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| Chinatown, Oakland |
Chinatown, OaklandOakland's Chinatown in California is frequently referred to as "Oakland Chinatown" in order to distinguish it from nearby San Francisco's Chinatown.
Oakland Chinatown is now a pan-Asian neighborhood which reflects Oakland's diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander community of Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Cambodian, Laotian, Mien, Thai, Samoan and others.
Many Asian languages and dialects can be heard in Chinatown including Cantonese, Chiu-Chow, Ilocano, Japanese, Khmer, Khmu, Korean, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Mien, Tagalog, Taiwanese, Thai, Toishan, and Vietnamese.
Chinese were the first Asian to arrive in Oakland in the 1850s, followed by Japanese in the 1890s, Koreans in the 1900s, and Filipinos in the 1930s-1940s. Southeast Asians began arriving in the 1970s.
History
Oakland Chinatown dates from the 1848 California Gold Rush, with the arrival of some Chinese immigrants in the 1850s, making it one of the oldest Chinatowns in North America. By 1860, the census of Oakland included 96 "Asiatics" among a total of 1,543. More Chinese arrived to help build the Central Pacific Railroad western portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad during the 1860s.
The Chinese settled in shrimp camps on the estuary of Oakland at 1st Street and Castro in the 1850s, near the Point in West Oakland which was referred to as "Chinese Point", and at 4th and Clay Streets. The Chinese settlement at Telegraph between 16th and 17th Streets burnt down in 1867 and was relocated at the San Pablo Avenue Chinatown between 19th and 20th Streets; it is now known as [http://www.uptownchinatown.org/ Oakland's Old Uptown Chinatown]. Other areas settled were 14th Street between Washington and Clay, and the Charter line (22nd Street) between Castro and Brush Streets.
Fears of the Yellow Peril and local exclusion laws forced the Chinese to resettled to its current location centered at 8th Street and Webster Street in the 1870s.
The first Chinese in Oakland fished in the San Francisco Bay for shrimp similiarly to the Chinese at China Camp ([http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=466 web link]) near San Rafael. In 1868, Chinese laborers built the Temescal Dam in Oakland providing water for the East Bay as well as the Lake Chabot Dam in 1874-75. They worked in canneries, cotton mills and fuse and explosive factories as well as farms. In the 1880s, discriminatory laws made it difficult for Chinese immigrants to own land or even find work. They found work as laundry workers, cooks, gardeners, houseboys, or as vegetable peddlers. The Chinese Exclusion Act severely limited the furthur immigration of Chinese. By 1900, the Chinese in Oakland numbered less than 1,000.
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed most of San Francisco's Chinatown and more than 4000 Chinese survivors found refuge in Oakland. Even while San Francisco Chinatown was rebuilding, many stayed in Oakland bringing the Chinatown population to about 2,500. Because of immigration restrictions barring Chinese women and children, a bachelor society was created.
In the 1920s, Oakland Chinatown grew from 10th Street to the waterfront from Broadway to Harrison.
Even until 1940, the Chinatown population grew only to about 3,000. With the United States involvement in World War II and the fact that China was an ally, the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943 but still had a quota of 105 persons a year.
In 1950, Chinatown grew to a population of 5,500, but local housing was lost due to the construction of Interstate 880 which runs through 8 blocks between 5th and 6th Streets, Laney College (8 blocks) and later in the late 1960s, the Bay Area Rapid Transit headquarters and Lake Merritt station (2 blocks) and Oakland Museum of California (4 blocks).
Oakland Chinatown was economically stagnant for many years, especially after multigenerational Chinatown residents began heading to the suburbs in the late 1960s. However, the Chinatown saw much development during the 1980s and 1990s after an exodus of Chinese American merchants—who were already experiencing stiff and ever-growing competition and rising costs of rent in the San Francisco area—across the Bay Bridge and increased immigration from mainland China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Many ethnic Chinese Vietnamese and Chinese Cambodians began opening new small businesses, essentially replacing many of the older Taishanese-dominated businesses. Also, with investment coming from Hong Kong in the 1980s, new modern shopping centers were built. It still retains the traditional aspects and characteristics of an older Chinatown. Oakland's Chinatown includes a historic and still thriving fortune cookie factory.
Although it is overshadowed by its well-known counterpart in San Francisco and also suffering from a high crime rate, the Chinatown area is bustling with activity. Other Asian cultures are represented in Oakland's Chinatown as it has also been settled by non-Chinese Asians such as ethnic Vietnamese (many of whom operate many of Chinatown's jewelry businesses), Koreans, and Thais making it more of a pan-Asian area as opposed to a "Chinatown". The biggest thing is that the Chinatown makes tax revenue for the city of Oakland.
:Note: references for future edits
- Chinese
- [http://home.earthlink.net/~uptownchinatown/20040530Tribune.html Scholars working to mine history from early Chinatown amid building] Oakland Tribune
- [http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_2589143 Historic Asian cannery] Lew Hing's Pacific Coast Canning Company
- [http://www.kbrhorse.net/wclo/ebchina.html Chinese Workers and the East Bay's Early Water Systems] - East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)
- [http://www.sfmuseum.org/chin/chioak.html Chinese crowding into fashionable districts] post-SF earthquake anti-Chinese article from The Oakland Herald April 27, 1906
- [http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/asian-american/angel_island/index.htm Interview of Li Keng Wong] Chapter 7: Growing Up in Oakland (Chinatown) - Scholastic Asian American Heritage
- [http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/cityscpe/vol4num2/ch11.pdf San Antonio] (the New Chinatown{
California
California is a state located on the west coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous state in the U.S., as well as the most physically diverse, with the highest and the lowest points in the lower 48 states located within 150 miles of each other. If California were an independent nation, it would have the sixth largest economy in the world (after the rest of the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain and France; see economy of California). The state's official nickname is "The Golden State" in reference to California's 1849 Gold Rush. California's U.S. postal abbreviation is CA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Calif.
As one of the most demographically diverse states in the nation, California is a dominant force in American culture as well as the nation's economy. It has some of the nation's largest cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco, and is responsible for many legal and technological innovations.
The entire region originally known as California was composed of the Mexican peninsula now known as Baja California and much of the land in the current states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming, known as Alta California. In these early times, the boundaries of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast were only partially explored and California was shown on early maps as an island. The name comes from Las sergas de Esplandián (Adventures of Splandian), a 16th century novel, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, where there is an island paradise called California. (For further discussion, see: Origin of the name California.)
History
:Main articles: History of California, History of California (20th century)
The first European to explore parts of the coast was the Portuguese João Rodrigues Cabrilho in 1542. The first to explore the entire coast and claim possession of it was Francis Drake in 1579. Beginning in the late 1700s, Spanish missionaries set up tiny settlements on enormous grants of land in the vast territory north of Baja California. The missions played a dominant role in the decimation of California's indigenous population. Upon Mexican independence from Spain, the chain of missions became the property of the Mexican government, and they were quickly dissolved and abandoned.
