Editing Alameda, California (section)

==History==

=== Ohlone era ===
Alameda originally occupied a [[peninsula]] connected to Oakland.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 18, 2013 |title=Days Gone By: In 1902, 'island city' Alameda celebrates its new tidal canal |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2013/12/18/days-gone-by-in-1902-island-city-alameda-celebrates-its-new-tidal-canal}}</ref> The area was low-lying and marshy, while higher ground was part of one of the largest coastal oak forests in the world. A local band of the [[Ohlone]] tribe inhabited the region for more than 3,000 years. They were present at the time of the arrival of the Spanish in the late 18th century. The Ohlone created numerous oyster shell mounds across the peninsula, some as large as 14 feet tall.<ref>{{Cite web |last=alamedapost |date=2022-02-01 |title=Alameda’s First Inhabitants |url=https://alamedapost.com/history/alamedas-first-inhabitants/ |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Alameda Post |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Spanish and Mexican eras===
[[File:Peralta Family.jpg|thumb|Alameda and much of the [[East Bay]] was part of [[Rancho San Antonio (Peralta)|Rancho San Antonio]], granted to the [[Luís María Peralta|Peralta family]] in 1820.|left]]
Spanish colonists called the area ''Encinal'', meaning "forest of evergreen oak".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ| title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n118 119]}}</ref> What is now Alameda, and much of the East Bay was included in the vast [[Rancho San Antonio (Peralta)|Rancho San Antonio]] granted to Don [[Luis María Peralta]] by the Spanish king who claimed California. The grant was later confirmed by the [[Mexico|Republic of Mexico]] after its independence in 1821 from Spain. Over time, the place became known as Bolsa de Encinal or Encinal de San Antonio.<ref name="CGN">{{California's Geographic Names|592}}</ref>

===Early California era===
[[File:Joseph Lee painting Alameda Shore (1868).jpg|thumb|left|The ''Alameda Shore'', painted by Joseph Lee {{Circa|1868}}]]
The city of Alameda was founded on June 6, 1853, following the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican–American War of 1848]] and the subsequent acquisition of California by the U.S.

The name ''Alameda'' is Spanish for "grove of poplar trees" or "tree-lined avenue"<ref>{{cite web |title=alameda – Spanish-English Translation and Pronunciation |url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/spanish/alameda;_ylt=AmS17PW60RO5ki1NGlCOvxP2s8sF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821203928/https://education.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/spanish/alameda |archive-date=August 21, 2008 |access-date=February 15, 2010 |work=Yahoo! Education |publisher=Yahoo!}}</ref> and was chosen in 1853 as city's official name by popular vote.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Alameda |url=http://www.ci.alameda.ca.us/community/history_01.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202202341/http://www.ci.alameda.ca.us/community/history_01.html |archive-date=February 2, 2010 |access-date=February 15, 2010 |publisher=City of Alameda, California}}</ref>

At the time, Alameda comprised three small settlements:

* '''Alameda''' — a village at Encinal and High streets
* '''Hibbardsville''' — located at the North Shore ferry and shipping terminal, and
* [[Woodstock, Alameda, California|'''Woodstock''']] — on the west near the ferry piers of the [[South Pacific Coast Railroad|South Pacific Coast]] and the [[Central Pacific Railroad|Central Pacific]] Railroads. Eventually, the Central Pacific's ferry pier became the [[Alameda Mole]].

The borders of Alameda were expanded to include the entire island in 1872, incorporating Woodstock into Alameda.<ref name="CGN" />

In his autobiography, writer [[Mark Twain]] described Alameda as "The Garden of California."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Twain|first1=Mark|title=Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1: The Complete and Authoritative Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0tQjH8yzrdcC&pg=PA254|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-94699-6|page=254|date=November 15, 2010}}</ref> 
[[File:FMIB 44591 Shipyards of Alaska Packing Ass'n at Alameda, California.jpeg|thumb|left|Alameda shipyards at the turn of the 20th century]]
The first post office opened in 1854.<ref name=CGN /> The first school, Schermerhorn School, was opened a year later in 1855 (eventually renamed as Lincoln School). The [[San Francisco and Alameda Railroad]] opened the Encinal station in 1864.<ref name=CGN /> The early formation of the [[Park Street Historic Commercial District]] (or downtown) was centered near the train lines.<ref name="nrhpdoc">{{cite web |author= |date= |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Park Street Historic Commercial District |url={{NRHP url|id=82002154}} |accessdate=September 17, 2023 |publisher=[[National Park Service]]}} With {{NRHP url|id=82002154|photos=y|title=accompanying pictures}}</ref> Encinal's own post office opened in 1876, was renamed West End in 1877, and closed in 1891.<ref name=CGN />

On September 6, 1869, the [[Alameda Terminal]] made history; it was the site of the arrival of the first train via the [[First transcontinental railroad]] to reach the shores of [[San Francisco Bay]],<ref name="daily Alta ca">{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18690907.2.6&srpos=66&e=01-06-1869-31-12-1869--en--20--61--txt-txIN-western+pacific-------1|title=The first through train on the Western Pacific Road|publisher=Daily Alta California September 7, 1869 – California Digital Newspaper Collection|website=cdnc.ucr.edu|access-date=June 20, 2018}}</ref> marking the first coast to coast transcontinental railroad in North America.

