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95-565: In 1852, the year of Oakland 's incorporation as a town by the California State Legislature , large shipping wharves were constructed along the Oakland Estuary , which was dredge d to create a viable shipping channel. 22 years later, in 1874, the previously dredged shipping channel was deepened to make Oakland a deep-water port . In the late 19th century, Southern Pacific was granted exclusive rights to

190-487: A 5.5% increase over 2016's record-breaking year of 8.8 million TEU. It's the most cargo moved annually by a Western Hemisphere port. The port is the busiest port in the United States by container volume, the 19th-busiest container port in the world, and the 10th-busiest worldwide when combined with the neighboring Port of Long Beach . The port is also the number-one freight gateway in the United States when ranked by

285-472: A channel was dug thirty feet deep at mean low water from the bay to Brooklyn Basin , a distance of four and three quarters miles, and then a channel twenty-five feet deep around the basin and eighteen feet to San Leandro Bay , an added distance of four miles (6 km). The port was not officially named the Port of Oakland until 1927, under the leadership of the newly organized Board of Port Commissioners. Under

380-736: A disproportionate death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic and Delta cron hybrid variant within the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2023, prior to and during the Covid pandemic, Oakland became the first city in American history to lose three professional major league sports teams to other cities within a span of five years. Oakland is in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay . The United States Census Bureau says

475-626: A dozen pilots , including two chiefs. Pilots have specialized knowledge of the harbor and San Pedro Bay. They meet the ships waiting to enter the harbor and provide advice as the vessel is steered through the congested waterway to the dock. For public safety protection inside the port and of its businesses, the Port of Los Angeles utilizes the Los Angeles Port Police for police service, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) to provide fire and EMS services,

570-599: A linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone (a Miwok word meaning "western people"). In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek , a stream that enters the San Francisco Bay at Emeryville . In 1772, the area that later became Oakland was colonized, along with the rest of California, by Spanish settlers for the king of Spain . In the early 19th century, the Spanish crown granted

665-527: A load. Occupy Oakland , part of the Occupy movement , marched to the port on November 2, 2011, and blocked traffic from entering and leaving. In August 2014, the port was the scene of a protest against an Israeli-owned ship by Palestinian supporters opposed to Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip . The ship's cargo was eventually unloaded after a 4-day standoff. The Jewish Press commented that unless

760-603: A major rail terminal in the late 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, the Central Pacific constructed the Oakland Long Wharf at Oakland Point, the site of today's Port of Oakland . A number of horsecar and cable car lines were constructed in Oakland during the latter half of the 19th century. The first electric streetcar set out from Oakland to Berkeley in 1891, and other lines were converted and added over

855-446: A marsh-lined wildlife haven, Lake Merritt was dredged and bordered with parks from the 1890s to the 1910s. Despite this reduction in habitat, Oakland is home to a number of rare and endangered species, many of which are localized to serpentine soils and bedrock. Lake Merritt is surrounded by residential and business districts, including downtown and Grand Lake . The city of Piedmont , incorporated in Oakland's central foothills after

950-505: A new ballpark for the team at Howard Terminal. On April 26, 2018, the Port of Oakland commissioners voted 6-0 unanimously to enter in to a one-year agreement to negotiate exclusively with the Oakland A’s . This agreement allowed the A’s to pay the Port $ 100,000 to study economic feasibility and environmental, transportation and accessibility issues. On November 28, 2018, The Athletics announced that

1045-597: A new plant there, Oakland had become known as the " Detroit of the West," referring to the major auto manufacturing center in Michigan. Oakland expanded during the 1920s, as its population expanded with factory workers. Approximately 13,000 homes were built in the 3 years between 1921 and 1924, more than during the 13 years between 1907 and 1920. Many of the large downtown office buildings, apartment buildings, and single-family houses still standing in Oakland were built during

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1140-719: A preparatory academy was founded in Oakland that soon became the College of California , and in 1869, the first campus of the University of California . The university moved just north to Berkeley in the 1870s. During the 1850s, just as gold was discovered in California, Oakland started growing and further developing because land was becoming too expensive in San Francisco . People in China were struggling financially as

1235-666: A result of the First Opium War , the Second Opium War , and the Taiping Rebellion , so they began migrating to Oakland, many of whom were recruited to work on railroads. However, the Chinese struggled to settle because they were discriminated against by the white community and their living quarters were burned down on several occasions. The city and its environs quickly grew with the railroads, becoming

