Girola Building - Oakland

1919

The Girola Building at 4430-4432-4434 Telegraph Avenue has had a variety of uses over the years. It opened in 1919 as the Girola Brothers Garage. Other uses included a restaurant, an indoor miniature golf course, a glass and paint store, and Reed Brothers Security.

Girola Brothers

The Girola brothers were Giuseppe (Joseph), Honoret (Henry), and Armando (Armand). Their sister Josephine Girola was the bookkeeper. In 1921, the Girolas were living not far from the garage at 455 - 44th Street. Along with storing and repairing cars, in 1922 they became distributors for International Trucks, and in 1925 dealers for Moon Motor Cars and its subsidiary, Diana Motors.¹

1922192219251925

1925 ¹

1924

Golfland

In 1930 it opened as Golfland, the first indoor miniature golf course in Oakland. The "greens" were covered in "genuine Pullman carpet, the nearest creation to a putting green." It was run by Otto Lafranchi and Arthur Rodgers, and included Barney's, a refreshment stand. ² It was one of the locations for the 1930 Oakland Tribune miniature golf tournament.

Note that by 1930, the front facade had been changed from a peaked center with gentle curves to a rectangular one.

1930 ²1930

Italian Village

In 1933, Armand Girola opened the Italian Village restaurant, featuring dancing and live music. They hired Chef Valade, "famous Italian Cook." The restaurant featured murals of the Italian Riviera and Genoa. ³ J. Girola was the name on the cabaret license.

1933 ³1933 ³