In 1846, at the outset of the Mexican-American War, the California Republic was founded and the Bear Flag was flown, which featured a golden bear and a star. The Republic came to a sudden end, however, when Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into San Francisco Bay and claimed California for the United States. Following the war, the region was divided between Mexico and the United States. The Mexican portion, Baja (lower) California was later divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. The western part of the U.S. portion, Alta (upper) California, was to become the state of California.
In 1848, the Spanish-speaking population of distant upper California numbered around 4,000. But after gold was discovered, the population burgeoned with Americans and a few Europeans in the great California gold rush. In 1850, the state was admitted to the Union of the USA.
During the American Civil War, popular support in California was divided 70% for the South and 30% for the North, and although California officially entered on the side of the North, many troops went east to fight for the Confederacy CSA.
At first, travel between the far Pacific West to the eastern population centers was time-consuming and dangerous, requiring either long ocean voyages, or difficult transcontinental passages. A more direct connection came in 1869 with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. After this rail link was established, hundreds of thousands of Americans came west, where new Californians were discovering that land in the state, if irrigated during the dry summer months, was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Citrus, oranges in particular, was widely grown, and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production of today.
During the early 20th century, migration to California accelerated with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. In the period from 1900 to 1965 the population grew from fewer than one million to become the most populous state in the Union. From 1965 to the present, the population demographic changed radically and became one of the most diverse in the world. The state is generally liberal-leaning, technologically and culturally savvy, and a world center of engineering businesses, the film and television industry and, as mentioned above, American agricultural production.
Law and government
California is governed as a republic, with three branches of government, the executive branch consisting of the Governor of California and the other independently elected constitutional officers, the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by referendum, recall, and ratification.
The Governor of California and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be re-elected only once. The California State Legislature consists of a 40 member Senate and 80 member Assembly. Senators serve four year terms and Assembly members two. The terms of the Senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The Senators representing the odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four, i.e., presidential election years. The Senators from the even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years, in the gubernatorial election cycle. California's legislature is organized in such a way that the party caucus leaders wield great power and can usually speak on behalf of their caucuses. Many important legislative decisions are thus not made on the floor of the legislature but in back-room deals by the "Big Five", which comprises the governor and the Democratic and Republican leaders of each chamber.
For the 2005–2006 session, there are 48 Democrats and 32 Republicans in the Assembly. In the Senate, there are 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans. The current Governor is the Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose current term lasts through January 2007. Schwarzenegger was only the second person in the history of the United States to be put into office by a recall of a sitting governor (the first was the 1921 recall of North Dakota Governor Lynn J. Frazier). Schwarzenegger replaced Governor Gray Davis (1999–2003), who was removed from office by the October 2003 California recall election.
The state's capital is Sacramento. During California's early history under European control, the capital was successively located in Monterey (1775–1849), San Jose (1849–1851), Vallejo (1852–1853), Benicia (1853–1854), and San Francisco (1862). The capital moved to Sacramento temporarily in 1852 when construction on a State House could not be completed in time in Vallejo. The capital's final move to Sacramento was on February 25, 1854 where it has been permanently, except for a four-month temporary move in 1862 to San Francisco, due to severe flooding in Sacramento.
California's giant judiciary is the largest in the United States (with a total of 1,600 judges, while the federal system has only about 840). It is supervised by the seven Justices of the Supreme Court of California. Justices of the Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal are appointed by the Governor, but are subject to retention by the electorate every 12 years. Judges of the trial courts, the Superior Courts in each county, may be appointed by the Governor or elected directly by the voters, depending on when the vacancy occurs. Superior Court judges serve six-year terms, after which they may run for re-election. Unlike the retention elections for Supreme Court and Court of Appeal justices, Superior Court judges run for re-election in open races, in which other qualified candidates may run as challengers.
California's legal system is explicitly based on English common law but carries a few features from Spanish civil law. Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment and the state has the largest "Death Row" population in the country.
At the national level, California is represented by two senators and 53 representatives, as of 2005. It has 55 electoral votes in the U.S. Electoral College. (As California is the most populous state in the Union, its counts of Congressmen and Presidential Electors are, of course, also the largest.) The two U.S. Senators from California are Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. 33 Democrats and 20 Republicans represent the state in the U.S. House of Representatives.
While California is among the most Democratic and liberal states in the nation because of the large concentration of voters in populous areas, much of California is politically very conservative, notably the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, Orange and San Diego counties, and most inland, eastern, and rural areas. Democratic bastions are mostly coastal and include the entire San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Salinas, Santa Barbara, and Imperial County. The state has supported Democrats in the last four presidential elections. In 2004, Republican President George W. Bush received a majority of votes in more than half the state's 58 counties, but still lost California's 55 electoral votes to John Kerry, who won 54.3% of the popular vote, by a margin of 10 percentage points.
See also: List of California Governors, U.S. Congressional Delegations from California, List of California counties, List of California ballot propositions
Geography
California borders the Pacific Ocean, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and the Mexican state of Baja California. The state has strikingly beautiful natural features, including an expansive central valley, tall mountains, hot deserts, and hundreds of miles of scenic coastline. With an area of 411,000 km² it is the third largest state in the U.S and larger than Germany in size. Most major cities cling to the cool seacoast along the Pacific, notably Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana/Orange County, and San Diego. However, the capital, Sacramento is in the Central Valley.
California has extremely varied geography. In the center of the state lies the Central Valley, a huge, fertile valley bounded by the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the granite Sierra Nevada to the east, the volcanic Cascade Range in the north and the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. Mountain-fed rivers, dams, and canals provide water to irrigate the Central Valley. With dredging, several of these rivers have become sufficiently large and deep that several inland cities, notably Stockton, California, are seaports. The hot, fertile Central Valley is California's agricultural heartland and grows a large portion of America's food, yet near freezing temperatures are not uncommon during winter which sometimes wipe out portions of crops. The bottom part of the valley, which is part desert, is known as the San Joaquin Valley while the upper half is known as the Sacramento Valley.
In the center and east of the state are the Sierra Nevada (meaning Snowy Range in Spanish), containing the highest peak in the contiguous lower 48 states, Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4421 m). Also located in the Sierra are the world famous Yosemite National Park and a deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe, the largest lake in the state by volume. To the east of the Sierra are Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential seabird habitat. To the west is Clear Lake, California's largest freshwater lake by area. The Sierra Nevada receives arctic temperatures in the winter and holds several dozen small glaciers, including the most southern glacier in the United States (Palisade Glacier).