1330-503: A small epidemic of Pneumonic plague which killed a dozen people in Oakland. This started when a man went hunting in Contra Costa Valley and killed a squirrel. After eating the squirrel, he fell ill four days later and another household member contracted the plague. This in turn was passed on either directly or indirectly to about a dozen others. The officials in Oakland acted quickly by issuing death certificates to monitor

1425-514: A total of US$ 57 million during the 2001–2011 timeframe to plaintiffs claiming police abuse; this is the largest sum paid by any city in California. On October 10, 2011, protesters and civic activists began " Occupy Oakland " demonstrations at Frank Ogawa Plaza in Downtown Oakland . African-Americans dropped to 28% of Oakland's population in 2010, from nearly half in 1980, due to fast-rising rents and an extreme housing crisis in

1520-462: A vacant three-bedroom house in West Oakland. The group, calling themselves Moms 4 Housing , said their goal was to protest what they said was a large number of vacant houses in Oakland owned by redevelopment companies while the city experienced a housing crisis. Two months later they were evicted from the house by three dozen sheriff's deputies, as hundreds of supporters demonstrated in favor of

1615-729: Is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California . It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County , with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the most populous city in the East Bay, the third most populous city in the Bay Area, and the eighth most populous city in California. It serves as the Bay Area's trade center:

1710-715: Is a currently non-operational heritage trolley line for public transit along the waterfront in San Pedro . Prior to its closure in 2015, it used vintage and restored Pacific Electric Red Cars to connect the World Cruise Center, Downtown San Pedro, Ports O' Call Village , and the San Pedro Marina. Oceangoing ships visiting ports are a large source of nitrogen oxides in Southern California. Heavy-duty diesel trucks, that are also part of

1805-450: Is an independent, self-supporting department of the government of the City of Los Angeles. The port is under the control of a five-member Board of Harbor Commissioners appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council, and is administered by an executive director. The port maintains an AA bond rating, the highest rating attainable for self-funded ports. As of 2016 , the port had about

1900-411: Is far enough inland that the fog often burns off by midday, allowing it to have typically sunny California days. The hills tend to have more fog than the flatlands, as the fog drifts down from Berkeley . The U.S. Weather Bureau kept weather records in downtown Oakland from October 4, 1894, to July 31, 1958. During that time, the record high temperature was 104 °F (40 °C) on June 24, 1957, and

1995-460: Is now downtown Oakland. In 1852, the Town of Oakland was incorporated by the state legislature. During this time, Oakland had 75–100 inhabitants, two hotels, a wharf, two warehouses, and only cattle trails. Two years later, on March 25, 1854, Oakland re-incorporated as the City of Oakland. Horace Carpentier was elected the first mayor, though a scandal ended his mayorship in less than a year. In 1853,

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2090-417: Is the only beach in Oakland. Oaklanders refer to their city's terrain as "the flatlands" and "the hills" . Until recent waves of gentrification, these terms also symbolized Oakland's deep economic divide, with "the hills" being more affluent communities. About two-thirds of Oakland lies in the flat plain of the East Bay, with one-third rising into the foothills and hills of the East Bay range. Ruptures along

2185-495: Is typified by the temperate and seasonal Mediterranean climate. Summers are usually dry and warm and winters are cool and damp. It has features found in both nearby coastal cities such as San Francisco and inland cities such as San Jose , making it warmer than San Francisco and cooler than San Jose. Its position on San Francisco Bay across from the Bay Bridge means the northern part of the city can have cooling maritime fog . It

2280-629: The Alameda Corridor . In 2011, no American port could handle ships of the PS-class Emma Mærsk and the future Maersk Triple E class size, the latter of which needs cranes reaching 23 rows. In 2012, the port and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deepened the port's main navigational channel to 53 feet (16 m), which is deep enough to accommodate the draft of the world's biggest container ships. However, Maersk had no plans in 2014 to bring those ships to America. In 2024

2375-518: The Black Panther Party at Merritt College (then located at a former high school on Grove Street, now occupied by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute ), which emphasized Black nationalism , advocated armed self-defense against police, and was involved in several incidents that ended in the deaths of police officers and other Black Panther members. Among their social programs were feeding children and providing other services to

