Water & Rails / Brooklyn Basin

Water & Rails / Brooklyn Basin (HM1CRY)

Location: Oakland, CA 94606 Alameda County
Buy California State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 47.186', W 122° 14.812'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 634 views
Inscription
There are two plaques, mounted back-to-back, on the same support for this marker.
Water & Rails
Rancho Heritage
Under Spanish and Mexican rule, much of the East Bay, including all of present-day Oakland, lay within the boundaries of Rancho San Antonio. Granted in 1820 to Luis Maria Peralta, this 45,000 acre cattle ranch was one of the largest ranchos on San Francisco Bay.

The Peraltas shipped out cattle hides and tallow from the Embarcadero de San Antonio, a small boat landing located near this spot at the foot of present day 14th Avenue. These products were sold to British and American traders who sailed around Cape Horn. The hides wee used to make shoes and saddles, and the tallow was turned into candles and soap. Look across the freeway to the bluffs that form the original shoreline - sight of the embarcadero.

During the Gold Rush (1848 - 1854), two pioneer settlements, San Antonio and Clinton, were established on the cove. The thriving lumber village of San Antonio grew up around the old embarcadero. In the nearby hills were groves of giant redwoods, some of which were large enough to be seen by vessels entering the Golden Gate. By 1860, these trees had all been logged, providing lumber for the new towns and cities around the bay.

Transportation
Following the arrival of the railroad in 1869, the shoreline of Brooklyn Basin became an industrial district. By World War I, lumber yards, boat yards, and factories lined the shore. The railroad tracks were built on filled land bordering the original shoreline bluffs. The palm tree marks the site of Southern Pacific's East Oakland station (shown above). The building has been moved to old Embarcadero cove, a half mile east of here.

The East Shore Freeway, now the Nimitz Freeway, was built shortly after World War II. It was the East Bay's first major highway. The view above shows the freeway in the 1950s. The Port of Oakland built a new roadway, the Embarcadero, to improve access between the freeway and the harbor. This is the road you are now on.
Brooklyn Basin

The Changing Waterfront

Comprising about a mile of shoreline, this crescent-shaped cove was the site of the East Bay's earliest maritime activity. By the 1830s, cattle hides and tallow were being shipped from a nearby landing. During the Gold Rush of the late 1840s and early 1850s, redwood from the hills was exported. By 1870s, the area formed part of the town of Brooklyn, now East Oakland.

The broad expanse of water extending out from the cove was originally the widest section of the Oakland Estuary. It soon acquired the name Brooklyn Basin. Once a shallow-water area adjoined by marshland, the basin has been deepened by dredging projects since the 1870s. Shipping channels border the Oakland and Alameda shores.

The maps above show how the landscape has changed. On the left-hand map (1857), the marsh-fringed basin has an irregular shoreline with few buildings. The second map (1929), with its urban grid of streets, shows the effect of a half-century of harbor work - a shoreline modified by industrial use, a canal separating Alameda and Oakland, and an island in Brooklyn Basin.

Coast Guard Island
Originally known as Government Island, Coast Guard Island is just across the water from this site. Covering about 70 acres, the island was created in 1915-17 by depositing dredged materials behind levees. The site of a World War I shipyard, it has served as a Coast Guard base since World War II. Evidence of sunken wooden ships has been found in the mud around the island - remnants of the time when these protected waters served as a winter moorage for sailing vessels and a "graveyard" for square-riggers. The areal view shows the island around 1920, with sailings ships clustered at its tip.
Details
HM NumberHM1CRY
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, September 11th, 2014 at 6:33pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)10S E 566314 N 4182386
Decimal Degrees37.78643333, -122.24686667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 47.186', W 122° 14.812'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 47' 11.16" N, 122° 14' 48.72" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)510
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1131-1517 Embarcadero, Oakland CA 94606, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. Who or what organization placed the marker?
  10. This marker needs at least one picture.
  11. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  12. Is the marker in the median?