Castle Rea Villas

1923 ¹

Castle Rea Villas are an unusual set of connected apartments at 616-630 Beacon Street that go up the hillside to Merritt Avenue. Some of the units can only be reached by an external stairway. They opened in 1923, built for Thomas J. Rea and his wife Stella Palmer Rea. ^1,2

The Reas lived in the unit at 626 Beacon until at least 1950.

The stairs are unique; each section has a slightly different design than the adjacent sections. Note that the stairs are steep and not up to current building codes, so use of the railing is highly recommended.

1928 Sanborn referencestairs, CC SA-BY Our Oakland2025 CC SA-BY Our Oakland
 

The awkward stairway access provided some difficulty during firefighters' efforts to extinguish a fire in 1997 caused by remodeling work at the complex. ³

Oakland Tribune 1997 ⁴

Links and References

• Views of real estate subdivisions / Wickham Havens Inc. Oakland Oakland History Center, Oakland Public Library

1. Castle-Rea Villas Oakland Tribune June 23, 1923
2. Castle Rea Owners Plan New Villas Oakland Tribune July 1, 1923
3. Firefighters quell apartment blaze Oakland Tribune February 27, 1997
4. Oakland firefighters attack a fire at a Beacon Street apartment complex Wednesday afternoon. Oakland Tribune February 27, 1997