Alameda is a city in
Alameda
County
, California
, United
States
. It is located on a small island of the same
name next to Oakland
in the San Francisco Bay
. An additional part of the city is Bay Farm Island
, which is adjacent to the Oakland
International Airport
. The city has a small town feeling with its
Victorian homes and tree-lined neighborhoods. At the 2000 census,
the city had a total population of 72,259. Alameda is a
charter city, rather than a general law city,
meaning that the city can provide for any form of government.
Alameda became a charter city and adopted a
council-manager government in
1916, which it retains to the present.
History
The island that Alameda occupies was originally a
peninsula connected to Oakland. Much of the
peninsula was low-lying and marshy, but on higher ground the
peninsula and adjacent parts of what is now downtown Oakland were
home to one of the largest coastal oak forests in the world. The
area was therefore called "Encinal," Spanish for "oak grove."
"Alameda" is Spanish for "grove of poplar trees" or "tree-lined
avenue," and was chosen in 1853 by popular vote.
The inhabitants at the time of the arrival of the Spanish in the
late 18th Century were a local band of the
Ohlone tribe.
The peninsula became part of the vast
Rancho San
Antonio
granted to Luis Peralta by the Spanish king who
claimed California. The grant was later confirmed by the new
Republic of Mexico
upon its independence from Spain
.
Over time, the place became known as Bolsa de Encinal or Encinal de
San Antonio.
The city was founded on June 6, 1853, and originally three small
settlements were located in the town.
"Alameda" referred to
the village at Encinal and High Streets, Hibbardsville was at the
North Shore ferry and shipping terminal, and Woodstock
was on the west near the ferry piers of the
South Pacific Coast
Railroad and the Central
Pacific. Eventually, the Central Pacific's ferry pier
became the Alameda Mole, featuring
transit connections between San Francisco
ferries and local trollies, Key System buses, and
Southern Pacific (formerly
Central Pacific) commuter lines.
The first post office opened in 1854. The
San Francisco and Alameda
Railroad opened the Encinal station in 1864. The Encinal area
was also known as Fasskings Station in honor of Frederick Louis
Fassking. Encinal's own post office opened in 1876, was renamed
West End in 1877, and closed in 1891. The West End area was
originally called Bowman's Point in honor of Charles G. Bowman, an
early settler.
The
Alameda
Terminal
was the site
of the first train across the Transcontinental Railroad into the
San Francisco Bay Area on September 6, 1869. The transcontinental
terminus was switched to the Oakland Mole
two months later on November 8, 1869.
The borders of Alameda were made co-extensive with the island in
1872, incorporating Woodstock into Alameda in 1872.
In 1917, an attraction called
Neptune Beach was built in the
area now known as Crab Cove.
Often compared to Coney Island
, the park was a major attraction in the 1920s and
1930s. The original owners of the facility, the Strehlow
family, partnered with a local confectioner to create tastes unique
to Neptune Beach. It is not widely known that both the American
snow cone and the
popsicle were first sold at Neptune Beach. The
Kewpie doll, handpainted and
dressed in unique hand-sewn dresses, became the original prize for
winning games at the beach - another Neptune Beach invention. The
Strehlows owned and operated the beach on their own, even filling
in a section of the bay to add an additional Olympic-size swimming
pool and an exceptional roller coaster which must have given riders
a tremendous view of the bay. The
Cottage Baths were
available for rent.
Neptune Beach's two huge outdoor pools hosted swimming races and
exhibitions by famous swimmers like Olympian
Johnny Weismuller, who later starred as
the original Tarzan, and
Jack LaLanne,
who started a chain of health clubs. Unfortunately, the park closed
down in 1939 because of the
Great
Depression, the completion of the Bay Bridge, people
circumventing paying the admission price and in general, the rise
of car culture. Once the Bay Bridge was complete, the rail lines,
which ran right past the entrance to Neptune Beach on the way to
the Alameda Mole and the Ferry, lost riders in droves. People began
using their cars to escape the city and the immediate suburbs like
Alameda and traveling further afield in California. Alameda lost
its resort status as more distant locations became more attractive
to cash-rich San Francisco tourists. Youngsters in town became
aware of ways to avoid paying the dime for admission to the park.
