Working Class History of Oakland

Oakland became the western terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869
and it brought rapid growth in population and led to the construction
of a large terminal at the foot of Seventh Street in West Oakland,
shown here in 1890, to handle waterbound cargo. City boosters hailed
Oakland as the "The Athens of the West."

 

The Great Upheaval Railroad Strike in 1877 spread to Oakland, where
there were solidarity actions against the railroads. Unfortunately
workers in San Francisco, led by racist Denis Kearney, attacked the
Chinese during this period. The repercussions of racism against Asians
continues to be a fatal weakness of the working class to this day.

In the late nineteenth century Oakland had extensive shipyards along
the Estuary, earning it the nickname "Glasgow of the West." This
picture shows the Hay & Wright Shipyards in Oakland in 1987. (The
wood beam in the picture is a single piece of wood, imported from a
Portland, OR lumber yard, that measures 24" x 24" x 94")

In the pre-bridge era trans-Bay travel necessitated ferry boats,
like this paddlewheeled boat at the Oakland City Wharf no. 2 in 1900.

 

[more coming soon: we've just begun; this project is "in progress."]