California has about 35% of its total surface area covered by forests. California's diversity of pine species is unmatched by any other state. Though other states have a higher percentage of their land area covered by forests, in terms of total area, California contains more forestland than any other state except Alaska. Most of the forest is found in 2 places. First, in the northwestern part of the state and along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Smaller forests, mainly consisting of oaks, can be found along the coast ranges of California closer to the coast, and also in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Smaller areas of pine forests can be found in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains of Southern California and also in the mountain areas of Central San Diego Country.
Deserts in California make up about 25% of the total surface area. In the south lie the Transverse Ranges and a large salt lake, the Salton Sea. The south-central desert is called the Mojave. To the northeast of the Mojave lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest, hottest point in North America. The lowest point of Death Valley and the peak of Mount Whitney are less than 200 miles apart. The hiking trek between the two points has been attempted, several times, most notably by Lee Bergthold. Indeed, almost all of southeastern California is arid, hot desert, with the Coachella Valley routinely experiencing extreme high temperatures during the summer.
Finally, along the densely-populated but long California coast lie a number of major metropolitan areas, including San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Climates near the Pacific Ocean are remarkably moderate compared with inland climates. Winter temperatures never reach freezing (snow is unheard of) and summer temperatures rarely reach above the high 80's Fahrenheit (27 °C).
California is famous for its earthquakes, due partly to the presence of the San Andreas Fault. While more powerful earthquakes in the United States have occurred in Alaska and along the Mississippi River, California earthquakes are notable in their frequency and location in highly populated areas. Some people believe, eventually, a huge earthquake will result in the splitting of coastal California from the continent, either to sink into the ocean or form a new landmass. The fact that this scenario is completely implausible from a geologic standpoint does not lessen its acceptance in public conventional wisdom, or its exploitation by the producers of science fiction and fantasy media. Notable movies in which the possible destruction of much of California by an earthquake includes the titles Earthquake, A View to a Kill, Escape from L.A. and Superman.
California is also home to several volcanoes, some active such as Mammoth Mountain. Other volcanoes include Lassen Peak, which erupted from 1914 and 1921, and Mount Shasta.
Climate
Different regions of California have very different climates, depending on their latitude, elevation, and proximity to the coast. Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers. The influence of the ocean generally moderates temperature extremes, creating warmer winters and substantially cooler summers, and the cold oceanic California Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast. As one moves away from the coast, the climate becomes more continental, with colder winters and markedly hotter summers. The temperature gradient between immediate coast and low-lying inland valleys in the north is about 7 °F (4 °C) in winter, coast being warmer, and in summer roughly 25 °F (14 °C) but opposite. In the south, the figures are approximately 4 and 23 °F (2 °C and 13 °C), respectively; however 4 °F and 35 °F (2 °C and 20 °C) between Santa Barbara and Death Valley.
Westerly winds from the ocean also bring moisture, and the northern parts of the state generally receive higher rainfall than the south. California's mountain ranges influence the climate as well: moisture-laden air from the west cools as it ascends the mountains, dropping moisture; some of the rainiest parts of the state are west-facing mountain slopes. Northwestern California has a temperate climate with rainfall of 15–40 inches (400–1000 mm) per year. The Central Valley has a Mediterranean climate, but with greater temperature extremes than the coastal areas; parts of the valley are often filled with thick fog, similar to that found in the coastal valleys. The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have a mountain climate with snow in winter and mild to moderate heat in summer.
On the east side of the mountains is a drier "rain shadow." California's desert climate regions lie east of the high Sierra Nevada and southern California's Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges. The low deserts east of the southern California mountains, including the Imperial and Coachella valleys and the lower Colorado River, are part of the Sonoran Desert, with hot summers and mild winters; the higher elevation deserts of eastern California, including the Mojave Desert, Owens Valley, and the Modoc Plateau, are part of the Great Basin region, with hot summers and cold winters.
Death Valley, in the northern portion of the Mojave Desert on the east side of the state, is the hottest spot on the Western Hemisphere, with high temperatures over 120 °F common in the summer. The highest temperature in the Western Hemisphere, 134 °F (56.6 °C), was recorded in Death Valley on July 10, 1913. Temperatures of 130 °F or higher have been recorded as recently as 2005. The 24-hour average July temperature in Death Valley is 101 °F (38 °C) (1961--1990 standard).
Ecology
Ecologically, California is one of the richest and most diverse parts of the world, and includes some of the most endangered ecological communities. California's diverse geography, geology, soils and climate have generated a tremendous diversity of plant and animal life. The State of California is part of the Nearctic ecozone, and spans a number of terrestrial ecoregions, and is perhaps the most ecologically diverse state in the United States.
California has a rather high percentage of endemic species. California endemics include relict species that have died out elsewhere, including the redwoods and the Catalina Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus). Many other endemics originated through differentiation or adaptive radiation, whereby multiple species develop from a common ancestor to take advantage of diverse ecological conditions. California's great abundance of species of California lilac (Ceanothus) is an example of adaptive radiation. Many California endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat. Furthermore, California is home to the largest trees in the world, the Giant Sequoias.
California's native grasses were perennials, which stayed green year-round in most of the state's subclimates. After European contact, these were generally replaced by invasive species of European annual grasses; and, in modern times, California's hills turn a characteristic golden brown in summer and fall. California's nickname The Golden State is in reference to the California Gold Rush, and not to the golden brown summer hillsides as is sometimes stated.
Economy
California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush]
California has the fifth largest economy in the world. It is responsible for 14% of the United States' gross domestic product (GDP). The gross state product (GSP) is about $1.5 trillion ($1,500,000,000,000, as of 2004), making it greater than that of every other U.S. state, and most countries in the world (by Purchasing Power Parity).
The predominant industry, more than twice as large as the next, is agriculture, (including fruit, vegetables, dairy, and wine). This is followed by aerospace; entertainment, primarily television by dollar volume, although many movies are still made in California; and light manufacturing including computer hardware and software, and the mining of borax.
Per capita personal income was $33,403 as of 2003, ranking 12th in the nation. Per capita income varies widely by geographic region and profession. The Central Valley has the most extreme contrasts of income, with migrant farm workers making less than minimum wage. While some coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the U.S., notably San Francisco and Marin County, the non-agricultural central counties have some of the highest poverty rates in the U.S. The high-technology sectors in Northern California, specifically Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, are currently emerging from economic downturn caused by the dot.com bust, which caused the loss of over 250,000 jobs in Northern California alone. Recent (Spring 2005) [http://uclaforecast.com economic data] indicates that economic growth has resumed in California, although still slightly below the national annualized forecast of 3.9%. The international boom in housing prices has been most pronounced in California, with the median property price in the state rising to about the half-million dollar mark in April 2005.
Demographics
Population
As of 2004 California had a population of 35,893,799. The state had 9,400,000 foreign-born residents (26.5% of the population), of which an estimated 2,209,000 were illegal aliens (illegal aliens accounted for nearly one-fourth of the foreign-born population and 6.2% of the total state population).