2470-480: The Jim Crow South carried their racial attitudes, causing tensions to rise among black and white workers competing for better-paying jobs in the Bay Area. The racial harmony Oakland African-Americans had been accustomed to prior to the war evaporated. Also migrating to the area during this time were many Mexican Americans from southwestern states such as New Mexico , Texas , and Colorado . Many worked for

2565-642: The Oakland Hills . East Oakland, which includes the East Oakland Hills, encompasses more than half of Oakland's land area, stretching from Lakeshore Avenue on the east shore of Lake Merritt southeast to the San Leandro border. North Oakland encompasses the neighborhoods between downtown and Berkeley and Emeryville . West Oakland is the area between downtown and the Bay, partially surrounded by

2660-676: The Oakland Museum (established 1970). Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department , a unit of the City of Los Angeles . It occupies 7,500 acres (3,000 ha) of land and water with 43 miles (69 km) of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach . Promoted as "America's Port", the port is located in San Pedro Bay in

2755-616: The Oakland Point , and encompassing the Port of Oakland . In 2011, Oakland was ranked the tenth most walkable city in the United States by Walk Score . Lake Merritt, an urban estuary near downtown, is a mix of fresh and salt water draining in and out from the Oakland Harbor at the San Francisco Bay and one of Oakland's most notable features. It was designated the United States' first official wildlife refuge in 1870. Originally

2850-541: The Port of Oakland is the busiest port in Northern California , and the fifth- or sixth-busiest in the United States. A charter city , Oakland was incorporated on May 4, 1852, in the wake of the state's increasing population due to the California gold rush . Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie , oak woodland , and north coastal scrub . In

2945-489: The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1922 , the project produced a channel thirty feet deep and 800 feet wide through the shoal south of Yerba Buena Island , narrowing to 600 feet at the end of the Oakland jetties , widening the estuary channel to 600 feet to Webster Street, dredging the south channel basin to thirty feet and a turning basin , then thirty feet to Park Street, at a cost to the federal government of $ 6 million. In 1962,

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3040-664: The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge also sustained damage and was closed to traffic for one month. On October 20, 1991, a massive firestorm swept down from the Berkeley /Oakland hills above the Caldecott Tunnel. Twenty-five people were killed, 150 people were injured, and nearly 4,000 homes destroyed. With the loss of life and an estimated economic loss of US$ 1.5 billion, this was the worst urban firestorm in American history, until 2017. During

3135-445: The San Pedro and Wilmington neighborhoods of Los Angeles , approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of downtown . The port has 25 cargo terminals, 82 container cranes, 8 container terminals, and 113 miles (182 km) of on-dock rail. The port's top imports were furniture, automobile parts, apparel, footwear, and electronics. In 2019, the port's top exports were wastepaper , pet and animal feed, scrap metal and soybeans. In 2020

3230-549: The Southern Pacific Railroad , at its major rail yard in West Oakland. Their young men encountered hostility and discrimination by Armed Forces personnel, and tensions broke out in " zoot suit riots " in downtown Oakland in 1943 in the wake of a major disturbance in Los Angeles that year. In 1946, National City Lines (NCL), a General Motors holding company , acquired 64% of Key System stock; during

3325-511: The U.S. Coast Guard for waterway security, Homeland Security to protect federal land at the port, the Los Angeles County Lifeguards to provide lifeguard services for open waters outside of the harbor, while Los Angeles City Recreation & Parks Department lifeguards patrol the inner Cabrillo Beach . The port's container volume was 9.3 million  twenty-foot equivalent units  (TEU) in calendar year 2019,

3420-490: The 1906 earthquake, is a small independent city surrounded by the city of Oakland. Oakland has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csb ) with an average of 260 sunny days per year. In general, the city features warm, dry summers, and cool, wet winters. Based on data gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , Oakland is ranked No. 1 in climate among U.S. cities. Oakland's climate

3515-427: The 1920s; they reflect the architectural styles of the time. Russell Clifford Durant established Durant Field at 82nd Avenue and East 14th Street in 1916. The first transcontinental airmail flight finished its journey at Durant Field on August 9, 1920, flown by Army Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker and Navy Lt. Bert Acosta . Durant Field was often called Oakland Airport, though the current Oakland International Airport

