Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southernmost part of
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. Originally a separate unincorporated town, it was
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
by Oakland in 1909, and today is considered part of
East Oakland
East Oakland is a geographical region of Oakland, California, United States, that stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. As the southeastern portion of the city, East Oakland takes up the largest portio ...
. It lies at an elevation of 39 feet (12 m).
History
Elmhurst began in 1865, when a railroad station was constructed by the
San Francisco and Alameda Railroad
The San Francisco and Alameda Railroad (SF&A) was a short-lived railroad company in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. The railroad line opened 1864–1865 from Alameda Terminal on Alameda Island to Hayward, California, with ferry ...
.
[California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State](_blank)
/ref> Originally named "Jones", the station was renamed "Elmhurst" in 1869.1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
, East Bay communities grew in population, and the City of Oakland annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
several surrounding communities in 1909, including Elmhurst. The neighborhood grew into a manufacturing center in the years that followed, with automobile manufacturing
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...
playing a significant role.[Elmhurst Branch: Changing with the Neighborhood](_blank)
- Friends of the Oakland Public Library Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
opened an auto assembly plant in Elmhurst in 1915, called Oakland Assembly
Oakland Assembly was a former Chevrolet manufacturing facility located in Elmhurst, Oakland, California. It was the first automobile plant established in Northern California to build Chevrolet vehicles. In 1916, Chevrolet opened the auto industry ...
which shut down in the 1960s.
Elmhurst was the site of one of the large carbarns for the Key System
The Key System (or Key Route) was a privately owned company that provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany, and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area fr ...
's streetcars, the Elmhurst Carhouse. The carhouse was located on East 14th (International Blvd.), on the southern half of the block bounded by 94th and 96th Avenues, and Holly Street.Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Oakland, California, 1925, Volume 6, page 664 (Image 65), Library of Congress
/ref> It was closed on June 29, 1932, its operations being consolidated at the Key System's Central Carhouse near Lake Merritt.
Although it was historically a white working-class neighborhood, it became predominantly Black after World War II, and today, Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
s now form about half of Elmhurst's population.
See also
* Buzz Arlett
Russell Loris Arlett (January 3, 1899 – May 16, 1964), also known as Buzz Arlett, was an American baseball player, sometimes called "the Babe Ruth of the minor leagues." Like Ruth, Arlett was a large man, and , who began his career as a pitch ...
References
*
Neighborhoods in Oakland, California
Streetcar suburbs
Populated places established in 1865
{{AlamedaCountyCA-geo-stub