Putting the "There" There: Historical Archaeologies of West Oakland

The Jackson/Netherland Cottage, a classic example of an Informal workers' cottage. 1995 photo before it was relocated

High-laced woman's "strolling boot" recovered from the Railroad Exchange hotel, where dozens of clothing items were identified

Nine Native American groundstone net weights found in a pit at 768 fifth street. They were likely collected from nearby, possibly Shellmound Park

Rebekah-at-the-Well teapots like these were found in more than one-quarter of excavations, among households with a range of ethnic/national ties and occupations

Nearly one ton of meat is represented by bones associated with 1890s households of Southern Pacific workers, mostly African American Pullman Car porters

Several tools used in the Chinese laundry trade; an inkstone, abacus beads, and a ceramic lamp connect with day-to-day work

Putting the "There" There: Historical Archaeologies of West Oakland

Date

January, 1994 to January, 1996

Period

Historic

Type

excavation

Context

Section 106

City

Oakland

County

Alameda

State

California

Full Report

Putting the "There" There: Historical Archaeologies of West Oakland

The I-880 Cypress Freeway Replacement, a project of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 4, involved the reconstruction of a 3.1-mile section of freeway in Oakland and Emeryville, California. As part of its plan to comply with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Caltrans contracted with the Anthropological Studies Center at Sonoma State University (ASC) to examine the area of potential effects (APE).

The Cypress Archaeology Project database is unprecedented in the West. Over 120 discrete artifact assemblages were recovered and associated with specific households. A wide variety of groups is represented, from unskilled working-class households to upper-middle-class families, immigrants from numerous countries, and native-born whites and African Americans.