3610-477: The 1950s California Supreme Court lawsuit Vallerga v. Dept. Alcoholic Bev. Control, when the bar challenged a state law for the right to serve gay patrons and won in 1959. In 1960, Kaiser Corporation opened its new headquarters; it was the largest skyscraper in Oakland, as well as "the largest office tower west of Chicago " up to that time. In the postwar period, suburban development increased around Oakland, and wealthier residents moved to new housing . Despite

3705-528: The 20th century with its port, shipyards , and manufacturing industry. In the 21st century, between 2019 and 2023, after the city and county refused requests for hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits to the privately owned teams, Oakland lost three teams of the major North American sports leagues within a span of five years. The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Huchiun natives, who lived there for thousands of years. The Huchiun belonged to

3800-601: The Deep South: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas, as well as Missouri and Tennessee. Henry J. Kaiser 's representatives recruited sharecroppers and tenant farmers from rural areas to work in his shipyards. African Americans were part of the Great Migration by which five million persons left the South, mostly for the West, from 1940 to 1970. White migrants from

3895-489: The East Bay area to Luis María Peralta for his Rancho San Antonio . The grant was confirmed by the successor Mexican republic upon its independence from Spain. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons. Most of Oakland was within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. The portion of the parcel that is now Oakland was called Encinar (misrendered at an early date and carried forward as "encinal") – Spanish for " oak grove " – due to

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3990-806: The Fruitvale District, and included the Josiah Lusk Canning Company, the Oakland Preserving Company (which started the Del Monte brand), and the California Packing Company. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called on defense industries with government contracts to integrate their workforces and provide opportunities for all Americans. Tens of thousands of laborers came from around the country, especially poor whites and blacks from

4085-559: The LA Waterfront attracts thousands of visitors annually. Remodel and reconstruction was approved by the Los Angeles City Council. Development is set to be completed in 2020. Construction is expected to begin in 2017 at a partial project cost of $ 90 million, paid by the developer. The San Pedro Public Market is expected to open in 2020, with demolition beginning as early as November 2016. The Waterfront Red Car

4180-601: The Oakland Port Commission, Allen Broussard led a group of 72 lawyers, port officials, including then-port commissioner Carole Ward Allen , and city officials on a 3-week trip to China , meeting the Mayor of Shanghai , Jiang Zemin (Shanghai is twinned with San Francisco ). The completion of the resulting rail intermodal facility occurred in 2002. That brought the cumulative investment in port expansion to over $ 1.4 billion since 1962, half of which comprised

4275-431: The Oakland ports requiring the authorities at the port to inspect the arriving vessels for the presence of infected rats. Quarantine authorities at these ports inspected over a thousand vessels per year for plague and yellow fever. By 1908, over 5,000 people were detained in quarantine. Hunters were sent to poison the affected areas in Oakland and shoot the squirrels, but the eradication work was limited in its range because

4370-415: The Port of Los Angeles has already surpassed its initial 2023 emission goals 8 years ahead of predicted time frame. The dramatic success to reduce emissions has seen a decrease in diesel particulate matter reduce 72%, sulfur oxides by 93%, and nitrogen oxide by 22% so far. The CAAP program was updated to 3.0 after this environmental successes of the initiatives. With the recent ramification of environment goals

4465-487: The Port of Oakland began to admit container ships. Container traffic greatly increased the amount of cargo loaded and unloaded at the port. By the late 1960s, the Port of Oakland was the second-largest port in the world in terms of container tonnage. However, depth and navigation restrictions in San Francisco Bay limited its capacity, and by the late 1970s, it had been supplanted by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as

4560-571: The State Board of Health and the United States Public Health Service were only allotted about $ 60,000 a year to eradicate the disease. During this period Oakland did not have sufficient health facilities, so some of the infected patients were treated at home. The State Board of Health along with Oakland also advised physicians to promptly report any cases of infected patients. Yet, in 1919 it still resulted in

4655-577: The area defined as the Central Business District in Oakland's 1998 General Plan. Brown's plan and other redevelopment projects were controversial due to potential rent increases and gentrification , which would displace lower-income residents from downtown Oakland into outlying neighborhoods and cities. Due to allegations of misconduct by the Oakland Police Department , the City of Oakland has paid claims for