California is the most populous state—more than 12 percent of Americans live in the state. California's population is larger than all but 33 countries; more populated than Canada.
Racial and Ancestral Makeup
The Census Bureau considers race and Hispanic origin to be two separate categories. Hispanics must not only select "Hispanic"; they must also select a race such as White or Asian, or, simply "some other race." This makes interpreting Census data difficult. Thus, for the sake of simplicity, the data below does consider Hispanic origin to be its own category. It therefore shows only non-Hispanic members of each group: non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Eskimos, non-Hispanic people of two or more races, etc. For more information on race and the Census, see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28U.S._Census%29 here].
California lacks a majority ethnic group. It is the third minority-majority state, after Hawaii and New Mexico. Non-Hispanic Whites are still the largest group, but are no longer a majority of the population due to high levels of immigration in recent years. Hispanics make up over one-third of the population; in order, other groups are Asians, Blacks, and Native Americans.
Because of high levels of immigration from Latin America, especially Mexico, and higher birth rates among the Hispanic population, Hispanics are predicted to become a majority in the state around 2040. California has the second-largest Asian population (percentage-wise) of any state, Hawaii having the largest.
The largest ancestries in California are Mexican (25%), Filipino, German, Irish, and Asian. Mexicans and Chicanos predominate in Southern California, the Central Valley, Salinas, and parts of the San Francisco Bay area. Irish and German ancestries are dominant in the eastern Sierra Nevada, the far north, and the North Coast. San Francisco has the greatest concentration of Asians in the continental United States, with Chinese numerous in San Francisco, Alameda, and Santa Clara counties and Filipinos particularly numerous in San Mateo county.
Languages
As of 2000, 60.5% of California residents age 5 and older speak English at home and 25.8% speak Spanish. Chinese is the third most spoken language at 2.6%, followed by Tagalog at 2.5% and Vietnamese at 1.3%. The indigenous languages of California number more than one hundred, but most are in danger of language death, despite revitalization efforts. Since 1986, the California Constitution has specified English as the common and official language of the state. The politics of language, particularly concerning language policy regarding the teaching and official use of immigrant languages is a major political issue in the state.
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of California:
- Christian – 75%
- Protestant – 38%
- Baptist – 8%
- Presbyterian – 3%
- Methodist – 2%
- Lutheran – 2%
- Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
- Roman Catholic – 34%
- Other Christian – 3%
- Jewish – 2%
- Other Religions – 3%
- Non-Religious – 20%
As with many other western states, the percentage of California's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is comparatively high in relation to the rest of the U.S.
Important cities and towns
Image:Sacramento from Riverwalk.jpg|Sacramento
Image:DowntownLosAngeles.jpg|Los Angeles
Image:Sandiego.arp.750pix.jpg|San Diego
Image:Lightmatter sanfrancisco.jpg|San Francisco
Image:SanJoseDowntownIMG016elf wb.jpg|San Jose
Image:Long Beach, CA at night.jpg|Long Beach
Image:La2-oakland.jpg|Oakland
Image:Anaheimdland.jpg|Anaheim
The state of California has 478 cities, the majority of which are within one of the large metropolitan areas. 68% of California's population lives in its two largest metropolitan areas, Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Population greater than 10,000,000 (urbanized area)
- Los Angeles/Long Beach (Greater Los Angeles)
- Population greater than 5,000,000 (urbanized area)
- San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose/Santa Rosa (San Francisco Bay Area)
- Population greater than 2,500,000 (urbanized area)
- San Diego
- Orange County
- Inland Empire (Riverside/San Bernardino)
- Population greater than 1,000,000 (urbanized area)
- Fresno
- Sacramento
- Population greater than 500,000 (urbanized area)
- Bakersfield
- Stockton
- Oxnard/Ventura (Ventura County)
- Population greater than 250,000 (urbanized area)
- Visalia/Tulare/Porterville (Tulare County)
- Modesto
- Salinas/Monterey (Monterey County)
- Santa Barbara/Goleta/Santa Maria (Santa Barbara County)
- Palmdale/Lancaster (Antelope Valley)
- Indio/Palm Springs (Coachella Valley)
For a list of important suburbs within the above areas, see List of urbanized areas in California (by population).
25 wealthiest places in California
Thanks to the state's powerful economy, certain California cities are among the wealthiest on the planet. The following list is ranked by per capita income:
1 Belvedere, California - Marin County - $113,595
2 Rancho Santa Fe, California - San Diego County - $113,132
3 Atherton, California - San Mateo County - $112,408
4 Rolling Hills, California - Los Angeles County - $111,031
5 Woodside, California - San Mateo County - $104,667
6 Portola Valley, California - San Mateo County - $99,621
7 Newport Coast, California - Orange County - $98,770
8 Hillsborough, California - San Mateo County - $98,643
9 Diablo, California - Contra Costa County - $95,419
10 Fairbanks Ranch, California - San Diego County - $94,150
11 Hidden Hills, California - Los Angeles County - $94,096
12 Los Altos Hills, California - Santa Clara County - $92,840
13 Tiburon, California - Marin County - $85,966
14 Sausalito, California - Marin County - $81,040
15 Monte Sereno, California - Santa Clara County - $76,577
16 Indian Wells, California - Riverside County $76,187
17 Malibu, California - Los Angeles County - $74,336
18 Del Monte Forest, California - Monterey County - $70,609
19 Piedmont, California - Alameda County - $70,539
20 Montecito, California - Santa Barbara County - $70,077
21 Palos Verdes Estates, California - Los Angeles County - $69,040
22 Emerald Lake Hills, California - San Mateo County - $68,966
23 Loyola, California - Santa Clara County - $68,730
24 Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara, California - Contra Costa County - $66,972
25 Los Altos, California - Santa Clara County - $66,776
Note: Marin County ranks as the wealthiest county in the United States based on per capita personal income.
Education
Image:Berkeley glade afternoon.jpg|UC Berkeley
Image:Stanford campus aerial photo.jpg|Stanford
Image:USC Bovard Auditorium enh.jpg|USC
Image:RHall.JPG|UCLA
Image:Tower Hall and MDA.JPG|San Jose State
Image:UCSD_lib1024.jpg|UC San Diego
Image:Millikan Library.jpg|Caltech
Image:Csulb pyramid.jpg|CSU Long Beach
California's public educational system is supported by a unique constitutional amendment that requires 40% of state revenues to be spent on education.