Strong swimmers or even waders could sneak in on the bay side, just
by swimming around the fence.
Some of the resort homes and buildings from the Neptune beach era
still exist in present-day Alameda.
The Croll Building
, on the corner of Webster St. and Central Ave., was
the site of Croll's Gardens and Hotel, famous as training quarters
for the some of the greatest fighters in boxing history from 1883
to 1914. James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Jim Jefferies,
Jack Johnson, and many other champions all stayed and trained here.
Today this beautiful preserved building is home to Croll's Pizza
and the New Zealander Restaurant. Neptune Court, just a block away
on the corner of Central Ave. and McKay Ave., provides another
glimpse of what resort life was like in Alameda in the 1920s. A
short walk near Crab Cove will reveal many more historic
gems.
The vast majority of the Neptune Beach structures - the hand-carved
carousel from the world-famed Dentzel Company, the
Ferris wheel, the roller coaster, and other
rides - were auctioned off in 1940 for mere pennies on the dollar
of their original cost. Today, an Alameda resident Michael Schiess
looks to preserve some of the historic artifacts from the Neptune
Beach era at the
Neptune Beach Amusement Museum or NBAM, specifically
dedicated to the resort and all "amusement machines." While the
existing and more general Alameda Museum has quite a few artifacts
from Neptune Beach in its collection, this new museum will focus
more on the games, rides and other machines that brought amusement
to Alameda's bay shore. A consequence of the Neptune Beach closing
around 1940, was a total dearth of quality, clean swimming
facilities in town. A grass roots effort to create swimming pools
at two high schools and two city parks would continue into the
early 1960s.
When the railroad came to town in the 1860s Park Street developed
into the major thoroughfare of the city and the location of the
main Alameda train station, residents of Old Alameda pulled up
stakes and moved across town to the new downtown. The street's
location was chosen by two landowners who wished to attract tenants
and development to their land. As a result they designated their
mutual border as Park Street.
The need for expanded shipping facilities led to the dredging of a
canal through the marshland between Oakland and Alameda in 1902,
turning Alameda into an island. Most of the soil from the canal was
used to fill in nearby marshland. The area of Alameda called Bay
Farm Island is no longer an island, but is attached by fill to
Oakland. In his youth, author
Jack
London was known to take part in oyster pirating in the highly
productive oyster beds near Bay Farm Island, today long gone.
The
Alameda
Works Shipyard
was one of the largest and best equipped shipyards
in the country. In the 1950s, Alameda's industrial and ship
building industries thrived along the estuary, where the world's
first-ever, land-based, containerized shipping crane was used.
Today,
the Port of
Oakland
across the estuary serves as one of the largest
ports on the West Coast, using the shipping technologies originally
experimented with in Alameda. As of March 21, 2006, Alameda
is a "Coast Guard City," one of seven in the country.
In addition to the regular trains running to the Alameda Mole,
Alameda was also served by local steam commuter lines of the
Southern Pacific (initially, the Central Pacific) which were later
transformed into the
East Bay
Electric Lines. Southern Pacific's electrified trains were not
streetcars, but full-sized railroad cars
which connected to the mainland by bridges at Webster Street and
Fruitvale (only the latter bridge survives today).
The trains ran to
both the Oakland
Mole
and the Alameda Mole. In fact, one line
which ran between the two moles was dubbed the "Horseshoe Line" for
the shape of the route on a map.
Soon after the completion of the Bay Bridge
, Alameda trains ran directly to San Francisco on
the lower deck of the bridge, the ferries having been rendered
unnecessary. Alameda was the site of the Southern Pacific's
West Alameda Shops where all the electric trains were maintained
and repaired.