4750-411: The automobile industry went through restructuring, many jobs were lost. In addition, labor unrest increased as workers struggled to protect their livelihoods. Oakland was the center of a general strike during the first week of December 1946, one of six cities across the country that had such a strike after World War II. The Mary's First and Last Chance in Oakland was a lesbian bar, once the focus of

4845-819: The bay. On November 27, 1908, Homer took a ferry across the bay in a driving rainstorm and met for lunch with Frank and twenty three other businessmen at the Hotel Metropole at 13th and Jefferson. This gathering became the first meeting of the Tri-City Rotary Club, renamed in 1911 The Rotary Club of Oakland, the third Rotary Club in the world. This group established the tradition of weekly meetings, something most clubs worldwide follow today. In 1917, General Motors opened an automobile factory in East Oakland called Oakland Assembly . It produced Chevrolet cars and then GMC trucks until 1963, when it

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4940-412: The channel to Wilmington in 1871 to a depth of 10 feet (3.0 m). The port handled 50,000 tons of shipping that year. Banning owned a stagecoach line with routes connecting San Pedro to Salt Lake City, Utah , and Yuma, Arizona , and in 1868 he built a railroad to connect San Pedro Bay to Los Angeles , the first in the area. After Banning's death in 1885, his sons pursued their interests in promoting

5035-696: The city of Los Angeles, funded and maintained by the Port of Los Angeles. In 2009, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved the San Pedro Waterfront and Wilmington Waterfront development programs, under the LA Waterfront umbrella. The LA Waterfront consists of a series of waterfront development and community enhancement projects covering more than 400 acres (160 ha) of existing Port of Los Angeles property in both San Pedro and Wilmington. With miles of public promenade and walking paths, acres of open space and scenic views,

5130-483: The city's total area is 78.0 square miles (202 km ), including 55.8 square miles (145 km ) of land and 22.2 square miles (57 km ) (28.48 percent) of water. Oakland's highest point is near Grizzly Peak Blvd, east of Berkeley, just over 1,760 feet (540 m) above sea level at about 37°52′43″N 122°13′27″W  /  37.8786°N 122.2241°W  / 37.8786; -122.2241 . Oakland has 19 miles (31 km) of shoreline, but Radio Beach

5225-470: The course of the 1890s. The various streetcar companies operating in Oakland were acquired by Francis "Borax" Smith and consolidated into what eventually became known as the Key System , the predecessor of today's publicly owned AC Transit . Oakland was one of the worst affected cities in California that was impacted by the San Francisco plague of 1900–1904 . Quarantine measures were set in place at

5320-687: The dredging was deposited at the western edge of Middle Harbor Shoreline Park to become a 188-acre (76 ha) shallow-water wetlands habitat for marine and shore life. Further dredging followed in 2011, to maintain the navigation channel. Prior to the March 2012 arrival of the MSC Fabiola , the largest container ship ever to enter the San Francisco Bay , the Port of Oakland prepared by checking channel depth and dredging as needed. The ship arrived with less than its full draft of 50 feet 10 inches (15.5 m) because it held only three-quarters of

5415-722: The east (up to 30 inches [760 mm]), with nearly all precipitation falling between November and April. Overnight lows are mild. Oakland seldom experiences warm nights with the warmest recorded night of 72 °F (22 °C) in September 1971 and an average of 64 °F (18 °C) for the annual warmest low. The coldest day of the year averages a mild 50 °F (10 °C) and has never been recorded below 36 °F (2 °C). The National Weather Service today has two official weather stations in Oakland: Oakland International Airport and

5510-461: The first Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) berth in 2004 and can provide up to 40 MW of grid power to two cruise ships simultaneously at both 6.6 kV and 11 kV, as well as three container terminals, reducing pollution from ship engines. In an effort to buffer the nearby community of Wilmington from the port, in June 2011 the Wilmington Waterfront Park was opened. The $ 2.8 million San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Program (CAAP) initiative

5605-467: The freight-moving port complexes, emit exhaust with nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. The California Air Resources Board is working on reducing these sources of pollution that produce the nation's most polluted air smog and kill more than 3,500 Southern Californians each year. In 2021, the South Coast Air Quality Management District required warehouses in the port which do not cut emissions of carbon and pollutants to pay fees. The port installed

