Preservation Fair

For eleven years, an annual event known as the Preservation Fair was going strong in Oakland. Produced by the Camron-Stanford House Preservation Association in partnership with the Oakland Museum of California (OM), the Port of Oakland, the Oakland Symphony, Volunteers for Oakland, and the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, the Fair brought thousands of people from all over the Bay Area streaming to the Camron-Stanford House. In celebration of historic preservation, a diverse array of local musicians and dancers provided a festive background for preservation enthusiasts who frequented over seventy booths that offered everything from technical demonstrations of the forgotten crafts and skills of yesteryear (see scroll saw illustration), to delicious old-fashioned foods and bake sale items.

The accompanying photograph (courtesy of Bruno Brandlii) captures the spirit of the Fairs and shows the House, bedecked with fluttering bunting, as it sparkles under a canopy of eucalyptus in the late afternoon sun. You can almost hear the sound of the Best Steam Traction Engine’s whistle echoing off the surrounding high-rises as the OM’s “Friday-Night Volunteers”, who lovingly restored the old Best, signal onlookers to stay clear as they lumber up the drive.

Also of interest in the 1978 photograph is a glimpse of the old boathouse. It can be seen peeking out between the House and the Best. In 1906 the City of Oakland purchased the House and transformed it into the Oakland Public Museum. Workers dismantled the carriage house and reused the materials as they constructed a two-story addition on the rear of the House to create more exhibition space. The boathouse was moved up from the shore of Lake Merritt and attached to the side of the “new” addition. In the photograph, the boathouse sits detached and on timbers, waiting to be moved back to the shoreline and onto a new concrete foundation. Unfortunately, the boathouse burned to the ground a few years after being moved. The Association plans to reconstruct these important components of the 1876 residence.