Recreation center, Montclair Park - Oakland CA
Description
The seven-acre Montclair Park in Oakland was built with the aid of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1938-40. This gem of a park lies just north of Montclair Village in the Oakland hills and below Montclair Elementary School.
The Recreation Center is a fine Mission Revival building at the north end of the park, built in 1939-40 by the WPA.
The park also includes a duck pond, extensive rock walls and stairs, large lawns and trees, tennis courts, a baseball field, picnic area, children’s play area, and more.
The City of Oakland Recreation Department put in $90,000 for the park and recreation center (Beebe 1938). The amount of federal funds is not certain. We know that $55,000 were allocated for this and another WPA project in 1937-38 (Gray 1938). More was likely added in 1939-40, but we have not been able to track down those figures.
The old fire station done in “Hansel & Gretel” style at the far north end of the park along Moraga Avenue is not park of the WPA works.
-
-
Side of Recreation Center, Montclair Park - Oakland CA
-
-
Side stairway up to recreation center, Montclair Park - Oakland CA
-
-
Terrace in front of Recreation Center, Montclair Park - Oakland CA
-
-
Interior of Recreation Center, Montclair Park - Oakland CA
-
-
Sign for Montclair Park, near Recreation Center - Oakland CA
-
-
WPA plaque in stone wall near Recreation Center - Oakland CA
Source notes
Clare Beebe, "Work started on Montclair Recreation Center project," Oakland Tribune, March 27, 1938.
Jane Gray, "Highlights of playground activities: City releases year's survey", Oakland Tribune, September 18, 1938, p. 8-A
https://localwiki.org/oakland/Montclair_Recreation_Center
WPA Plaque on site (see photo)
Project originally submitted by Dr. Tanya Lyn March on April 17, 2011.
Additional contributions by Ben Stone, Richard A Walker.
We welcome contributions of additional information on any New Deal project site.
SUBMIT MORE INFORMATION OR PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THIS SITE