The preeminent state university is the University of California, which employs more Nobel Prize winners than any other institution in the world and is considered one of the finest public higher-education systems in the country. The nine general UC campuses are in Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Davis, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Riverside, and Merced. The University of California, San Francisco, teaches only graduate health-sciences students, and the Hastings College of Law, also in San Francisco, is one of UC's four law schools. The UC system is intended to accept students from the top 12.5% of college-bound students, and provide most graduate studies and research. The University of California also administers federal laboratories for the Federal Department of Energy: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The California State University system provides education for teachers, the trades, agriculture and industry. With over 400,000 students, the CSU system is the largest university system in the United States. It is intended to accept most college-bound high-school students, while carrying out some research, especially in applied sciences. Lower-division course credits are frequently transferable to the University of California.
The California Community Colleges system provides vocational education, remedial education, and continuing education programs. It awards certificates and associate degrees. It also provides lower division general-education courses, whose credit units are transferable to the CSU and UC systems. It is composed of 109 colleges organized into 72 districts. The system serves a student population of over 2.9 million.
Notable private universities include Stanford University, the University of Southern California (USC), and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (which administers the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA).
California has hundreds more private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. This leads to many unique entertainment and educational opportunities for residents. For example, Southern California, with one of the highest densities of post-secondary institutions in the world, has a very large base of classically trained vocalists that compete in large choir festivals. Near Los Angeles, there are numerous art and film institutes, including the CalArts Institute.
Public secondary education consists of high schools that teach elective courses in trades, languages and liberal arts with tracks for gifted, college-bound and industrial arts students. They accept students from roughly age 14 to 18, with mandatory education ceasing at age 16. In many districts, junior high schools or middle schools teach electives with a strong skills-based curriculum, for ages from 11 to 13. Elementary schools teach pure skills, history and social studies, with optional half-day kindergartens beginning at age 5. Mandatory full-time instruction begins at age 6.
The primary schools are of varying effectiveness. The quality of the local schools depends strongly on the local tax base, and the size of the local administration. In some regions, administrative costs divert a significant amount of educational monies from instructional purposes. In poor regions, literacy rates may fall below 70%. One thing they all have in common is a state mandate to teach fourth grade students about the history of California, including the role of the early missions; most schools implement this by requiring students complete a multiple medium project.
Sports
California's large population has helped to make it home to many professional sports teams, including fifteen major professional sports league franchises, far more than any other state. However, since the re-location of the Los Angeles Raiders and Los Angeles Rams in the 1990s, it could be argued that no one city is able to lay claim to a "Grand Slam" (i.e. having a team in each of the four leagues) unless Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose are counted as being in a single metropolitan area.
Major league teams
Major League Baseball
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Oakland Athletics
- San Diego Padres
- San Francisco Giants
National Basketball Association
- Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Sacramento Kings
National Football League
- Oakland Raiders
- San Diego Chargers
- San Francisco 49ers
National Hockey League
- Anaheim Mighty Ducks
- Los Angeles Kings
- San Jose Sharks
Other teams
Arena Football League
- San Jose Sabercats
- Los Angeles Avengers
Major League Soccer
- Club Deportivo Chivas USA
- Los Angeles Galaxy
- San Jose Earthquakes
Women's National Basketball Association
- Los Angeles Sparks
- Sacramento Monarchs
Transportation
Sacramento MonarchsCalifornia's vast terrain is connected by an extensive system of freeways, expressways, and highways, all maintained by Caltrans and patrolled by the California Highway Patrol, except for the numbered expressways in Santa Clara County which were built and maintained by the county itself. Californians typically take to the roads for their commutes, errands, and vacations, giving California's cities a reputation for severe traffic congestion. Almost all California highways are non-toll roads. Notable exceptions are any major bridges.
As for air travel, Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport are major hubs for trans-Pacific and transcontinental traffic. There are about a dozen important commercial airports and many more general aviation airports throughout the state's 58 counties.
California also has several important seaports. The giant seaport complex formed by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California is the largest in the country and responsible for handling about a fourth of all container cargo traffic in the United States. The Port of Oakland handles most of the ocean containers passing through Northern California.
Port of Oakland ]]
Intercity rail travel is provided by Amtrak. Los Angeles and San Francisco both have subway networks, in addition to
Oakland, California
.]]
Oakland, founded in 1852, is a major city on the east side (also called East Bay) of San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. To its north lies Berkeley, home to the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. To its west stands San Francisco, across the Bay Bridge. To its south lies the island city of Alameda, and San Leandro lies to the southeast. Along the hills which run from north to east, Oakland borders five of the East Bay Regional Parks. In the center of Oakland, and completely surrounded by it (prompting the common analogy to a doughnut hole), is the wealthy independent city of Piedmont. Oakland is home of the Port of Oakland, one of three major shipping ports on the American West coast.
Economic recovery along with Oakland's weather, location, hillside neighborhoods with views of San Francisco and the Bay, aggressive policies to reduce crime, astronomically high rents and home prices in nearby San Francisco, and a substantial offering of shopping districts and restaurants representing cuisines both homegrown and worldwide have led to an increase of population and of real-estate prices in the past decade.
Oakland is the county seat of Alameda County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city's population was 399,484, making it the third largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area after San Jose and San Francisco.
The Oakland Tribune published its first newspaper on February 21, 1874. The Tribune Tower, which sports a clock, is one of Oakland's landmarks.
Oakland hosts Oakland International Airport, which serves most of the low-cost air traveler's market to and from the San Francisco Bay Area. Major employers in Oakland include the local, state and federal governments, United States Postal Service, regional transportation and utility authorities, Kaiser Permanente, Clorox, Zhone Technologies, Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, carriers associated with the Port, and commercial bakeries.
Oaklanders are understandably frustrated by the misuse of the most famous quote said about their city. "There's no there there," was uttered by Gertrude Stein upon learning as an adult that her childhood Oakland home had been torn down. Her quote did not have anything to do with the city itself. Modern-day Oakland has turned the quote on its head, with a statue downtown simply titled, "There."
History
Gertrude Stein
The area was originally inhabited by the Huchiun tribe [http://www.nativecc.com/OhloneTribalMap.html], belonging to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone (a Miwok Indian word meaning "western people"). In Oakland, they were heavily concentrated around Lake Merritt, Emeryville, and Lake Temescal, the later, a small lake in the Oakland Hills. Temescal is an Aztec word for bath-house, brought north by Spanish colonizers.
Oakland, along with the rest of Northern California was claimed for Spain by visiting Spanish explorers in 1772. During its days under the Spanish Empire in the late 18th to early 19th century, and later under an independent Mexico in the early 19th century, Oakland (along with most of the East Bay), was owned by a wealthy landowner Luís María Peralta who named his area Rancho San Antonio. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons as most of Oakland fell within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. They would open the land to settlement by American settlers, loggers, European whalers and fur-traders.
