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
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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 |
circa 1952
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