The Camron-Stanford House
Welcome to the Camron-Stanford House, where your tour of Samuel Merritt's neighborhood begins!The Camron-Stanford House was built as part of Dr. Merritt's planned community of lakefront homes. The house was first purcased by Alice and William Camron. The Camerons were the first of four families to call the residence home before the site was sold to the City of Oakland in 1908.The city of Oakland transformed the house into the site of the Oakland Public Museum, which housed the city's history and ethnography collection. The Oakland Public Museum was the first teaching museum west of the Mississippi and prided itself in its education programs. The collection eventually grew out of the Camron-Stanford House and moved to the site of the new Oakland Museum of California in 1969.After the Oakland Public Museum closed, the fate of the Camron-Stanford House was in limbo. In the 1970s a group of preservationists rescued the house from demolition and set to work to restore it to its 1870s splendor. After several years of work, the house opened as a museum once more in 1976. Today, the Camron-Stanford House is a vibrant historic house museum, wedding venue, and community gathering space. Different exhibits throughout the year illuminate Oakland's 19th century history and meticulously decorated period rooms transport visitors to Oakland's early days as a thriving California metropolis. We hope that you can visit us soon!
The Oakland Civic Auditorium
Did you know that this building, the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, was once known as the Oakland Civic Auditurum? The name was changed after the building's 1984 rennovation.
12th Street Bridge
in 1853 Horace Carpentier built the original 12th Street bridge. This bridge was once a toll bridge that allowed pedestrians to cross the San Antonio Creek and connected the town of Oakland to the community of Clinton (which eventually became Brooklyn).
Home of Malachi Fallon
in 1858 San Francisco's first Chief of Police,Malachi Fallon purchased 10 acres of land between the areas of what is now 7th Street and Oak St. His home was built in the Long Island farmhouse style, and was the first house in Oakland to be constructed with lath and plaster.In 1890 the house was converted into the Chabot Woman's Home with an endowment provided by Anthony Chabot. The home intended to provide safe, affordable housing options for "worthy working women." The home operated until aproximately 1935.
Henry Douglas Bacon Residence
This area was once the loction of the home of Henry Douglas Bacon, a wealthy banker, born in Massacussets in 1817. In 1849 the family's successful banking firm, Page, Bacon, & Co. opened a San Francisco express office. The business flourished until January of 1855 when the firm's involvement in the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad took a turn and compelled their main St. Louis branh to close its doors. When the news reached San Francisco, a run on Page, Bacon, & Co. served as a prelude to the San Francisco crash of 1855.Bacon's legacy lives on: the Bacon Art and Library building at University of California, Berkeley bares his name.
Madison Park Apartments
At the time it was built (1905-1908) The Madison Park Apartments was considered the largest wooden built structure west of the Mississipi. At the time of its opening, an advertisement noted the apartment building was, "the largest and finest on the entire coast" while another praised it for having "more apartments under one roof than any other building on the Pacific Coast." It still survives as one of the largest early wooden apartment buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area.This building is recognized for its scale, planning, and use of materials and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
John Mason Buffington Residence
This is the location of the former residence of John Mason Buffington. Buffington was drawn to California in 1849 like many others seeking fortune during the Gold Rush. After a successful mining career in Tuoleme County, he set up offices in San Francisco and Stockton to manage his business interests throughout the Bay Area, including Oakland.Buffington was a veteran of the Mexican-American War and was a member of the Sloat Memorial Committee, active in the Society of California Pioneers, President of the Oakland YMCA, and worked with the LIncoln Association to honor the President's birthday before the date was recognized as a national holiday.Alongside Anthony Chabot, he helped found the Oakland chapter of the Masons and was instrumental in aquiring the site of the current Masonic Temple that still stands on Lakeside.
