Early Harbor - Oakland, CA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

"Creating the Cove

The transformation of the estuary from
industrial harbor to recreational waterway
is a major trend in Oakland’s history. The
change began at this spot. The Oakland
Municipal Yacht Harbor--the city’s first
public marina--opened here in 1930.
Developed by the Port of Oakland, the
marina adjoined the moorage of the
Oakland Yacht Club, founded 1913 with
Jack London as one of its early members.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Port
redeveloped the shoreline of Brooklyn
Basin as Embarcadero Cove, a linked
series of marinas that includes the one in
front of you.

The Port’s Embarcadero Cove project
borrowed its name from a private
development several hundred yards east of
here. Opened in 1970, old Embarcadero
Cove is notable for its collection of historic
buildings which were moved to the site
from elsewhere in the city and adapted to
new uses. These include the Southern
Pacific’s East Oakland station, several
Victorian houses, and Oakland’s turn-of-
the-century harbor lighthouse, which was
brought by barge from West Oakland. The
photograph depicts the lighthouse keeper’s
wife on the veranda.

During the Great Depression, in the winter
of 1932-33, around 200 unemployed men
lived here. The men made their homes in
large concrete pipes in the storage yard of
the American Concrete and Steel Pipe
Company. Their community attracted
widespread attention and was one of the
inspirations for the novel
Co-Op
by Upton
Sinclair.
Pipe City elected its own mayor. A volunteer
police force kept the peace. Drunkenness,
uncleanliness, and political soapboxing
were punishable by eviction. Cash from
odd jobs and donations of food and
clothing were shared equally among the
men, who in turn helped needy families.
Also known as Miseryville, due to the
physical hardships, Pipe City disbanded
early in the spring of 1933, when buyers
were found for the concrete pipe. “There’ll
be no hunger marching”, vowed Pipe City
Mayor Dutch Jensen at the time. “Now
warm weather’s coming, and we’ll be on
our way.”

Group that erected the marker: City of Oakland Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: Embarcadero and 16th Oakland, CA USA URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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