5700-456: The handling and storage of both coal and coke at the port. The Oakland City Council voted to ban the handling and storage of coal and coke at the city’s terminals and bulk material facilities. This decision came in opposition to developer Phil Tagami , CEO of the California Capital and Investment Group, financiers of the forthcoming Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal. The Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball planned on constructing

5795-462: The intermodal facility. In the early first decade of the 21st century, the new intermodal rail facility, along with severe congestion at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach , caused some trans-Pacific shippers to move some of their traffic to the Port of Oakland (especially if the final destination is not in Southern California but lies farther east). Also, the port is now reaping the benefits of investment in post- panamax cranes, dredging , and

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5890-539: The large oak forest that covered the area, which eventually led to the city's name. According to Stanford University historian Albert Camarillo, the Peralta family struggled to keep their land after the incorporation of California into the United States after the Mexican–American War . Camarillo claims the family was the victim of targeted racial violence . He writes in Chicanos in California , "They lost everything when squatters cut down their fruit trees, killed their cattle, destroyed their buildings, and even fenced off

5985-408: The late 18th century, it became part of a large rancho grant in the colony of New Spain , and was known for its plentiful oak tree stands. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco . The fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. In the 1850s, what became the first campus of the University of California

6080-467: The major container port on the West Coast. During an expansion of the port in the late 1960s, fill material was added to what remained of the old Southern Pacific mole. The fill came largely from the concurrent excavation of the Berkeley Hills Tunnel during the construction of the BART system. The BART trunk line also crosses over part of the port, and the east portal of the Transbay Tube that carries BART trains from Oakland to San Francisco lies within

6175-421: The major increases in the number and proportion of African Americans in the city, in 1966 only 16 of the city's 661 police officers were black. Tensions between the black community and the largely white police force were high, as expectations during the civil rights era increased to gain social justice and equality before the law. Police abuse of blacks was common. Students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded

6270-452: The mid-1990s, Oakland's economy began to recover as it transitioned to new types of jobs. In addition, the city participated in large development and urban renewal projects, concentrated especially in the downtown area, at the Port of Oakland , and at the Oakland International Airport . After his 1999 inauguration, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown continued his predecessor Elihu Harris' public policy of supporting downtown housing development in

6365-509: The nearby San Andreas Fault caused severe earth movement in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1906 and 1989. San Andreas quakes induces creep (movement occurring on earthquake faults) in the Hayward fault, which runs directly through Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose and other Bay Area cities. Oakland has more than 50 distinct neighborhoods. The city's greater divisions include downtown Oakland and its greater Central Business District , Lake Merritt , East Oakland , North Oakland , West Oakland , and

6460-403: The nearby town of Alameda being made an island. In 1906, the city's population doubled with refugees made homeless after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. In 1908, the lawyer, former miner, and newspaper owner Homer Wood (1880–1976) suggested to his friend Frank Bilger of Blake and Bilger Rock Quarry and Paving Company that he organize a gathering to establish a Rotary Club east of

6555-416: The needy. As in many other American cities during the 1980s, crack cocaine became a serious problem in Oakland. Drug dealing in general, and the dealing of crack cocaine in particular, resulted in elevated rates of violent crime, causing Oakland to consistently be listed as one of America's most crime-ridden cities. In 1980, Oakland's Black population reached its 20th-century peak at approximately 47% of

6650-444: The next several years NCL engaged in the conspiratorial dissolution of Oakland's electric streetcar system. The city's expensive electric streetcar fleet was converted to cheaper diesel buses. The state Legislature created the Alameda and Contra Costa Transit District in 1955, which operates today as AC Transit , the third-largest bus-only transit system in the nation. After the war, as Oakland's shipbuilding industry declined and

6745-400: The overall city population. The 6.9 M w Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989. The rupture was related to the San Andreas fault system and affected the entire San Francisco Bay Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX ( Violent ). Many structures in Oakland were badly damaged including the double-decker portion of Interstate 880 that collapsed. The eastern span of

6840-511: The port found a solution to their "protester problem," there was a good chance the ship's owner and other cargo firms would find safer ports to do business with. The Port is part of California’s Green Trade Corridor Marine Highway project, as ships move cargo much greener than trucks and trains . Green Trade Corridor Marine Highway (ports of Oakland-Stockton-West Sacramento) can improve goods movement through Northern California. In June 2016, The Oakland City Council voted unanimously to ban