In the 1930s
Pan American
Airways established a
seaplane port
along the fill that led to the Alameda Mole. This was the original
home base for the famous
China
Clipper.In 1929, the University of California established the
San Francisco Airdrome located near the current Webster Street tube
as a public airport. The Bay Airdrome had its gala christening
party in 1930. The airfield was a busy place, as an early home base
for Coastal Air Freight, Varney Air Lines, West Coast Air
Transport,Western Air Express, the transbay Air Ferries, and
Boeing's Pacific Air Transport. The Airdrome was closed in 1941
when it's air traffic interfered with the newly built Naval Air
Station.
Reference
-http://www.airfields-freeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_Oakland.htm#sanfranbayWith
the advent of World War II, a vast
stretch of the marshy area southwest of the Alameda Mole was filled
and the Naval Air
Station Alameda
established. This major Naval facility
included a large airfield as well as docks for several
aircraft carriers. It closed in
1997.
In the late 1950s the Utah Construction Company began a land fill
beyond the
Old Sea Wall and created
South
Shore.
Geography
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
23.0 square miles (59.5 km²), of which, 10.8 square
miles (28.0 km²) of it is land and 12.2 square miles
(31.5 km²) (52.98%) is water.
Today, the city consists of the main original section, with the
former Naval Air Station at the west end of Alameda Island,
"Southshore" along the southern side of Alameda Island, and Bay
Farm Island, which is part of the mainland proper. The area of the
former NAS is now known as "Alameda Point." The Southshore area is
separated from the main part of Alameda Island by a lagoon; the
north shore of the lagoon is located approximately where the
original south shore of the island was. Alameda Point and
Southshore are built on bay fill.
Not all of Alameda Island is part of the City of Alameda.
Although
nearly all of the island is in Alameda city limits, a small portion
of a dump site west of the former runways at Alameda Point pokes
out far enough into San Francisco Bay that it is over the county
line and part of the City and County of San
Francisco
.[218]
Coast Guard
Island
which is a small island between Alameda Island and
Oakland is also part of Alameda and is the home of Integrated
Support Command Alameda
[219]
Demographics
At the 2000
census , there were 72,259
people, 30,226 households and 17,863 families residing in the city.
The
population density was
6,693.4 per square mile (2,583.3/km²). There were 31,644 housing
units at an average density of 2,931.2/sq mi (1,131.3/km²).
The racial makeup of the city was 56.95%
White, 6.21%
Black or
African American, 0.67%
Native American, 26.15%
Asian, 0.60%
Pacific Islander, 3.29% from
other races, and 6.13%
from two or more races. 9.31% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 30,226 households of which 27.7% had children under the
age of 18 living with them. 43.7% were
married
couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 32.2% of all
households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living
alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.04.
Age distribution was 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24,
33.6% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100
females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there were 89.5 males.
The median household income was $56,285, and the median family
income was $68,625 (these figures had risen to $86,516 and $94,555
respectively as of a 2008 estimate). Males had a median income of
$49,174 versus $40,165 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$30,982. About 6.0% of families and 8.2% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 11.4%
of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
There is a major
Portuguese
community, from where
Tom Hanks' mother
came and where
Lyndsy Fonseca was
raised for some time.
Historical figures
Year |
Population |
1900 |
11,200 |
1940 |
36,300 |
1950 |
64,400 |
1960 |
63,900 |
1970 |
71,000 |
1980 |
63,900 |
1990 |
74,000 |
2000 |
72,259 |
Transportation
Vehicle access to the island is via three bridges to Oakland, a
bridge for vehicular traffic as well as a second,
pedestrian/bicycle-only drawbridge (the only one in the USA), to
Bay Farm Island, and two one-way tunnels leading into Oakland's
Chinatown.
