Jacobs' Ladder plaque in Toronto.
Jane Jacobs was an urbanist and author.
Most known for writing The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and Dark Age Ahead.
As an activist, she helped stop two planned for urban expressways, one in Manhattan, the other in Toronto.
In 2007, a year after her passing, friends in her adopted hometown of Toronto, organized "Jane's Walks" on the first weekend in May to coincide with what would have been her birthday weekend.
Today, it has grown to hundreds of walks around the world in dozens of cities.
In 2010, Oakland had 5 Jane's Walks :
One was lead by Annalee Allen of the city's Walking Tours Program. Paula Wirth posted a Flickr Photo Set: Downtown Oakland Walking Tours - Old Oakland
The other four 2010 Jane's Walks were hosted by Oakland Urban Paths with information at Oakland 2010 Jane's Walks..
In 2012, Oakland hosted TWO Jane Jacobs Walks:
- Old Oakland District to Governor George Pardee House
- Exploring Oakland’s History on Foot with Interactive Audio
In 2013, HiMY SYeD who is visiting the Bay Area from Toronto and has lead walks in his hometown every year, lead the Jane's Walk listed below based upon Oakland Wiki's many interesting pages.
Gene Anderson captured the essence of the afternoon in his Our Oakland blog post. Gene is also leading the 2014 Oakland Wiki Jane's Walk.
Oakland Wiki Jane's Walk 2014
Join Oakland Wiki for a Jane's Walk exploring Oakland and its history.
We'll meet at the foot of Broadway and walk through Oakland's history up Broadway.
Date : Sunday, May 4th 2014
Start Time : 1:00 p.m.
Est. Duration : 1.5 hours
Meeting Place: 1 Broadway, Oakland, CA - near the palm trees at JLS
Accessibility:
Everyone welcome
Dogs welcome
Strollers welcome
About your walk leader:
Gene Anderson is a fan of Oakland and creator of the blog Our Oakland. He's been helping with and leading monthly Oakland Urban Paths walks since 2011, and is a regular on Oakland Heritage Alliance walks.
Official Listing
Possible sights on Jane's Walk 2014
Sunday May 5, 2013 - The Jane Jacobs Oakland Wiki Walk
Jane's Walk Description:
We will walk through several streets that are the sites of Oakland’s history from its founding up to the present.
Knowledge gleaned from the pages of Oakland Wiki will be presented at stops throughout this two hour walk :
- Legacy of Horace W. Carpentier - Oakland's first mayor on the city today
- What ever happened to Harrison Railroad Park ?
- History of Chinatown and Old Historic District
- Oakland Police Department - The Good. The Bad. And some stuff in-between.
- Oakland's Oldest News Stand
- The Great Wall of Oakland
- How Art Murmur became First Fridays
- And much, much more!
Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Date: Sunday, May 5, 2013
Location Start/End:
Starting point for this Jane's Walk will be the Lake Merritt BART Station ( Madison Street level ) main entrance facing Madison Park.
End point will be outside the front of The Terrace Room which part of The Lake Merritt Hotel.
Host: HiMY SYeD &... potentially other Oakland Wiki editors listed here:
Theme: Walking, History, City Building, Arts.
Registration: None, all are welcome
Accessibility: This event is welcome and accessible to Wheelchairs, Bicycles, Seniors, Children.
Official Listings
-
The Jane Jacobs Oakland Wiki Walk - Official Listing on JaneJacobsWalk.org
-
The Jane Jacobs Oakland Wiki Walk - Official Listing on JanesWalk.net
Photos - Sunday May 5 2013
First Stop: Location of Harrison Railroad Park
Oakland Police Department HQ
Key Route Mural 
Oakland's Oldest Newsstand
Contemplating the Cathedral Building
The Great Wall of Oakland !
Walking along Lake Merritt's Multi-Use Path
Last Stop: outside The Terrace Room inside The Lake Merritt Hotel
Eight Photos taken by HiMY SYeD during the Jane Jacobs Oakland Wiki Walk 2013.