Full scale settlement and development occurred following California being conquered by the United States during the Mexican American war, and the California Gold Rush in 1848. Oakland was founded and incorporated in 1852 and grew with the railroads, becoming a major rail terminus in the late 1860s and 1870s. Originally comprising the area west of Lake Merritt (now downtown and Chinatown), it gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and north. Oakland's rise to industrial prominence and its subsequent need for a seaport led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902 creating the "island" of nearby town Alameda. In 1906 its population doubled with refugees made homeless after the San Francisco earthquake and fire who had fled to Oakland. By 1920, Oakland was the home of numerous manufacturing industries, including metals, automobiles, and shipbuilding.
World War II
During WWII, the East Bay Area was home to a massive Naval shipbuilding industry. The industry attracted a huge amount of laborers from around the country. Many of the new workers were African Americans from the western South (Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas), who enjoyed great prosperity during the war years.
Post-war years
Soon after the war, the shipbuilding and automobile industries virtually evaporated, as did the jobs that came with it. Many who came to the city did not leave and decided to settle in their new home of Oakland. Meanwhile, many of the city's more affluent white residents fled the city after the war in order to move into newly developing suburbs to the north and south of Oakland's city borders.
By the late 1960s, Oakland, which had been quite prosperous and affluent before the war, found itself with a population that was dominated by a lower income class than had been typical for the city. Much of Oakland's current reputation as a high-crime city can be traced to the transformation that occurred after World War II, especially to the post-1965 era.
In the late 1980s early 1990's, Oakland suffered from two major natural disasters. First was the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake that destroyed a major section of highway in the west side of the city, killing 43 and severely damaging buildings citywide. Then in 1991, the Oakland Hills firestorm that destroyed a huge swath of homes in the affluent hills in the east section of the city killing 25.
1960s and 1970s activism
Oakland was home to many activist groups during the 1960s and 70s. The Black Panther Party, created in 1966, is one of the better known groups that formed in Oakland.
1980s and 1990s
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Oakland featured prominently in rap music, both as the hometown for such artists as MC Hammer, Digital Underground, Spice 1, Hieroglyphics and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, The Luniz, Keak Da Sneak and Too $hort, and for its featuring in the lyrics of several songs, such as Baby Got Back, California Love and I Got 5 On It. 2pac, who grew up in Baltimore, New York, and later Marin City, lived in Oakland longer than in any other city and began his career as a roadie and dancer for Digital Underground. Outside of the rap scene, Grammy award winning artists Green Day, En Vogue and Tony! Toni! Tone! (headed by Raphael Saadiq) also emerged from the dynamic city.
Crime
Though substantial gains have been made as evidenced from the Uniform Crime Reports published by the FBI, it still ranks among the worst cities in California for most categories of crime. In the 2005 Morgan Quitno crime rankings, Oakland ranked 21st worst in crime nationwide, though it fared better than the California cities of Richmond, Compton and San Bernardino.
Geography
Raphael Saadiq
Oakland is located at 37°47'43" North, 122°13'41" West (37.795227, -122.228111).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 202.4 km² (78.2 mi²). 145.2 km² (56.1 mi²) of it is land and 57.2 km² (22.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 28.28% water.
Oaklanders most broadly refer to their city's terrain as "the flatlands" and "the hills," which up until recent waves of gentrication have also been a reference to Oakland's deep economic divide, with "the hills" being more affluent communities. About 2/3 of Oakland lies within the flat plain of the San Francisco Bay, with 1/3 rising into the foothills and hills of the East Bay range.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 399,484 people, 150,790 households, and 86,402 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,751.4/km² (7,126.6/mi²). There are 157,508 housing units at an average density of 1,084.8/km² (2,809.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 35.66% African American, 31.29% White, 0.66% Native American, 15.23% Asian, 0.50% Pacific Islander, 11.66% from other races, and 4.98% from two or more races. 21.89% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 150,790 households out of which 28.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% are married couples living together, 17.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% are non-families. 32.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.60 and the average family size is 3.38.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $40,055, and the median income for a family is $44,384. Males have a median income of $37,433 versus $35,088 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,936. 19.4% of the population and 16.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
See also: Maps of Oakland, California
Neighborhoods
The city of Oakland stretches from the San Francisco Bay up into the East Bay Hills. The character of these neighborhoods continues to change as waves of immigrants from within the United States and other countries relocate here. Also, the changing economy lures more technically skilled workers to Oakland.
Oakland is commonly divided into broad regions in two different ways:
- "The Hills" and "The Flats" (or "The Flatlands"); with the Flatlands being the historically working-class neighborhoods located in the relatively flat areas closer to San Francisco Bay, and the Hills being the mainly upper-class hillside neighborhoods along the east side of the city. This hills/flats division is found throughout much of the western part of the East Bay, especially in Berkeley and El Cerrito.
- The other common method is to divide the city into "Downtown Oakland," "East Oakland," "North Oakland," and "West Oakland". East Oakland is the largest of these areas, stretching from Lake Merritt southeast to San Leandro. North Oakland encompasses the neighborhoods spread between Downtown and Berkeley. West Oakland is the area between Downtown and the bay, partially surrounded by the Port of Oakland. Both North and East Oakland include neighborhoods in both the Flatlands and hills, while West Oakland and Downtown are entirely within the Flatlands.
There are many neighborhoods which don't fit neatly into one or both of these schemes. The Hills/Flats division ignores the middle-class neighborhoods which run along the base of the hills, as well as the reality that parts of "The Flatlands" can be as hilly as much of "The Hills." The East/North/West division ignores the neighborhoods which are northeast of Lake Merritt, and the areas along Highway 13 in the hills behind Piedmont.
Downtown Oakland
Piedmont
- Chinatown
- City Center
- Jack London Square/Waterfront
- Old Oakland
- Uptown
East Oakland
- Brookfield Village
- Dimond District
- Crestmont
- Eastmont
- Elmhurst
- Fruitvale
- Glenview
- Grass Valley
- Laurel
- Lincoln Heights
- Maxwell Park
- Melrose
- Millsmont
- Oak Knoll
- Oakmore
- Redwood Heights
- Ridgemont
- San Antonio District
- Eastlake
- Seminary
- Sequoyah Heights
- Sheffield Village
- Sobrante Park
North Oakland
- Claremont
- Golden Gate
- Piedmont Avenue
- Pill Hill
- Rockridge
- Temescal
West Oakland
- West Oakland
Other neighborhoods
Near Lake Merritt
- Adams Point
- Grand Lake
- Trestle Glen
In the hills
- Montclair District
- Piedmont Pines
- Hiller Highlands
Climate
Oakland's climate has features found in both coastal cities like San Francisco and inland cities like San Jose. While it is not located on the Pacific Ocean, its position directly inland from the Golden Gate means that the city gets a significant amount of cold nighttime fog during the summer. It is far enough inland, though, that the fog usually disappears by the morning allowing the city to have stereotypical warm sunny California days.
