the historical, political, and cultural contributions of diverse communities in California. Dates: circa 1888-1999   Collection number: MS 99   Collector: African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)   Collection Size: .75 linear feet (2 boxes)   Guide to the Shades of North Oakland Photograph Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) We encourage researchers to contact AAMLO before visiting so that we can be prepared to assist you. Please call 510-637-2000 or email aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org to arrange an appointment or inquire about access.

The Flatlands newspaper collection consists of 34 issues of The Flatlands newspaper printed from 1966-1968. The newspaper consists of news and op-ed articles, profiles, photographs, and events calendars mostly related to poverty, education, housing, police brutality, and politics in East and West Oakland. View online items Dates: 1966-1968   Collection number: MS 197   Collector: Oakland Public Library (Calif.)   Collection Size: 2 linear feet (1 oversized box)   Guide to the The Flatlands Newspaper Collection Available at the African American Museum & Library at Oakland (AAMLO) We encourage researchers to contact AAMLO before visiting so that we can be prepared to assist you. Please call 510-637-2000 or email aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org to arrange an appointment or inquire about access.

Oakland Heritage Alliance files related to the development of the Uptown area of Oakland, California. Files principally concern the designation of the “Uptown Retail and Rehabilitation Area,” of the Central District Urban Renewal Plan, and subsequent development proposals. Materials include city documents, development proposals, including for the Fox Theater, correspondence, including from merchants and Uptown Business Association; and newspaper clippings. Also includes planning documents for a tour of Uptown (2001-2002).   (OHC COLL 2024-1)   7 folders in 1 box (.4 linear feet)   Go here for a more detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library. 

(OHC COLL 2020-7)  7 boxes (3.57 linear feet) Browse a detailed list of this collection's contents.  Available at Oakland History Center, Main Library.   The West Oakland Home for Foundlings and Needy Children was founded by Rebecca McWade in the 1880s. She and a circle of women, initially known as the Little Workers of East and West Oakland, established the home on Campbell Street in West Oakland. Unlike similar facilities of the time, the home was nonsectarian and open to all races. In 1930 the home moved to a new location on Lincoln Boulevard and was renamed the Lincoln Child Center. The records in this collection are mainly logbooks of child admissions listing name, age, nationality, religion, orphan status, dates entered and discharged, and brief remarks for each child. The collection also includes Board minutes (1903-1924), an annual report (1912) and children's case letters (1899?-1905).