World War II brought rapid development and economic growth to Oakland. The economic boom of the War brought relief for many parts of the United States after the Great Depression of the 1930s, and Oakland’s economy and industrial sector also benefited.
Oakland During WWII
During World War II, Oakland was a major centre of goods production because of its productive port, the largest seaport in Northern California, and its strategic location at the terminus of major rail lines. Oakland’s shipbuilding and canning industries produced goods at record speeds during the War, which provided tremendous new jobs. It led to a population boost in the 1950s: almost 100,000 people moved to Oakland between 1940-1945, and the 1945 special census showed the city had 405,301 people.
The wartime expansion of Oakland increased the city’s population as well as its diversity. Black residents of Oakland made up 3% of the population before the War. With a massive influx of black and white shipyard workers from the Deep South, Oakland’s African-American population grew to 12% of its total. During this period, the federal government created more than 30,000 public housing units in the East Bay, housing 90,000 war workers. As black and white shipyard workers flooded south from the deep South, segregationist attitudes such as Jim Crow spread to sections of the country previously free from it.
Oakland After the WWII
Jobs became scarce for Oakland as soon as the shipbuilding and automobile industries disappeared after World War II. Black and white residents with higher incomes left after the War to move to neighbouring cities. After World War II, black Americans constituted about 12% of Oakland’s population, which continued to rise after the War. Racial tensions also increased. Many of the Oakland Police Department’s white officers in the late 1940s were openly racist. Their repressive tactics exacerbated racial tensions; the expanded black population and changing racial attitudes demanded their recruitment.
During the first week of December 1946, workers in Oakland were one of six cities nationwide participating in a General Strike to prevent management from repeating the Union Busting that followed the first World War. It was one of the most significant strikes in American history.
Below are some stunning historical photos that show Oakland in the 1940s.
#1 Electric streetcar heading south on 38th Avenue at Allendale Avenue, 1940s
#2 Entrance of Fox Oakland Theatre on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California, 1940s
#3 Engine Company 22, Oakland Fire Department, 1940s
#4 Lobby of Paramount Theatre on Broadway in Oakland, 1940s
#5 Farnham building, west side of Clay Street between 10th and 11th Streets, 1940s
#6 Newly constructed Lockwood Gardens public housing development in the Havenscourt, 1940s
#7 Looking at houses on Courtland Avenue from the corner of High Street, 1940s
#8 Young women hanging out their laundry on the roof of the YWCA (Young Woman Christian Association) ‘Blue Triangle Club’ in Oakland, 1940s.
#9 Young women sunbathing on the roof of the YWCA (Young Woman Christian Association) ‘Blue Triangle Club’ in Oakland, 1940s.
#10 Car Traffic on a Flooded Road in Oakland, 1940s.
#11 Oak Knoll Hospital in Oakland, 1942.
#12 7th Avenue and Broadway in Oakland, 1942.
#13 Fox Oakland Theater on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California showing banners, 1940s
#14 View of Oakland Municipal Auditorium from Lake Merritt, 1949
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Was just taking pictures of this building yesterday. The ornate detail is amazing!
#15 Fenton’s Ice Cream, 195 41st Street, near Howe Street, 1940s
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WOW!! I remember going here once or twice but only in my teens in the late 90’s. Oakland was VERY different in the 70’s – 90’s. From 2000-2020—-my back to live in my hometown of the Bay Area after being gone for nearly 20 years— Fenton’s is still around nearly a 100 years later. It’s good ice cream but the most expensive scoop ever in 2022. Time is illusive.
#16 Senator Theater at 3856 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California, 1940s
#17 Corner of Fruitvale Avenue and Hopkins Street/US Route 50 (later MacArthur Boulevard), 1940s
#18 The Fox Orpheum Theater in Oakland featuring a sneak preview of ‘Sitting Pretty’ and ‘The Tender Years,’ Oakland, 1948.
#19 Construction of the Oakland Naval Supply Depot, 1940s
#20 Linden branch of the YWCA in Oakland, California, 1940s
#21 Looking SE from Willow and 10th Streets, January 10, 1940
#22 Looking SW from 13th and Poplar Streets, 1940s
#23 Exterior of Tower Theatre at 5110 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, California, 1940s
#24 Exterior of Esquire Theatre on San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, California, 1940s
#25 Vacant storefront with parked car on College Avenue near Kales Avenue, 1940s
#26 Stage of the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California as seen from balcony, 1940s
#27 Castlemont High School and East Oakland looking west from an adjacent hill, 1940s
#28 Apartment block, Seventh St., West Oakland, 1940s
#29 Lockwood Gardens public housng development under construction in the Havenscourt, 1940s
#30 Looking east along East 12th Street at 14th Avenue in the Clinton, 1940s
#31 I Am an American’ posted above a grocery store, Oakland, 1942.
#32 Stacks of oil barrels palletized at the Naval Supply Depot in Oakland, 1943.
#33 Incoming and outgoing freight is piled high on the wharf of the Port of Oakland Outer Harbor, 1947.
#34 El Rey Theatre at 3520 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, California, 1940s
#35 Park Boulevard near Beaumont Avenue looking east toward the hills, 1940s
#36 C.J. Bowers Union Oil service station, possibly at 3761 Park Boulevard, 1940s
#37 SW corner of 12th and Washington, 1940s
#38 Key System “C” line streetcar on Piedmont Avenue near Ridgeway Avenue, 1940s
#39 Key System streetcar #359 heading south into the Rockridge district along College, 1940s
#40 Key Streetcar #993 heading south College Avenue between Hudson Street and Lawton, 1940s
#41 Southwest corner of Washington and 9th Streets in downtown Oakland, 1940s
#42 Hopkins Street/US Route 50 (later MacArthur Boulevard) looking east towards intersection, 1940s
#43 Harrison Street at Grand Avenue in the Adams Point district of Oakland, 1940s
#44 Temescal Avenue looking north from around 47th Street in the Temescal district, 1940s
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That’s Telegraph Ave. I don’t think there is a Temescal Ave in Oakland
