Category: Oakland, California
Construction Of The Paramount Theatre
The Paramount Theatre had a groundbreaking ceremony on December 11, 1930 and constructed until mid 1931.
A large steel beam had to be moved two to three blocks at a time. The beam was so heavy, that it could not be transported by conventional means out of concern the weight could damage the streets in downtown Oakland.
Author’s Note:
Philip Hamilton first visited this theatre during comedian Tyler Perry’s, “Madea’s Farewell Play Tour”.
The Oakland City Hall
The fifth Oakland City Hall building was constructed from 1911 to 1914, and currently serves as the city hall for Oakland.
After the Earthquake of 1906, the city of Oakland experiences rapid growth, hence creating a need for a significantly larger city hall building that is about the same size as the current Sam Francisco City Hall building.
The city hall has an exhibit on Oakland’s international affiliation with it’s “Sister Cities”.
Community Heritage Exhibits Within The Ronald Vernie Dellums Federal Building Complex
A large federal building and courthouse complex was constructed in 1993 as part of an Oakland revitalization project. In 1999, President Bill Clinton signed a bill authorizing that the building be renamed to the Ronald Vernie Dellums Federal Building complex. Ronald Vernie Dellums was a prominent civil rights activist, a congressman, and the 48th mayor of Oakland.
The building has a sculpture garden that pays tribute to civil rights activist Judge Donald Pitts McCullum, whom was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Judge McCullum was a member of the NAACP and took legal actions to end the segregation of high schools in Oakland.
Inside of the federal complex is a wealth of photos of the Bay Area including some of the production of Chevrolet vehicles in the early 1900s and Lawerence at the site of the construction of an extension of the National Livermore Laboratory within the University of California Berkeley campus.
Other photos showed the early history of the east bay.
Other photos revealed life for the Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II, Unser Franklin Dwight Roosevelt’s executive order.
There were photos that showed the construction of the Oakland Coliseum, the first BART station, as well as a car factory that was eventually bought out by Tesla in 2010. 
Another photo showed President George H.W. Bush visiting the Cypress Street viaduct that had collapsed after the 1989 earthquake.
The Pardee House of Oakland
The Pardee House of Oakland was owned by a former mayor of the city.
The house contains hundreds of relics and books that the Parder family owned. Many books are in California law since George Pardee actively familiarized himself with local and state laws as the mayor.
One of George Pardee’s daughters had a journal of the many suitors that she went on dates with. Back then, such journals were called, “Chap Records”.
The Pardees had a relationship with Abraham Lincoln’s widowed wife. The Pardees would stitch pieces of her cloth from her dresses on fabrics and bedsheets to help her make money. One bedroom in the house has a piece of Lincoln’s wife’s dress.
