Historical Background
The Samm/Dalton/Cooper Mansion (1454 8thStreet) and Cooper Brothers Grocery (1450 8th Street), was designated as a landmark by the City of Oakland (Ord. 12599) and is listed as such on the City’s List of Designated Landmarks and Preservation Districts, due to its role in the city’s history.
The house was originally built by Jacob Samm, the proprietor of the Bay City Roller Flouring Mill. It was built in the Italianate style in 1877-1878, and was remodeled in 1895-1896 in the Queen Anne style by Henry P. Dalton, a prominent native Californian and politician who served on the City Council and was subsequently elected to the office of Alameda County Assessor. The house was featured in a photographic spread of “Representative Oakland Residences” that was published in Alameda County Illustrated in 1898 in its 'modernized’ (and current) Italianate-Queen Anne form. This structure was originally distinguished by its Italianate front portico with curving grand front stairs, large elaborately carved double doors with glazed windows, an arched glass transom, angled bay windows on front and sides, and arched round-cornered windows, and later remodeled with Queen Anne details including gables over the bays with fish-scale shingles, pendants and other ornament.
It was converted to apartments and a rooming house during the Great Depression and World War II, and was expanded in 1948 to include a corner store, an example of a post-war entrepreneurial pattern in evidence throughout the district. In 1962, the property was purchased and occupied by the Cooper brothers, who kept the store open; it thus survived the era of big-box supermarkets and the exodus of residents and businesses to suburban areas. The property (the house and store) has been determined to be eligible for the National Register as an anchor contributor to the Oakland Point Historic District.
An application was submitted to the Zoning Division of the City of Oakland Community and Economic Development Agency to re-establish the pre-existing general food sale use that had been inactive for more than a year at the time. The proposal, which was duly approved, included renovations to the existing building and a small expansion to the rear. As noted above, there has been a retail outlet on the property since 1948; and plans are in place for the continued use of the property as a (non-chain) coffee shop and are consistent with the City’s goals to “use historic preservation to foster economic vitality and quality of life” and to “prevent unnecessary destruction of properties of special historical, cultural, and aesthetic value.”
It is a large, prominent visual landmark on the corner at 8th Street and Center Street, with a strong neighborhood presence, visible from the West Oakland BART station and passing trains, and anchors the southeast corner of the Oakland Point Historic District, a National Register eligible Area of Primary Importance, opposite the new development on the Westwood Gardens site.
This part of West Oakland has a long history in the life of East Bay residents. One block away on Seventh Street, historically known as Railroad Avenue, the route of commuter trains through West Oakland to the ferry wharf at Oakland Point, where in 1869 the terminus of the first continental railroad was established. The neighborhood around West Seventh Street was renowned as a center for African-American musical clubs from the early 20th century until the location of BART and the post office moved in. Now on the upward swing of a renaissance, you will find many proud neighbors renovating their Victorian homes in efforts to maintain the integrity of this picturesque, vibrant and charming area.
Historical information is available on the City of Oakland’s website.
The house was originally built by Jacob Samm, the proprietor of the Bay City Roller Flouring Mill. It was built in the Italianate style in 1877-1878, and was remodeled in 1895-1896 in the Queen Anne style by Henry P. Dalton, a prominent native Californian and politician who served on the City Council and was subsequently elected to the office of Alameda County Assessor. The house was featured in a photographic spread of “Representative Oakland Residences” that was published in Alameda County Illustrated in 1898 in its 'modernized’ (and current) Italianate-Queen Anne form. This structure was originally distinguished by its Italianate front portico with curving grand front stairs, large elaborately carved double doors with glazed windows, an arched glass transom, angled bay windows on front and sides, and arched round-cornered windows, and later remodeled with Queen Anne details including gables over the bays with fish-scale shingles, pendants and other ornament.
It was converted to apartments and a rooming house during the Great Depression and World War II, and was expanded in 1948 to include a corner store, an example of a post-war entrepreneurial pattern in evidence throughout the district. In 1962, the property was purchased and occupied by the Cooper brothers, who kept the store open; it thus survived the era of big-box supermarkets and the exodus of residents and businesses to suburban areas. The property (the house and store) has been determined to be eligible for the National Register as an anchor contributor to the Oakland Point Historic District.
An application was submitted to the Zoning Division of the City of Oakland Community and Economic Development Agency to re-establish the pre-existing general food sale use that had been inactive for more than a year at the time. The proposal, which was duly approved, included renovations to the existing building and a small expansion to the rear. As noted above, there has been a retail outlet on the property since 1948; and plans are in place for the continued use of the property as a (non-chain) coffee shop and are consistent with the City’s goals to “use historic preservation to foster economic vitality and quality of life” and to “prevent unnecessary destruction of properties of special historical, cultural, and aesthetic value.”
It is a large, prominent visual landmark on the corner at 8th Street and Center Street, with a strong neighborhood presence, visible from the West Oakland BART station and passing trains, and anchors the southeast corner of the Oakland Point Historic District, a National Register eligible Area of Primary Importance, opposite the new development on the Westwood Gardens site.
This part of West Oakland has a long history in the life of East Bay residents. One block away on Seventh Street, historically known as Railroad Avenue, the route of commuter trains through West Oakland to the ferry wharf at Oakland Point, where in 1869 the terminus of the first continental railroad was established. The neighborhood around West Seventh Street was renowned as a center for African-American musical clubs from the early 20th century until the location of BART and the post office moved in. Now on the upward swing of a renaissance, you will find many proud neighbors renovating their Victorian homes in efforts to maintain the integrity of this picturesque, vibrant and charming area.
Historical information is available on the City of Oakland’s website.