Oakland's average temperature of 55°F (13°C) is slightly lower than many other California cities. Oakland's average high is 62°F (17°C) and average low is 48°F (9°C) with the warmest month being September, and the coldest month being January. An average of 23 inches of rain falls each year with almost all rain occurring between October and May.
Rand McNally ranked Oakland's climate as the best in the United States.
Attractions
Rand McNally
Tourist attractions in Oakland include the Oakland Museum of California, the Art Deco Paramount Theater, Chinatown, Jack London Square, Lake Merritt, Children's Fairyland and McAfee Coliseum, home to the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League, the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball, and the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. The city's commercial and residental structures exhibit a great variety of styles, including Art Deco and Craftsman.
Places to see in Oakland include Lake Merritt, Jack London Square, the Dunsmuir House, and Knowland State Park Arboretum, home of the Oakland Zoo. The USS Potomac, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential yacht, is berthed in Oakland. The William Joseph McInnes Botanic Garden and Campus Arboretum is located on the Mills College campus. Many famous Californians are buried at Mountain View Cemetery, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Education
Public schools in Oakland are operated by the Oakland Unified School District but due to financial troubles and its poor statistical rates, it has been in receivership by the state of California since 2002. There are several private high schools, most notably: Bishop O'Dowd High School, The College Preparatory School, the Head Royce School, and the Bentley School.
Famous Oakland Public School graduates include Hollywood actors Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, and NBA basketball player Gary Payton. Hanks, having started acting at Skyline High School, thanked his acting teacher Rawley T. Farnsworth in his speech at the Oscars for winning the Best Actor award.
Colleges and universities
Colleges and universities include:
- Laney College (part of the Peralta Community College District)
- Merritt College (part of the Peralta Community College District)
- California College of the Arts (formerly the California College of Arts and Crafts)
- Holy Names University
- Mills College
- The University of California, Berkeley campus is located partially within the Oakland city limits.
- Cal State East Bay's Oakland Professional Development and Conference Center is located in downtown.
Oakland is also the home of the headquarters of the University of California system.
Sports Teams
- Oakland Raiders, charter team of the American Football League (1960-1969), now in the NFL.
- Oakland Athletics, American League of Baseball.
- Nakhodka, Russia
- Dalian, Anhui, China
- Fukuoka, Japan
- Ocho Rios, Jamaica
- Sekondi Takoradi, Ghana
- Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Notable natives and residents
- Eddie Anderson, actor
- Billie Joe Armstrong, musician
- Tim Armstrong, musician
- Catherine Asaro, writer
- Max Baer, Jr., actor, director
- Sonny Barger, Hells Angels founding member
- Will Blackwell, athlete
- Carla Bley, composer, musician
- Anthony Boucher, writer
- Peter Buck, musician
- Don Budge, athlete
- Fernando J. Corbató, computer scientist
- Frederick Cottrell, inventor
- Buster Crabbe, actor
- Robert Culp, actor
- Mark Curry, actor
- Angela Davis, activist
- Del tha Funkee Homosapien, musician
- Ron Dellums, politician
- Mike Dirnt, musician
- Robert Duncan, poet
- Clint Eastwood, actor, director
- Dennis Eckersley, athlete
- Michael Franti, musician
- Alma Grigsby, oldest native at 108 years (1896 - 2005) [http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_2660960 Oakland Tribune 2005 April 14]
- Mark Hamill, actor
- MC Hammer, musician
- Tom Hanks, actor
- Susan Seaforth Hayes, actor
- Rickey Henderson, athlete
- Sidney Howard, playwright, screenwriter
- Henry Kaiser, musician
- Jason Kidd, athlete
- Maxine Hong Kingston, writer
- Jack London, author
- Rod McKuen, poet, composer, singer
- Edwin Meese III, Attorney General
- Russ Meyer, director
- Joaquin Miller, poet
- Stanley Miller, chemist
- Julia Morgan, architect
- David Murray, musician
- Huey P. Newton, activist
- Willis O'Brien, animator
- Harry Partch, composer
- Gary Payton, athlete
- Paul Pierce, athlete
- Ishmael Reed, writer
- Isiah Rider, athlete
- Galen Rowell, photographer
- Bill Russell, athlete
- Pharoah Sanders, musician
- Too Short, entertainer
- George Stevens, director
- Dave Stewart, athlete
- Amy Tan, author
- Jo Van Fleet, actor
- Archie Williams, athlete
- Wendy Yoshimura, artist
See also
- List of mayors of Oakland, California
- Ebonics Issue in Oakland
- San Francisco, California
- San Jose, California
- San Francisco Bay Area
- East Bay
- Lincoln Highway
- Leimert Bridge
External links
- [http://www.oaklandnet.com/ City of Oakland official web page]
-
- [http://www.firewise.org/pubs/theOaklandBerkeleyHillsFire/ Oakland/Berkeley Hills Fire]
- [http://www.stanford.edu/group/blackpanthers/ The Black Panther Party Research Project]
- [http://20th-century-history-books.com/0691070261.html American Babylon: Race & the Struggle for Postwar Oakland]
- [http://www.UntraveledRoad.com/USA/California/Alameda/Oakland.htm Photographic virtual tour of Oakland]
- [http://www.oaklandhistory.com/ Oaklandhistory.com] images and [http://www.oaklandhistory.com/files/booklist.html book list]
- [http://www.oaklandheritage.org/ Oakland Heritage Alliance] is a non-profit membership organization which advocates the protection, preservation, and revitalization of Oakland's architectural, historic, cultural and natural resources through publications, education, and direct action. Site includes images of Oakland postcards from 1900-1990,
- [http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/oaklandhistory/index.html Oakland History on the Web] from Oakland Public Library
- [http://collections.museumca.org/index.jsp Oakland Collection Online] of the Oakland Museum of California. Over 7000 Oakland objects including historical photographs, paintings, documents, objects, all about Oakland. Explore Oakland’s neighborhoods, walk the shoreline, stand atop city hall and look all around.
- [http://home.comcast.net/~apollo_photocards/photos/bayarea/oakland/index.html Oakland Photos] The Claremont Hotel, Downtown Oakland, Jack London Square, Preservation Park, Port of Oakland
- [http://extras.insidebayarea.com/s-ang-graphics/MURD04.pdf Oakland homicide victims, 2003]
Category:Cities in California
Category:Coastal cities
Category:San Francisco Bay Area
Category:Alameda County, California
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Category: Oakland sports
ja:オークランド (カリフォルニア州)
Chinatown, San Francisco
San Francisco's Chinatown is North America's largest Chinatown and the most historic and oldest of Chinatowns. Established in the 1850s, it has been featured in popular culture, such as in film, music, photography, and literature.