6935-540: The port received 3 cranes capable of servicing ships up to 18,000 TEU. Los Angeles and Long Beach ports were some of the least efficient in the world, according to a 2022 ranking by the World Bank and IHS Markit. The World Cruise Center, located in San Pedro, Los Angeles , beneath the Vincent Thomas Bridge , has three passenger ship berths. The LA Waterfront is a visitor-serving destination in

7030-482: The port's top three trading partners were China (including Hong Kong ), Japan , and Vietnam . In 2022, the port, together with the adjoining Port of Long Beach , were considered amongst the world's least efficient ports by the World Bank and IHS Markit citing union protectionism and a lack of automation . In 1542, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo discovered the "Bay of Smokes." The south-facing San Pedro Bay

7125-535: The port, which handled 500,000 tons of shipping in that year. The Southern Pacific Railroad and Collis P. Huntington wanted to create Port Los Angeles at Santa Monica and built the Long Wharf there in 1893. However, the Los Angeles Times publisher Harrison Gray Otis and U.S. Senator Stephen White pushed for federal support of the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro Bay. The Free Harbor Fight

7220-590: The port. One of the main limitations to growth was the inability to transfer containers to rail lines; all cranes historically operated between ocean vessels and trucks . In the 1980s, the Port of Oakland began the evaluation of the development of an intermodal container transfer capability, i.e., facilities that would allow the trans-loading of containers from vessels to either trucks or rail modes. The port retained VZM, Korve Engineering, and Earth Metrics to perform engineering and environmental studies to allow detailed engineering to proceed. In 1987, on behalf of

7315-492: The port. During the 1920s, the port surpassed San Francisco as the West Coast's busiest seaport. In the early 1930s, a massive expansion of the port was undertaken with the construction of a breakwater three miles out and over two miles in length. In addition to the construction of this outer breakwater, an inner breakwater was built off Terminal Island with docks for seagoing ships and smaller docks built at Long Beach. It

7410-539: The port. In 1985, the port handled one million containers in a year for the first time. During the 2002 West Coast port labor lockout , the port had a large backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded at any given time. In 2000, the Pier 400 Dredging and Landfill Program, the largest such project in America, was completed. By 2013, more than half a million containers were moving through the Port every month. The port district

7505-639: The port. In January 1906, a small work party employed by the Western Pacific Railroad built a crossing over the Southern Pacific line to connect the Western Pacific mainline with trackage built on an area of the landfill. This act was protested by Southern Pacific and later upheld in court. The court ruled that all landfills since the date of the agreement did not belong to Southern Pacific, ending their monopoly. In 1921,

7600-521: The record low temperature was 24 °F (−4 °C) on January 23, 1949. Dry, warm offshore "Diablo" winds (similar to the Santa Ana winds of Southern California) sometimes occur, especially in fall, and raise the fire danger. In 1991, such an episode allowed the catastrophic Oakland Hills fire to spread and consume many homes. Oakland, like much of Northern California, is susceptible to winter rainstorms and Atmospheric rivers . The wettest "rain year"

7695-615: The region. The city inspected warehouses and live/work spaces after a fire broke out in the Ghost Ship warehouse , killing 36 people in 2016. Oakland is the second U.S. city, after Denver , to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms . In June 2019, the City Council passed the resolution in a unanimous vote ending the investigation and imposition of criminal penalties for use and possession of natural entheogens . In November 2019, two homeless mothers and their children moved into

7790-517: The roads leading to the rancho. Especially insidious were the actions of attorney Horace Carpentier , who tricked Vicente Peralta into signing a 'lease' which turned out to be a mortgage against the 19,000-acre rancho. The lands became Carpentier's when Peralta refused to repay the loan he believed was fraudulently incurred. The Peraltas had no choice but to abandon the homesite they had occupied for two generations." In 1851, three men— Horace Carpentier , Edson Adams, and Andrew Moon—began developing what

7885-439: The spread of plague. At the time of incorporation in 1852, Oakland had consisted of the territory that lay south of today's major intersection of San Pablo Avenue, Broadway, and Fourteenth Street. The city gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and the north. Oakland's rise to industrial prominence, and its subsequent need for a seaport, led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902. This resulted in