Bridges at Fruitvale Avenue, High Street,
and Park Street, and the tunnels at Webster Street and Harrison
Street (the latter called the Posey Tube
) connect Alameda and Oakland. Public transportation
includes the AC Transit buses (which
include express buses to San Francisco
) and two ferry services — the Alameda-Oakland
Ferry and the Harbor Bay Ferry. Both ferry services
may soon be transferred to the
Water Transit
Authority. The island is also close to the
BART train service, with the closest stations being
Lake Merritt, near the exit to the Posey Tube, and Fruitvale, near
the Fruitvale Bridge.
Even though the island is just minutes off
Interstate 880, the speed limit for the city
is 25 mph (40 km/h) on almost every road. Many unaware drivers
fail to slow down after exiting the highway. Groups like Pedestrian
Friendly Alameda and BikeAlameda advocate stronger enforcement of
speeding laws. Alameda has a reputation for vigorous enforcement of
the speed limit.
Alameda has also featured prominently on automotive
blog Jalopnik, with their "Down
on The Street" segment consisting of cars found on the streets of
Alameda. Jalopnik has nicknamed it "The Island That Rust
Forgot".
Attractions

Victorian house in Alameda
to its proximity to the Bay,
wind
surfers and
kite surfers can often
be seen along Crown Memorial State Beach and Shoreline Drive. From
the beach there are also views of the San Francisco skyline and the
San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge.
One of
the recent attractions is the aircraft
carrier USS
Hornet
, a museum ship now
moored at the former Naval Air Station as the USS
Hornet Museum
. This ship was originally named the
USS
Kearsarge, but was renamed in honor of the previous Hornet
CV-8 (famous for the
Doolittle raid),
which was lost in October 1942.
Alameda is known for its large stock of
Victorian houses; 9% of all
single-family houses (1500) in Alameda are Victorians, and many
more have been divided into two to four-unit dwellings. It is said
that Alameda has more pre-1906 earthquake era homes than any other
city in the Bay Area.
Alameda is home to the official offices and training facility of
the
Oakland Raiders American football team. The training
facility features practice fields, a full- featured weight room,
locker room, player meeting rooms, an auditorium, a
state-of-the-art television studio and spacious offices and is also
home to
The Raider Image, the
merchandise arm of the franchise, to which all the public can
visit.
At the turn of the 19th century, the city of Alameda took a large
chunk of Charles Froling's land away to build a street. Froling had
planned to build his dream house on the plot of land he received
through inheritance. To spite the city and an unsympathetic
neighbor, Froling built a house wide, long and high on the tiny
strip of land left to him. The Froling
spite
house is still standing and occupied.
Alameda is also famous for its Fourth of July parade which is one
of the largest and longest in the country . It features homemade
floats, classic cars, motorized living room furniture, fire
breathing dragons, marching bands and lots of enthusiastic people.
The parade route is about 3 miles (5 km) long.
Economic development
The
Naval Air
Station Alameda
was decommissioned and is in process of being
turned over to the City of Alameda for civilian development.
The area of the former NAS is now known as Alameda Point. Portions
of this area are now in commercial use, but the transfer process
has been slowed down by disputes between the Navy and the city
regarding payment for environmental cleanup of the land. In late
July 2006, the City of Alameda announced a deal with the Navy that
would turn the land over to the city for $108M. The preliminary
development concept calls for 1700 housing units to be developed at
Alameda Point. In September 2006, the developer, Alameda Point
Community Partners, withdrew from development of Alameda Point. In
May 2007, the City selected the SunCal Companies as the Master
Developer of Alameda Point and, in July 2007, the parties were
negotiating terms for a development agreement.
After two previous
failures, voters in the city passed a ballot measure in 2000
authorizing a bond measure for
construction of a new library to replace the city's Carnegie library, damaged during the
Loma Prieta
earthquake
. The city also received state funds for the
new library and opened the doors to the new facility in November
2006.
Wine and Spirits Production
Rosenblum Cellars Winery and St. George Spirits are located at
Alameda Point. In 1978, Alameda veterinarian Dr. Kent Rosenblum and
his wife Kathy founded Rosenblum Cellars. In 2008, the company was
purchased by
Diageo Estates.