Chinatown has been experiencing some decline over the years due to the cropping up of newer Chinatown communities in the Richmond and Sunset Districts of San Francisco, possibly from the revitalization of Oakland's Chinatown – only 10 miles away – in recent decades, and from the development of Asian shopping centers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Despite this, it remains a major tourist attraction — drawing more visitors than the Golden Gate Bridge, and being one of the largest and most prominent centers of Chinese activity outside of China.
China
Location and sub-areas
China
San Francisco's Chinatown is located downtown. It is roughly bordered by Powell Street and the Nob Hill District on the West. On the east is Kearny Street and The City's Financial District. On the north is North Beach and Green Street and Columbus Street. On the south is Bush Street and the Union Square area. Despite its decline, it has been slowly expanding northward into the North Beach neighborhood north of Green and Columbus Street.
Within Chinatown there are two major thoroughfares: Grant Avenue, which has the famous Dragon gate on the corner of Bush Street & Grant Avenue, St. Mary's Park that boasts a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, a war memorial to Chinese war veterans, and a plethora of stores, restaurants, and mini-malls that cater strictly to tourists. The other major thoroughfare, Stockton Street, is frequented less often by tourists, and it presents an authentic Chinese look and feel with its produce and fish markets, stores, and restaurants. Chinatown boasts of smaller side streets and alleyways that also provide an authentic character.
Also a major focal point in Chinatown is Portsmouth Square. Due to it being one of the few open spaces in Chinatown, Portsmouth Square bustles with activity such as Tai Chi. A replica of the Goddess of Democracy used in the Tiananmen Square protest was built in 1999 by Thomas Marsh stands in the square. It is made of bronze and weighs approximately 600 lb (272 kg).
In recent years, other newer Chinatown areas have been established within the city of San Francisco proper, including the Richmond and Sunset districts. These areas have been settled largely by Chinese from Southeast Asia. There are also many suburban Chinese communities in the Bay Area, especially in the Silicon Valley, such as Cupertino, Fremont, and Milpitas. Taiwanese Americans are dominant. Despite these developments, many continue to commute in from these outer neighborhoods and outer cities to shop in Chinatown, causing massive gridlock on roads and public transit, especially on weekends. To address this problem, the local public transit agency MUNI is proposing to extend the city's subway network to the neighborhood.
History
subway network. The population was predominantly male because U.S. policies at the time made it difficult for Chinese women to enter the country.]]
San Francisco's Chinatown was the port of entry for early Taishanese and Zhongshanese Chinese immigrants from the southern Guangdong province of China from the 1850s to the 1900s. The Chinatown in particular was a stronghold for the Taishanese community. The majority of shopkeepers and restaurant owners in San Francisco were predominantly Taishanese and male. They came as laborers to build California's growing railway networks, most famously the Transcontinental Railroad or as miners either employed or independent miners hoping to strike it rich during the 1848 Gold Rush. As more and more immigrants arrived, racial tensions in the city boiled over into full blown race riots. In response to this, the Chinese residents formed the Consolidated Chinese Benevolent Association or the Chinese Six Companies. The xenophobia became law as the United States Government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 – the first immigration restriction law geared at an single ethnic group. This law, along with other immigration restriction laws such as the Geary Act, greatly reduced the amounts of Chinese allowed into the country and the city, and restricted Chinese immigration to single males only. The law greatly reduced the population of the neighborhood to an all time low in the 1920s. The exclusion act was repealed during World War Two under the Magnuson_Act.
The neighborhood was completely destroyed in the 1906 earthquake that leveled the city. During the city's rebuilding process, racist city planners and real-estate developers had hatched plans to move Chinatown to the southern borders of the city and even Daly City further south. Their plans failed as the Chinese, particularly with the efforts of Consolidated Chinese Box companies, reclaimed the rebuilt neighborhood. The new neighborhood resembled a more Western look and feel that is seen today.
Many early Chinese immigrants to San Francisco and beyond were processed at Angel Island, now a state park, in the San Francisco Bay. Several monuments and memorials have been erected.
The repeal of the Exclusion act and the other immigration restriction laws, coupled with the rise of Communist China, led to a major population boom in the area during the 1950s and 1960s. Further easing of discrimination and other restrictive policies, overcrowding, the general upward mobility of Chinese immigrants, led to many of the neighborhood's residents to move and set up smaller Chinatowns in the outer neighborhoods of the Richmond District and Sunset District and in other suburbs across the San Francisco Bay Area as well as newer immigrants – such as Mandarin-speaking immigrants from Taiwan who have tended to settled in suburban Cupertino, Milpitas, Mountain View – avoiding the neighborhood entirely. This suburbanization is ongoing today and is contributing to the neighborhood's decline.
In the summer of 1977, an ongoing rivalry between two Chinese American gangs erupted in violence and bloodshed, culminating in a shooting spree at the Golden Dragon Restaurant on Washington Street. Five persons were killed and 11 were wounded, and the incident has become infamously known as the Golden Dragon massacre. The restaurant still stands today and remains a popular dim sum restaurant for tourists.
While the neighborhood continues to receive newer immigrants and maintains a lively and active character, the aforementioned suburbanization and the upward mobility of the Chinese leave the neighborhood relatively poor, decrepit (in some parts), and largely elderly.
Today, the historic and multistory Sam Wo Restaurant is among the most popular and notorious Chinese restaurants in Chinatown. In local lore, it once contained the supposedly "world's rudest waiter" named Edsel Ford Fong, who was born and raised in Chinatown and passed away in the 1980s. The restaurant has been used as a filming location for several television series and films.
Demographics
In recent years, however, Cantonese-speaking immigrants from Hong Kong and Hakka and Mandarin (Putonghua)-speaking immigrants from Mainland China have gradually replaced the Taishanese dialect as many long-time Chinatown natives passed away and several American-born Chinese families moved on to suburbia.
Many working-class Hong Kong Chinese immigrants began arriving in large numbers in the 1960s and despite their status and professions in Hong Kong, immigrants found low-pay employment in restaurants and garment factories in Chinatown due to limited English ability.
Miscellaneous
San Francisco's Chinatown is home to the well-known and historic Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (known as the Chinese Six Companies), which is the umbrella organization for local Chinese family and regional associations in Chinatown. It has spawned lodges in other Chinatowns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Chinatown, Los Angeles and Chinatown, Portland.
Author Amy Tan grew up in the neighborhood. Her book the Joy Luck Club is based on her experiences here as well as it chronicles the neighborhood's history.
The Chinatown has served as a backdrop for several movies and television shows. It has also been featured in several food television programs dealing with ethnic Chinese cuisine.
New "Chinatowns" in the Bay Area
Because of aforementioned conditions in Chinatown, several Chinese enclaves or "new Chinatowns" have sprung up across the city. Most notable is a section of Clement Street between Arguello Street & Park Presidio in the Richmond District, Irving Street between 19th Avenue and 24th Street, and Noriega Street between 19th Avenue and 25th Streets, both in the | | |