The [[Croll Building]], on the corner of Webster Street and Central Avenue, was the site of Croll's Gardens and Hotel, used as training quarters for some of the most popular fighters in boxing from 1883 to 1914.<ref>{{cite web |title=CROLL BUILDING |url=http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/954 |website=California State Park Office of Historic Preservation |publisher=State of California |access-date=June 3, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> [[Jack Johnson (boxer)|Jack Johnson]] and several other champions all stayed and trained here.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rego |first1=Nilda |title=Days Gone By: John Croll made Alameda a playground for fun lovers |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/10/21/days-gone-by-john-croll-made-alameda-a-playground-for-fun-lovers/ |access-date=June 3, 2020 |work=The Mercury News |publisher=[[Bay Area News Group]] |date=October 21, 2011}}</ref>

The need for expanded shipping facilities and increased flow of current through the [[estuary]] led to the dredging of a tidal canal through the marshland between Oakland and Alameda. Construction started in 1874, but it was not completed until 1902, resulting in Alameda becoming an island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2013/12/18/days-gone-by-in-1902-island-city-alameda-celebrates-its-new-tidal-canal/|title=Days Gone By: In 1902, 'island city' Alameda celebrates its new tidal canal|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=December 18, 2013|last=Rego|first=Nilda}}</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Bathing Pavilion, Neptune Beach, Alameda, California (1917).jpg|thumb|left|[[Neptune Beach (California)|Neptune Beach]], established in 1917]]
In 1917, a private entertainment park called [[Neptune Beach, California|Neptune Beach]] was built in the area now known as Crab Cove, which became a major recreation destination in the 1920s and 1930s. It was sometimes referred to as the "Coney Island of the West".<ref>{{cite news|title=Alameda Museum Quarterly Newsletter |url=http://www.alamedamuseum.org/Quarterly/alamedamuseumQ405.pdf |page=8 |access-date=December 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229174221/https://www.alamedamuseum.org/Quarterly/alamedamuseumQ405.pdf |archive-date=February 29, 2008 }}</ref> The [[popsicle (brand)|popsicle]] was first sold to the public at Neptune Beach in 1923.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pope |first=Shelby |date=2015-07-22 |title=How An 11-Year-Old Boy Invented The Popsicle |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/07/22/425294957/how-an-11-year-old-boy-invented-the-popsicle |access-date=2025-05-14 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref> The park closed down in 1939.

The [[Alameda Works Shipyard]] was one of the largest and best-equipped shipyards in the country. Together with other industrial facilities, it became part of the defense industry buildup before and during World War II, which attracted many migrants from other parts of the United States for the high-paying jobs. In the 1950s, Alameda's industrial and shipbuilding industries thrived along the [[Oakland Estuary|Alameda Estuary]].

In the early 21st century, the [[Port of Oakland]], across the estuary, has become one of the largest ports on the West Coast. Its operators use shipping technologies originally experimented within Alameda. As of April 2006,<ref>{{Cite web |title=COAST GUARD CITIES |url=https://www.uscg.mil/Community/cities/}}</ref> Alameda is a "[[Coast Guard City]]", one of six then designated in the country (as of  2025, it is one of 34).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20060322/ai_n16140812|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202181523/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20060322/ai_n16140812/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 2, 2010|title=After 80 years, Alameda named 'Coast Guard City'|last=Bender|first=Kristin|date=March 22, 2006|work=Oakland Tribune|publisher=BNET|access-date=February 15, 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Alameda, California 1936 Aerial Photo.jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view of Alameda, 1936]]
In addition to the regular trains running to the [[Alameda Mole]], Alameda was also served by local steam commuter lines of the Southern Pacific (initially, the Central Pacific). Alameda was the site of the Southern Pacific's West Alameda Shops, where all the electric trains were maintained and repaired. These were later adapted as the [[East Bay Electric Lines]]. The trains ran to both the [[Oakland Long Wharf|Oakland Mole]] and the Alameda Mole.

In the 1930s [[Pan American Airways]] established a [[seaplane]] port along with the fill that led to the Alameda Mole, the original home base for the [[China Clipper]] flying boat. In 1929, the University of California established the San Francisco Airdrome located near the current Webster Street tube as a public airport. The Bay Airdrome had its gala christening party in 1930. The Airdrome was closed in 1941 when its air traffic interfered with the newly built [[Naval Air Station Alameda]] (NAS Alameda).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/CA/Airfields_CA_Oakland.htm#sanfranbay|title=Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields: Oakland Area|last=Freeman|first=Paul|date=December 27, 2009|work=[[Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields]]: California|publisher=Paul Freeman|access-date=February 15, 2010}}</ref>

In the late 1950s, the Utah Construction Company began a landfill beyond the ''Old Sea Wall'' and created ''[[South Shore, Alameda, California|South Shore]]''.

On February 7, 1973, a USN [[Ling-Temco-Vought|Vought]] [[LTV A-7 Corsair II|A-7E Corsair II]] fighter jet on a routine training mission from [[Lemoore Naval Air Station]] suddenly caught fire {{convert|28,000|ft|m}} above the [[San Francisco Bay]], crashing into the Tahoe Apartments in Alameda. Eleven people including the pilot died in the crash and fire.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Crash of Navy A-7E Corsair II – Alameda, Calif. – February 7, 1973|url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Navy_A-7_CorsairII_crash_site.htm|website=Check-Six.com|access-date=September 11, 2014}}</ref><ref>Kulczyk, David. (2009). Death In California – The Bizarre, Freakish, and Just Curious Ways People Die in the Golden State. Craven Street Books. P117 {{ISBN|978-1-884995-57-6}}</ref>