Oakmore History Book

Take a peek inside, click to enlarge.
        
         

For many years the dedicated members and directors of the Oakmore Homes Association have been preserving copies of historical newspaper clippings, photos and real estate information about our neighborhood. Board Director Terry Kulka has assembled a substantial collection of interesting articles and marketing materials dating back to the original opening of the Oakmore subdivision in 1926. She developed these into an organized historical archive that is referenced frequently by our association. A sampling of the documents appears throughout this website, along with some of the photographs collected by board director Cynthia Haines.

Many of the old clippings are displayed on the bulletin board at Rocky’s Market, in the commercial district near the Leimert Bridge . Our Association updates the bulletin board periodically from our archives, to refresh this community display. However, due to strong and growing interest in the history of Oakmore, Kurt Lavenson created a bound version of the archive, which is now available to association members. Reading through the materials inside, one gets a sense not just of Oakmore's neighborhood history but of the evolution of the real estate market in the Oakland and Piedmont areas.

The history book contains:

• Historical real estate articles and sales data from the Oakland Tribune during the 1920’s
• Newspaper classified ad pages from the 1930’s
• Walter H. Leimert Company’s Opening Day sales announcements for the Oakmore Highlands development
• The Leimert Company’s ‘tax free’ promotion designed to spur sales in 1929
• Assorted real estate company promotional flyers and ads for significant homes in the neighborhood
• Sales ads for Breuner’s Furniture, which was located at 21st and Broadway in downtown Oakland
• Ads for Jackson’s Furniture, which was located at 13th and Clay Streets in downtown Oakland
• Historic photos of Oakmore and of the Leimert Bridge
• Copies of the 1980 ‘Landmarking’ documents for the Leimert Bridge
• And…much more…..

The booklet is a work in progress and we hope to update it annually. One copy is available at no charge to each current Oakmore Homes Association member household. We are still compiling information about the architects, builders and owners of the houses in Oakmore. (Please let us know if you have information about yours)