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Chevrolet factory, interior. 1918 (From the Oakland Heritage Alliance News, Fall 1984, by William Sturm, pg. 18) The Chevrolet Motor Plant. In the halcyon, enterprising era of the Twenties, Oakland become known as the "Detroit of the West", a major manufacturing center for automobiles produced by, among others, Durant and Willys-Overland motor companies. First among the major car manufacturers to located in Oakland was the Chevrolet Motor Co., which opened its plant in 1916 in the midst of the rural, farm-studded Eastmont district. Located upon seven acres bounded by 69th and 73rd Avenues, Foothill Blvd., and Bancroft Avenue, the factory testified to the City's "ideal climate, adequate supply of skilled labor, and great shipping facilities." As the terminus of all local and overland railroads, Oakland enabled auto producers to ship cars by rail with facility. "Trainloads of Chevrolet cars leave Oakland every day in the year," proclaimed the Oakland Tribune in 1926. By 1919, the work force at the factory exceeded 1.000 skilled laborers, many of whom lived in the new housing rapidly clustering near the plant. As a soot-free, electrically powered modern manufacturing center, the auto plant complemented, rather than begrimed, the emerging residential area. By 1920, 80 t0 100 cars were turned out daily. Spacious, efficient, and suffused with lights, the horse-shoe shaped building displayed what one observer called"ï¾€ a great saga of synchronized human endeavor." The plant continued in operation until 1963, with a respite during World War II when the factory was leased to the army. In 1965 the venerable structure fell to the wrecker's ball, making way for the current Eastmont Mall shopping center.
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