In December, 2007, St. George Absinthe Verte, produced by St.
George Spirits became the first brand of American-made
absinthe to be legally produced in the United
States since a ban was enacted in 1912.
Theaters
City
officials continue to seek ways to spur economic development on the
island, including the restoration of the historic Art Deco city landmark Alameda Theatre
. The theater restoration project included a
multiplex to make the project financially feasible and a parking
structure to accommodate patrons of the theater and avoid excessive
impact on parking in the Park Street area. Following some setbacks
during construction the public opening was May 21, 2008, with a
gala event.
The South Shore Mall Twin Cinema opened in 1969 and served as a
prominent theater on the island until its closure in 1998. In 2002,
the building was demolished and its former site is now a parking
lot in the Alameda Towne Centre shopping mall (formerly South Shore
Center).
Alameda also had one other operating movie theater. Central Cinema,
which opened in December 2004 and closed in June 2008. It was a
42-seat house at 842 Central Avenue (near the western end of
Webster Street). The building had previously been both a community
center and a mortuary, and the operator of the movie theater was
able to use a quirk of the site zoning to legally operate a movie
theater. The theatre had only one screen, but featured couches and
armchairs for seating.
Local newspapers and magazines
Alameda's first newspaper, the
Encinal, appeared in the
early 1850s and the paper's editor was instrumental in the movement
to incorporate the city. Following the
Encinal, several
other papers appeared along geographic lines, and the
Daily
Argus eventually rose to prominence. A young Alameda native,
Joseph R. Knowland, wrote political and historical
articles for the Alameda papers. Later, Knowland owned the powerful
Oakland Tribune. Around
1900, the
Daily Argus began to fade in importance and east
and west papers
The Times and
The Star combined
to take the leading role as the
Alameda Times-Star in the
1930s. Under the ownership of the Abe Kofman family, the
Times-Star thrived until selling to the
Alameda Newspaper Group (an
out-of-town news corporation) in the 1970s.
In response to the lack of a local news source, Alameda realtors
John Crittenden and John McNulty decided to combine their two
publishing efforts into a new East End voice,
Alameda
Journal, in 1987. Crittenden had published a real estate homes
list to real estate agents, while McNulty was known for the
Island Journal, which focused on local news, history,
humor and advertising. The new publication found itself the
hometown paper of choice. It was sold to the
Hills Newspapers chain owned by Chip and
Mary Brown. The Browns, Oakland residents, had assembled a chain of
five East Bay weeklies and biweeklies: the biweekly
Alameda
Journal, the biweekly
Montclarion (serving the
Montclair district of Oakland),
The Piedmonter (Piedmont),
The Berkeley Voice and
The Albany/El Cerrito
Journal.
In 1997, the Hills Newspaper chain was bought by
Knight Ridder, at the time, the second-largest
newspaper chain in the U.S. Following the buyout, former Hills
Newspapers employees recognized the lack of a local community voice
in Alameda, and again formed a new locally-based newspaper, the
Alameda Sun, in 2001. In 2006, Knight Ridder announced its
impending sale to
McClatchy
Corp., a Sacramento-based publishing firm. McClatchy Corp. has
put the
Contra Costa Times, which under the Knight Ridder
reorganization included all five of the original Hills Newspapers,
up for sale.
The current owners of the Alameda
Times-Star, MediaNews, Inc.,
based in Colorado
, have announced a strong interest in buying both
the Contra Costa Times chain and the San Jose Mercury News,
consolidating the daily newspaper market of the East Bay,
effectively under one owner. The California State Attorney
General began in June 2006 an investigation into the sale of the
former Knight Ridder properties to MediaNews in the event of a
potential breach of anti-trust laws. The upshot of the sale to
MediaNews would be the original victor of Alameda's newspaper wars
losing in the end, being bought out by the newspaper company once
considered vanquished.
