H69.38.1635

The area shown on this original map is the area from the Oakland Estuary on the east, to the San Francisco Bay to the west; the northern boundary is called the Encinal Line (probably about 20th St. today), and the southern boundary is San Antonio Creek. The grid plan of the original city is laid out from First St. to 14th St. (north-south boundaries) and from Fallon St. to Market St. (east-west boundaries). The unincorporated areas are given the alphabetical designations, A, B, C, D, G. Areas A, B, C, and G would comprise most of west Oakland; Area D is an area from Lake Merritt on the east to Broadway on the west; 14th St. is its southern boundary and what is 20th St. today is the northern boundary. Handwritten in pencil at the top of the map is: "Map of Oakland showing the position of the property of Josef Irving dec." Also handwritten is: "Filed in Recorders Office of Alameda County May 11th 1859 in Book 1, p. 25...note: not an exact copy of filed map but nearly so." (D. Cooper, 2/1999) The map is hand-drawn on linen. The Lake Merritt Channel is labeled "Estuary" and the current Estuary is labeled "San Antonio Creek." The marsh lands along the channel and in West Oakland are clearly marked. The pier at the foot of Broadway and the 12th Street Bridge, both built by Horace Carpentier, are clearly shown. (4/2002, G. Weininger, DeWitt Jones, Oakland Parks and Playgrounds, 1935): The Oakland and San Francisco Railroad's bridge to Alameda curved across this square, at Alice and 7th Streets, in 1872, but was torn up in 1893 during public protests against the railroad's monopoly of the waterfront.

Used: William F. Boardman

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