H26.195

Watercolor sketch. Lake Merritt and outlet, showing old twelfth street bridge. Date of 1897. By Wyeth(?) Jones. Betsy Willcuts, June 2002 Bibliography: THE HEART OF OAKLAND, A Walking Guide to Lake Merritt by Leslie Flint, Sponsored by the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association The 12th Street Bridge was constructed as a toll bridge in 1853 by Horace Carpentier, the first mayor of Oakland. The only access to the towns on the eastern shore was by boat across San Antonio Slough or around the lake by a long route through the hills. The bridge was free from any taxation or assessment and Carpentier agreed to surrender it to the county only when paid the construction costs plus 3 percent per month interest. This "bridge of sighs" was not popular, however useful.