7980-673: The team had chosen to build its 34,000-seat new ballpark at the Howard Terminal site at the Port of Oakland. However, after delays in stadium planning, in 2023, the Oakland Athletics instead chose to move to Las Vegas , effectively ending the plans for the Howard Terminal Ballpark . 37°47′43.92″N 122°17′4.57″W  /  37.7955333°N 122.2846028°W  / 37.7955333; -122.2846028 Oakland, California Oakland

8075-424: The transfer of military property, which has now been used for expansion. The deepening of the port from 42 feet (13 m) to 50 feet (15 m) to accommodate larger ships has been completed. The ports of Los Angeles , Long Beach , Seattle , and Tacoma were already 50 feet (15 m) deep. The $ 432 million project was finished in September 2009. Some 6 million cubic yards (4,600,000 m) of mud from

8170-521: The value of shipments passing through it. The port's top trading partners in 2019 were: The most-imported types of goods in the 2019 calendar year were, in order: furniture (579,405), automobile parts (340,546), apparel (312,655), and electronic products (209,622). The port is served by the Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) railroad. From the PHL, intermodal railroad cars go north to Los Angeles via

8265-440: The women. The incident received nationwide coverage. The company that owns the house later said they would sell it to a nonprofit affordable housing group. As of 2019, Oakland's per-capita homeless rate was higher than San Francisco and Berkeley. Between 2014 and 2020, Oakland strengthened its protections for tenants in order to reduce the displacement of its long-time residents. Between January 2020 and March 2022, Oakland suffered

8360-567: Was founded in Oakland, and Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. The following year, Oakland's Lake Merritt became the United States' first officially designated wildlife refuge, now a National Historic Landmark . Following the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake , many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the population, increasing its housing stock, and improving its infrastructure. It continued to grow in

8455-522: Was from July 1997 to June 1998 with 47.76 inches (1,213.1 mm) and the driest from July 2020 to June 2021 with 8.03 inches (204.0 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 15.35 inches (390 mm) in January 1911. The most rainfall in 24 hours was 4.75 inches (121 mm) on December 31, 2022. Rainfall near the bayfront is only 23 inches (580 mm), but is higher in the Oakland Hills to

8550-572: Was implemented by the Board of Harbor Commissioners in October 2002 for terminal and ship operations programs targeted at reducing polluting emissions from vessels and cargo handling equipment . To accelerate implementation of emission reductions through the use of new and cleaner-burning equipment, the port has allocated more than $ 52 million in additional funding for the CAAP through 2008. As of May 2016,

8645-470: Was moved to Fremont in southern Alameda County. Also in 1916, the Fageol Motor Company chose East Oakland for their first factory, manufacturing farming tractors from 1918 to 1923. By 1920, Oakland was the home of numerous manufacturing industries, including metals , canneries, bakeries, internal combustion engines , automobiles, and shipbuilding. By 1929, when Chrysler expanded with

8740-536: Was originally a shallow mudflat , too soft to support a wharf . Visiting ships had two choices: stay far out at anchor and have their goods and passengers ferried to shore, or beach themselves. That sticky process is described in Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr. , who was a crew member on an 1834 voyage that visited San Pedro Bay. Phineas Banning greatly improved shipping when he dredged

8835-529: Was settled when San Pedro was endorsed in 1897 by a commission headed by Rear Admiral John C. Walker (who later went on to become the chair of the Isthmian Canal Commission in 1904). With U.S. government support, breakwater construction began in 1899, and the area was annexed to Los Angeles in 1909. The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners was founded in 1907. In 1912 the Southern Pacific Railroad completed its first major wharf at

8930-469: Was soon established four miles (6.4 km) to the southwest. During World War II, the East Bay Area was home to many war-related industries. Oakland's Moore Dry Dock Company expanded its shipbuilding capabilities and built over 100 ships. Valued at $ 100 million in 1943, Oakland's canning industry was its second-most-valuable war contribution after shipbuilding. The largest canneries were in

9025-492: Was this improved harbor that hosted the sailing events for the 1932 Summer Olympics . During World War II , the port was primarily used for shipbuilding, employing more than 90,000 people. In 1959, Matson Navigation Company 's Hawaiian Merchant delivered 20 containers to the port, beginning the port's shift to containerization . The opening of the Vincent Thomas Bridge in 1963 greatly improved access to Terminal Island and allowed increased traffic and further expansion of

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