The free downtown walks sponsored by the Oakland Tours Program continue this month with eight different itineraries, led by dedicated volunteer guides.
On Wednesday, Betty Marvin, the city’s historic preservation planner and the keeper of the historic building survey project, will lead a tour of the City Center. The 90-minute walk encompasses turn-of the-20th century landmarks alongside modern high rises.
If this is the walk for you, plan to meet at 10 a.m. on the steps of the symbol of Oakland’s arrival as a 20th century metropolis — the stunning Beaux Arts-style City Hall, completed in 1914.
As is the case with all the downtown walks, the City Center Tour is easily accessible via BART or AC Transit. Another option is to ride the new free Broadway Shuttle, which runs during weekday daytime hours along Broadway from Jack London Square to Grand Avenue. The lime-green bus with the “Hop on the B” logo arrives at designated shuttle stops approximately every 10-12 minutes.
The “B” buses use clean diesel fuel and the service is being made possible through a grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District along with other sponsors such as the city, AC Transit, Jack London Square Partners and the Lake Merritt/Uptown Association.
The City Center, which encompasses the blocks of 11th to 14th streets and Broadway and Jefferson streets, serves more than 50,000 downtown workers, residents and visitors. First conceived in the early 1970s, City Center offers a convenient mix of shops, services, and eateries. Another bonus is the free concert series featuring local musicians at noon on Wednesdays in the center.
Anchoring the City Center complex at 12th Street and Broadway is the 24-story Clorox Company headquarters, which opened in 1975 and was designed by noted architect Caesar Pelli with Guen Associates. Survey files note that the sleekly modern Clorox building is set back from the street and turned 45 degrees on its axis. The angled tower faces a wide pedestrian walkway that overlooks a lively cascading water course leading to the lower level John B. Williams Plaza. The plaza serves as the primary entrance to the 12th Street-City Center BART station.
The history files show that Clorox was originally called the Electro-Alkaline Company and was founded in 1913. The multimillion dollar Fortune 500 company’s modest beginnings involved the investment of $100 apiece by five eager entrepreneurs who sought to harness the abundance of brine available from the nearby salt ponds of San Francisco Bay. The company, which would be renamed the Clorox Chemical Co. in 1928, developed an electrolysis technique that combined two key chemicals — chlorine and sodium hydroxide — to create bleach. Oakland was chosen as the location for their first plant. The word “clorox” is an amalgam of the two main ingredients.
According to the company’s website, soon after the plant’s opening, horse-drawn wagons began transporting the bleach product to Oakland laundries, breweries, walnut processing sheds and municipal water companies. A less-concentrated formula, sold in 5-gallon jugs would soon be developed for household use, and the jugs of bleach began leaving from the Port of Oakland to points around the globe. In 2009, the corporate giant, which continues to use Oakland as its home base, reported $5.53 billion in revenue, and has been the provider of thousands of jobs.
The company recently announced that 500 jobs will soon be moving to Pleasanton; however, the company intends to continue to occupy the top 12 floors of the downtown Clorox Tower. The lower 12 floors will be leased out.
Construction to rehabilitate the pavement surrounding the structure began over the summer. Workers will also address the aging waterproofing membrane beneath the pavement to prevent leaks to the lower plaza level.
For details the new Broadway Shuttle, go to www.meetdowntownoak.com.
Reservations are recommended but not required for the walking tours. For descriptions, dates and starting places, go to www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours, or call is 510-238-3234.
