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Lake
Merritt
History



TIMELINE Lake Merritt Iconic moments, structures completed, organizations formed

1867-69   Samuel Merritt becomes Oakland Mayor, leads movement to dam tidal estuary and install floodgate to create          stable lake,  also lobbies state legislature to establish Wildlife Refuge 
1870.    Lake Merritt Wildlife Refuge becomes protected by state law. 
1906   SF Earthquake sends thousands relocating to Oakland
1907    Bond Measure, enables city to purchase properties around lake to create lakeside parkland.
            Lakeside Park  developed as were roads and pedestrian paths to encircle lake, landscaping
1907   Oakland Public Museum (1907-1965). House built by Samuel Merritt in 1870's; aka Camron Stanford House
1909   Pump Station
1911     First Lakeside Park Bandstand constructed
1911     McElroy Fountain in Lakeside Park
1912    Oakland Municipal Band formed
1913-14  Pergola & Colonnade. Walter Reed architect
               18th St. Pier / Lake Merritt Boat Landing. Walter Reed architect
               Municipal Boathouse ( added to Pumping Station structure). Walter Reed architect
1914    Easterbrook Fountain in Lakeside Park
1915.    Bunya-Bunya Tree planted in Lakeside Park
1915     Canoe House  (future site of Sailboat House) Walter Reed architect
1915     Civic Auditorium and Theater opens, aka Kaiser Auditorium
1915     Duck feeding begins in Lakeside Park
1916     Oakland Women's Rowing Club formed
1918     Edoff Memorial Bandstand. Waler Reed & William Corbett architects
1921-23 Duck Pond area in Lakeside Park.   Howard Gilkey landscape architect
              Duck Island created.  Howard Gilkey landscape architect
              Cleveland Cascades.  Howard Gilkey landscape architect
1922.    Snow Museum of Natural History (1922-1967) formerly  Cutting Mansion. Future site of Snow Park
1925    Necklace of Lights completed
1926    Bird Banding begins, will continue for  5 decades...
1926     Lawn Bowling Clubhouse (formerly tennis court site in Lakeside Park)
1926    Veteran's Memorial Bldg
1927     Scottish Rite Center
1929    Bellevue-Staten Building
1929    Bellevue Club (Women's Athletic Club of Alameda County)
1933    Lake Merritt Breakfast Club formed (first guest speaker is Paul Covel) at Merritt Hotel
1934    Paul Covel begins weekly waterfowl talk in Lakeside Park
1936   Alameda County Courthouse
1941    Necklace of Lights turned off (will not resume until 1987)
1942.  Howard Gilkey designs and landscapes Garden
1946   William Penn Mott Jr. becomes City of Oakland Park Superintendent  1946-1962
1948   Paul Covel becomes Oakland's first park naturalist 
1949   Eastshore Library (aka Lakeview Library)
1950   Children's Fairyland,  sponsored by LM Breakfast Club
1950    Peralta Playland, Lake Merritt children's amusement park in channel area (1950-1968)
1951    Oakland Main Library
1951    Oakland-East Bay Garden Center Inc. organized, 64 garden clubs
1952   Mid-Century Monster
1953    Rotary Nature Center
1953-54   Four additional islands added to the wildlife refuge
1954   Sailboat House (former Canoe House)
1956    Geodesic Dome / Bird Cage
1959   Lakeside Park Garden Center, Gardens at Lake Merritt.
1959.   Japanese Garden constructed next to Garden Center
​1969.   Torii Gate added to gardens (will be replaced in 2002)

1960   Kaiser Center
1961    Ebell wing of Garden Center added
1962.   Green House complex and Lath House added to Gardens
1962   Lake Merritt Rowing Club formed
1962   Jim Carlton discovers unique organism in LM, study of marine science at LM begins 
1965.   Succulent and Cactus Gardens; Cascades and falls; both added to Gardens
1965   Lakeside Park Restaurant opens (future site of Junior Center for Arts & Sciences)
1969   Park Bellevue Tower
1969   Oakland Museum of California opens (Snow Museum collection moved here)
1971    7th Street Flood Control Station
1974.   Polynesian Garden in Green House added
1978.   Herb and Fragrance Garden added to Gardens
1980.  The Palmetum added to Gardens  
1987   Necklace of Lights restored by LM Breakfast Club
1992   Junior Center for Arts & Sciences (replaces Restaurant )
1992   Lake Merritt Institute founded by Richard Bailey
1995.  Vireya Rhododendron collection added to lath house in Gardens
1998  Grand Lake Farmer's Market opens
1999   Bonsai and Suiseki Display Center (Bonsai Gardens) at Lake Merritt created
2002  Measure DD Bond Measure, Measure DD Community Coalition formed

2002.   Torii Gate added to Gardens, replaces 1969 model
2004.   Friends of the Gardens at Lake Merritt formed

2006.  Sensory Garden (formerly Herb And Fragrance Garden) added

2007   Mediterranean Garden added to Gardens
2008   Cathedral of Christ The Light
2010.   Tora Rocha becomes Oakland Park Superintendent 

2011    lakemerritt.org begins
2012    Autumn Lights Festival
2013.   Pollinator Posse formed
2013.   Bee Hotel added to Gardens

2013    Lake Merritt Channel Marsh  opens
2016   Children's Memorial Statue in Lakeside Park
2019   Mid-Century Monster restored by LM Breakfast Club
2019   Makkeweks sculpture in Snow Park, inspired by an Ohlone folktale
2020   Gardens at Lake Merritt Gates, designed by Shawn Lovell


TIMELINE (other Oakland iconic moments/sites)
1854   Oakland becomes city
1865   Mountain View Cemetery  / Frederick Law Olmsted 
​1906   SF Earthquake sends thousands relocating to Oakland
1912    Hotel Oakland
1914.   Cathedral Bldg, City Hall, Tribune Tower, completed
​1928.   Chapel of the Chimes /  Julia Morgan architect
​1931    Paramount Theater


https://riskfinder.climatecentral.org/place/oakland.ca.us?comparisonType=city-council&forecastType=NOAA2017_int_p50&level=3&unit=ft​



Picture
circa 1952
  lakemerritt.org and photos ©2013-2023 
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