Description :

Facades of Commerce — Four Illustrated Oakland Streetscapes

This collection features four finely executed architectural portraits depicting distinct stretches of early Oakland, California. Each piece captures a full street side—rich in commercial character and civic texture—with precise linework and labeled addresses. The illustrations reflect a documentary style that blends visual record-keeping with stylistic flair, revealing the economic and cultural heartbeat of their respective blocks. Accompanying these portraits are alternate views that enhance readability and further detail business names, addresses, and signage. One envelope included in the set references “Something Special” at 3347 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Berkeley, California, which may suggest provenance or past exhibition ties.

Individual Portraits:

Portrait One
Location: East side of Broadway, between Tenth and Eleventh Streets
Features: Buildings with numbered addresses including repeated listings for “J. R. Blow, T. P.”, suggesting legal or technical professional offices. The strip is characterized by consistent façade heights and dense commercial occupancy.

Portrait Two
Location: East side of Washington Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Streets
Features:

· W. M. Watson & Co. under “Mountain Wine Depot”

· Cotton Bros. & Co., engineers and bridge builders

· Palace Bakery (Wagner & Deibol), offering coffee and tea at modest prices
Alternate view strengthens signage visibility and the bakery's appeal as a social stop.

Portrait Three
Location: South side of Twelfth Street, from Broadway to Franklin Street
Features:

· Blanchard’s Oakland Trunk Factory at 403

· Sturm & Leitch, plumbers at 403½

· Weber House, managed by Mrs. L. E. Song

· Santa Rosa Wine Vault at 409

· E. Hook, specializing in lace curtains and upholstery goods at 413

· C. Hofwalter, saddlery at 415–419
Notable for shared telephone numbers and a variety of trades within close proximity.

Portrait Four
Location: East side of Broadway, between Eighth and Ninth Streets
Features:
Includes listings for law offices, shorthand schools, savings banks, and various administrative professionals. Intricate architectural details support the drawing’s archival weight.

These illustrations appear to be a local visual archive created to document Oakland’s dynamic business corridors. Each street segment is rendered with architectural discipline and annotated to reflect active tenants and street life. Businesses range from legal services and engineering firms to bakeries, lodgings, and specialized merchants. The detailed labeling and façade orientation suggest these may have served as promotional or civic reference pieces at the time of production.

Materials Made Of:
Ink and print illustration on paper; envelope with labeled provenance.

Measurements:

18 1/4" W x 13 1/4" H