The Alameda community is currently served by two locally owned and
operated publications.
- Alameda Sun - Home-delivered free of charge
every Thursday with a current circulation of 22,500, the Alameda
Sun prides itself on focusing solely on Alameda news, events,
people and causes.
- Alameda Magazine - Alameda Magazine is a
four-color glossy magazine that is published seven times a year by
the Alameda Publishing Group. The magazine's website is a member of
the City & Regional Magazine Association's online network.
Alameda Municipal Power
Unlike surrounding communities, Alameda has a municipal power and
telecommunications service,
Alameda Power and Telecom, (APT)
that delivers services directly to consumers.
During the
California
electricity crisis of 2000 and 2001, Alameda Power and Telecom
did not raise electricity rates, while residents in most of the
state endured significant price increases.
Alameda Power and Telecom produces 84% of its energy from renewable
sources, primarily geothermal plants located near Calistoga,
California, and hydroelectric sources on the North Fork of the
Stanislaus River. The utility also uses wind and solar power.
Recently, APT has entered into agreements with four municipal
landfills to capture methane released from the landfills (which is
otherwise released into the atmosphere as greenhouse gas), and
convert it into energy. In November 2008, AP&T sold its cable
television and high speed internet services to Comcast. Now that
the company has divested itself of its telecom side, it has been
renamed, Alameda Municipal Power or AMP.
Arts and culture
The
Alameda Arts Council (AAC)
serves as the local Alameda City
arts
council.
Alameda has been home to many movie sets. Some of the movies filmed
on the island have included
Bicentennial Man,
The Net,
The Matrix Reloaded,
The Matrix:
Revolutions,
Bee
Season, the original 1968
Your, Mine and Ours and
the movie musical
Rent. Parts
of Alameda High School were animated for the
Animatrix episode "Kid's Story". A massive
hangar at the former Naval Air Station Alameda was used to film
special scenes requiring
computer-generated imagery for
movies such as
Bicentennial Man,
Flubber,
What Dreams May Come,
Mission: Impossible
II and many scenes from the
Matrix trilogy, including the signature
bullet time scene. The open space of the
decommissioned naval base often hosts
MythBusters' more dangerous
experiments.
Alameda was briefly the home of
Robert Louis Stevenson. Benjamin
Reed's novel
The Bow Tie Gang takes place almost entirely
in Alameda circa 1961.
Alameda Civic Light Opera
The
Alameda Civic Light Opera,
which performs Broadway
-style musical productions. was founded in
1996.
The Altarena Playhouse
The Altarena Playhouse, which performs comedies, dramas and
musicals, was founded in 1938 and is the longest continuously
operating community theatre in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dance Arts Project
The
Dance Arts Project was
founded by noted instructor and choreographer Michaela Lynch and
has offered classes and performance opportunities for Alameda's
children for more than a decade. Still under the direction of Ms.
Lynch, the Dance Arts Project has become a fixture in the community
and the premier locality for performance arts training in
Alameda.
Shining Stars In The Arts
Held in May, Shining Stars In The Arts is an evening event that
celebrates community members who have made an outstanding
contribution in the arts in the city. It features a fundraising
silent art auction, food, and music, and concludes in an award
ceremony for the Shining Star honorees.
Sister cities
Since
2004, Alameda participates in a sister
city agreement with Wuxi
,
China.
Another
sister city is Lidingö
, Sweden
. The
initiative came from Alameda in 1959 and was part of
President Eisenhower's people-to-people-movement,
whose purpose was to develop better understanding among people from
different countries after
World War II.
Both Alameda and Lidingö are islands with a bridge connecting them
to a big city.
Festivals on Webster Street
Webster Street in Alameda has long been the host of many arts,
crafts and holiday festivals. During these festivals the city of
Alameda will block of a portion of Webster st for the entertainment
of festival goers. Festivals such as the
Peanut
Butter Jam Festival brings a lot of local and outside visitors
to Alameda to enjoy the fun, food and games.
