Alameda, California

• 1. Ohlone Mounds And Spanish Grants

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  For more than 3,000 years, a local band of the Ohlone tribe inhabited the low-lying marshy region that would become Alameda. They created numerous oyster shell mounds across the peninsula, some as large as 14 feet tall. These mounds stood as silent witnesses to the arrival of Spanish colonists in the late 18th century. The area was part of Rancho San Antonio, granted to Don Luis María Peralta by the Spanish king who claimed California. This vast land grant included what is now Alameda and much of the East Bay. The Republic of Mexico confirmed the grant after its independence from Spain in 1821. Over time, the place became known as Bolsa de Encinal or Encinal de San Antonio. Spanish colonists called the area Encinal, meaning forest of evergreen oak.

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• 2. Dredging Canal And Island Creation

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  The need for expanded shipping facilities led to the dredging of a tidal canal through the marshland between Oakland and Alameda. Construction started in 1874, but it was not completed until 1902. This massive engineering project resulted in Alameda becoming an island. Before this transformation, the city occupied a peninsula connected to Oakland. The first post office opened in 1854, and the first school, Schermerhorn School, was opened a year later in 1855. The San Francisco and Alameda Railroad opened the Encinal station in 1864. On the 6th of September 1869, the Alameda Terminal made history as the site of the arrival of the first train via the First transcontinental railroad to reach the shores of San Francisco Bay. The borders of Alameda were expanded to include the entire island in 1872, incorporating Woodstock into Alameda. Writer Mark Twain described Alameda as The Garden of California in his autobiography.

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• 3. Shipyards And Naval Aviation Boom

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  The Alameda Works Shipyard became one of the largest and best-equipped shipyards in the country during World War II. It attracted many migrants from other parts of the United States for high-paying jobs. In the early 1930s, Pan American Airways established a seaplane port along with the fill that led to the Alameda Mole. This location served as the original home base for the China Clipper flying boat. In 1929, the University of California established the San Francisco Airdrome located near the current Webster Street tube as a public airport. The Bay Airdrome had its gala christening party in 1930. The Airdrome was closed in 1941 when its air traffic interfered with the newly built Naval Air Station Alameda. On the 7th of February 1973, a USN Vought A-7E Corsair II fighter jet on a routine training mission from Lemoore Naval Air Station suddenly caught fire above the San Francisco Bay. The aircraft crashed into the Tahoe Apartments in Alameda, killing eleven people including the pilot. Naval Air Station Alameda decommissioned in 1997 and turned over to the City of Alameda for civilian development.

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• 4. Census Data And Diverse Communities

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  The 2020 United States census reported that Alameda had a population of 78,280. The racial makeup included 43.6% White, 5.9% African American, 0.6% Native American, and 32.5% Asian. There is a large Filipino community and also a major Portuguese community. Tom Hanks' mother came from this Portuguese community, and Lyndsy Fonseca was raised there for some time. Alameda also has a historic Japanese American community. Before World War II, the city's Japanese population was interned, leaving only a few buildings like a Japanese Buddhist church. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 25.4% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 65.4% spoke only English at home. The median household income in 2023 was $132,015, and the per capita income was $72,245. About 4.8% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

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• 5. Festivals And Civic Institutions

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  The Fourth of July parade is advertised as the longest in the United States. It features homemade floats, classic cars, motorized living room furniture, fire-breathing dragons, and marching bands. Park Street Art and Wine Faire takes place the last weekend of every July with more than 200 artists and vendors. The annual Sand Castle and Sculpture Contest takes place in June at the Robert Crown Memorial State Beach, attracting hundreds of participants. The first contest was held in 1967. Alameda Point Antiques Faire is held on the first Sunday of every month at the former Naval Air Station runways. This event attracts upwards of 10,000 visitors and features 800 dealer booths. The landmark Alameda Theatre opened up in 1932 and was restored to include a theater multiplex. The public opening occurred the 21st of May 2008. The Altarena Playhouse, which performs comedies, dramas, and musicals, was founded in 1938. It remains the longest continuously operating community theater in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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• 6. Notable Residents And Global Ties

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  General James Doolittle received the Medal of Honor for his bombing of Japan during World War II and was born in Alameda in 1896. Phyllis Diller attended Sunday school at First Presbyterian and lived in Alameda at the start of her comedy career in San Francisco in the 1950s. Sharon Tate was an actress who resided there from the early to late-1960s. Many people from naval families have lived in Alameda, including celebrities such as Ann Curry, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Tom Hanks, and Jim Morrison of The Doors. The city has four active and formal sister city relations. These include Dumaguete, Philippines since 2015; Jiangyin, China since 2008; Varazze, Italy since 2019; and Yeongdong-gun, South Korea since 2017. A Friendship city relationship exists with Wuxi, China since 2004. Inactive cities include Arita, Japan and Lidingö, Sweden, initiated in 1959 as part of President Eisenhower's people-to-people-movement.

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