Piedmont Ave Homes

By Joan Dark

Old-timers used to say, "Piedmont Avenue is unique. It's the only street in town where you can be born on one end. go to church in the middle and be buried at the other end," says Ted Wurm, local historian and long time resident.

It's still true, although, probably fewer people are going to church than in 1886 when the first horse-drawn trolley line was laid from downtown Oakland through the open countryside and ranch land to the new Mountain View Cemetery.

The city of Oakland had just passed its first traffic ordinance - the speed limit for both saddled horses and those pulling wagons and buggies was eight miles per hour. Dr. Samuel Merritt had just written the first health ordinances, too - one being that livery stables were to remove horse manure when piles reached a certain height, not disclosed in available documents.

It was typical of Oakland's growth that residential and commercial development sprang up along trolley routes. Real estate syndicates paid for the tracks, then advertised parcels around them to potential business and homeowners.

By the late 1800s, Piedmont Avenue was lined with grocery stores, butcher shops, bakeries, Fenton's Creamery, boarding houses, dry goods stores, pharmacies, tailors, hardware stores and a nickelodeon.

Blacksmith shops and livery stables and flower nurseries were nearby.

Most stores had living quarters upstairs, as well as other business which did not requires street frontage.

Off the main street, rows of Victorian homes and, later, Craftsman bungalows were built with typical lot sizes of 40 by 100 feet.

It's been said that the lots were so deep to accommodate outhouses at the rear property lines. To this day, the only supporting evidence of this is the multitude of old rose bushes growing lustily in many back yards, with no assistance or attention from owners.

Craftsman and California bungalows are the dominant architectural styles in this neighbourhood.

Bungalows are characterized by generous proportions: wide, overhanging eaves, front porches, large rooms and simple floor plans. The style was a reaction to the "fussiness" of Victorians.

Craftsmanship and building materials are generally superior to today's. Common are inlaid golden oak floors, leaded glass windows, redwood wainscoting and stone fireplaces, even in the smallest "workingman's" homes.

When these bungalows are sold, it is not uncommon for new buyers' home inspectors to praise the sturdiness of construction.

Materials such as the heart redwood used throughout are no longer available. This redwood has great density and termite resistance; it is unusual to find major deterioration, even after some 80 years.

Home prices range from the $190,000s for a small, two-bedroom, one-bath bungalow to the $280,000s for a beautifully preserved Craftsman bungalow with new kitchen, new bathrooms and garden.

Oddly, by today's standards there are quite a number of homes with no driveways or garages.

At the turn of the century, however, people stabled their horses and buggies on the other side of Piedmont Avenue in the area of Montell and Rio Vista streets.

They also used the new public transportation system which could get them to the Oakland estuary via street car, and San Francisco aboard the magnificent ferry fleet within a half hour.

There was no need for a garage then, but it poses a problem for present-day homeowners.

The Piedmont Avenue neighbourhood is old enough to have seen several generations make the journey from Fabiola Hospital (now Kaiser) to Mountain View cemetery.

Within the past 10 years, many young families have moved in, attracted by the proximity to shopping and transportation as well as the "walkability" of the area.

...over the past few years, crime and the schools have been major concerns, along with land use and planning.

Within the past 20 years, the neighbourhood has changed from older people with children grown up and gone, to single people and young marrieds planning and having families.

The trend of almost automatic movement to the suburbs in the '60s and '70s started to slow in the '80s and'90s as people rediscovered urban living.

The possibility of walking to the movies, grocery stores, shops, and restaurants began to make sense again, and Piedmont Avenue's proximity to BART, AC Transit and freeways makes it attractive to commuters.

Now, as always, urban living is improved by citizen involvement in local issues, and Piedmont Avenue residents have a history of political activity.

Neighborhood concerns change with the times and people; over the past few years, crime and the schools have been major concerns along with land use and planning.

The crime issue has been addressed in several ways. The area has some of the most active home alert groups in Oakland.

Trained by Oakland Police Department's Community Services Division, neighbors joined together in taking care of each other. They keep a close eye on the neighborhoods, reporting suspicious activity.

Also, community policing has had a very positive impact.

''We want to hear from people if someone is hanging around who you're not sure should be there," says Herb Noss, the community policing officer.

"Crime is on a definite downward trend in the past year, I'm sure partly because the bad guys know people are watching and will report them."

Piedmont Avenue itself has its own dedicated beat officer, Wendy Ray, who patrols the business district on a full-time basis.

The Whistlestop Program has also been a crime deterrent. "There used to be more crime around here, although it was never very bad, but I think word got out that people weren't going to ignore it any more. It's much better now," says Margitta Gardner, one of the Whistlestop founders.

The schools continue to be an issue. Young families have felt forced to move to other areas when their children reached school age.

They love the area, their neighbours, their homes and gardens, but can't afford private schools, and haven't confidence in the public schools.

Now some 80 parents are organizing to take a look at what can be done to make the local elementary school more attractive to people with young children.

''We'd like to get the school and the community involved with each other again," says John Woodbury, one of the organizers of the new "School Involvement Project," sponsored by PANIL (Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Improvement League, a community organization dedicated to working on local issues).

"There must be 300 to 400 little kids in this area who could go to our Piedmont Avenue School in a few years, so the time is right to get to work."

'This neighborhood has everything else going for it. It's very stable, centrally located, and it's full of good people. We believe in public schools, and with this new energy we could add a dimension that would benefit everyone," says Valerie Winemiller, chairperson of PANIL.

'We believe in public schools, and with this new energy we could add a dimension that would benefit everyone'

VALERIE WINEMILLER, CHAIRPERSON OF PANIL.

Mike Lydon, a 45-year resident of the area and guiding light of the Merchants Association, agrees.

"Piedmont Avenue is very much like a small town. It's truly a neighborly place. Over the past five years we have become quite well organized politically, both the merchants and the neighborhoods so we are able to hold city officials accountable and get things done around here and make it even better."

While the merchants' association has hired a crew to keep the avenue clean five days a week Mike Lydon supplements their efforts the other two days.

He can be seen many mornings before going to his regular job, tackling graffiti or tidying up the neighborhood he loves, chatting with the beat cop or Officer Noss.

He reflects many residents' belief that participation in the workings of your city make it a good place to live.

Joan Dark is a Realtor with Pacific Union in Montclair. She can be reached at 339-446O.

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