Famous residents
- Alameda native congressman Joseph
R. Knowland was editor and
publisher of the Oakland Tribune.
- US Senator William Fife
Knowland was Student Body President at Alameda High.
- Baseball
Hall of Famer
Willie Stargell,
MLB Baseball player Tommy
Harper, MLB Baseball player Curtell Howard Motton, 2003 National League Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis, 2007 National League Most Valuable Player Jimmy Rollins, NBA Basketball player J.R. Rider, and
NFL football
players Melvin Carver and Junior Tautalatasi all attended Encinal High
School
.
- NBA Star Jason Kidd and MLB Pitcher
Joe Nelson attended Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School in
Alameda.
- MLB
players Raymond French, "Rowdy Richard" Bartell, Johnny Vergez, Andy
Carey, Billy Serena, Chris Speier, and Eric Schullstrum all attended Alameda High
School
.
- One of Alameda's most famous natives was General James Doolittle, who won the Medal
of Honor for his bombing of Japan during WWII.
- Robert L. Lippert theatre chain owner and film
producer was an Alameda native.
- Many people from naval families, including celebrities such as
Ann Curry, Phyllis Diller, Tom
Hanks, and Jim Morrison, have lived
in Alameda.
- Don Perata, the former President Pro
Tempore of the California State Senate, lives in Alameda and once
taught at Saint Joseph Notre Dame High, Encinal High and Alameda
High, among other Alameda County schools.
- Charles Lee Tilden, for whom
Tilden Regional Park is named,
was a longtime resident of Alameda. Tilden Way at the southeast end
of the city is named for him.
- Operatic mezzo-soprano Frederica Von Stade still gives
performances and supports the arts in local schools.
- Katharine Graham, the late
publisher of the Washington Post,
lived in Alameda as a child, according to Personal History, her
autobiography.
- Benjamin Jealous, current
President of the NAACP, lives in Alameda.
- George P. Miller, congressman from 1945 to 1973.
- Sharon Tate, actress, resident in
the mid-1950s.
- Debbi Fields, founder Mrs. Fields
Cookies, attended Alameda High School and was a cheerleader
- Shirley Temple Black,
actress and former U.S. ambassador, resident
- Steve Brye, MLB player for the
Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- Jim Morrison, Lead singer of the
Doors, attended Alameda High School in 1958
Schools
Community College
Private schools
Public schools
Like almost all cities in California, the municipal government and
the school administration are two separate entities. The
Alameda Unified School
District has the same boundaries as the City of Alameda, but
has a separately elected board to oversee its operations, and its
funding comes directly from the county and state governments
without oversight by the city council.
The AUSD educates
approximately 10,000 students each year, in eight elementary schools, three middle schools, two traditional high schools, three alternative
learning schools
, one continuation
school, and one high school within the College of
Alameda. Most high school students attend Encinal High
or Alameda
High
. The district also operates an Adult School
and a Child Development Center. Two elementary schools were closed
at the end of the 2005-2006 school year. However, a new elementary
school,
Ruby Bridges, opened for the
2006-2007 school year.
See also
References
- alameda - Spanish-English Translation and
Pronunciation - Yahoo! Education
- A Brief History of Alameda - City of Alameda
California
- After 80 years, Alameda named 'Coast Guard City' |
Oakland Tribune | Find Articles at BNET.com
- Alameda 2008 Income Estimates
- http://www.populstat.info/Americas/usas-cat.htm
- [1]Alameda County Government website
- SpeedTrap Exchange
- East Bay Express | Page not found
- Rubin, Sylvia. (January 7, 1988) San
Francisco Chronicle Neighbor against neighbor; Mediators
can resolve disputes. Section: People, Page B3.
- [2]Alameda Produces Its Own Energy Island
residents sustain low rates SF Chronicle, Jan 13, 2001
(archived)
- Austinist.com Interviews Ben Reed
External links