Frank H. Ogawa Plaza

Coordinates: 37°48′18″N 122°16′18″W / 37.8050°N 122.2718°W / 37.8050; -122.2718

Oakland City Hall in 1917. The foreground shows the property that would later become Frank H. Ogawa Plaza.

Frank H. Ogawa Plaza is a historic location in the heart of downtown Oakland, California.

Location and elements

Ogawa plaza

Frank H. Ogawa Plaza is located where Telegraph and San Pablo Avenues converge with Broadway and 14th Street. The west side of the plaza is the site of Oakland City Hall and Oakland Police Headquarters. Around the plaza are several Beaux-Arts styled commercial buildings from the early 20th century.^[1] New buildings have been constructed to fit visually with the older architecture.^[2]

The plaza is a 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m²) public space. Most of the plaza is composed of "The Commons", a raised lawn. The plaza also features "The Forum", or amphitheater—a space for public gatherings and performances.^[3]

History

The plaza amphitheater

In 1896, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on a young Jack London giving speeches in what was then called "City Hall park".^[4] The open space in front of the city hall was part of Oakland's Administrative Buildings project that included the redevelopment of the city center in 1994.^[5][6] 1998 marked the completion of the renovated plaza.^{[citation needed]}

Along with being the seat of government, the area has become part of the city's arts culture with the annual Arts and Soul Festival and publicly commissioned art.^[7] In 2001, the city council commissioned a sculpture for the plaza from artist Bruce Beasley. The sculpture, Vitality, was completed in 2002.^[8][9]

The plaza has been the site of various protests and other forms of civil disorder.

Name of the plaza

In 1998, the Oakland City Council renamed City Hall Plaza as "Frank H. Ogawa Plaza"^[10] in honor of Frank H. Ogawa. Ogawa was a civil rights leader^[11] and the first Japanese American to serve on the Oakland City Council^[10] in which he served from 1966 until his death in 1994.^[12] The plaza displays a bronze bust of Ogawa.

Members of Occupy Oakland began using Ogawa plaza as a main protest encampment starting on on October 10, 2011. Their presence has been criticize for potential health and safety concerns.^[13] The protestors symbolically renamed Frank H. Ogawa Plaza as "Oscar Grant Plaza". Oscar Grant was a young African American man who was shot in the back by a white Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer in 2009.^[14]

References

1. ^ Dinkelspiel Cerny, Susan (2007). An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area. Gibbs Smith. p. 247. ISBN 9781586854324. 
2. ^ Fentress Bradburn: Selected and Current Works. Images Publishing. 1998. p. 188. ISBN 9781875498864. 
3. ^ "Oakland City Hall Plaza". Pyatok Architects. http://www.pyatok.com/portfolio/oaklandcityhallplaza.html. Retrieved November 8, 2011. 
4. ^ "Jack London, who is known as the boy socialist of Oakland, is holding forth nightly to the crowds that throng City Hall Park. There are other speakers in plenty, but London always gets the biggest crowd and the most respectful attention. the young man is a pleasant speaker, more earnest than eloquent, and while he is a broad socialist in every way, he is not an anarchist" [1]
5. ^ Quatman, G. William (2001). Design-Build for the Design Professional. Aspen Law & Business. p. 284. ISBN 9780735517271. 
6. ^ Fowler, Carol (2003). Insiders' Guide to Berkeley and the East Bay. Globe Pequot Press. p. 202. ISBN 9780762723737. 
7. ^ Ellwood, Mark; Edwards, Nick (2009). The Rough Guide to San Francisco & the Bay Area. Penguin Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 9781405384377. 
8. ^ Resolution on Plaza Art
9. ^ SF Gate - 2001-02-16 Oakland Sculptor Beasley Selected / Panel picks art for City Hall Plaza
10. ^ ^{a b} "Oakland History Timeline". City of Oakland, Oakland History Room of the Oakland Public Library. http://oaklandnet.com/celebrate/Historytimeline.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-08. "1998 Named in honor of late Oakland City Councilmember Frank H. Ogawa, City Hall Plaza re-opens after a $124 million rebuilding." 
11. ^ Eshoo, Anna (1994-07-21). "TRIBUTE TO FRANK H. OGAWA". Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 96. United States House of Representatives. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1994-07-21/html/CREC-1994-07-21-pt1-PgE6.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-31. "Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Frank Ogawa--a dedicated public servant, outstanding civil rights leader, and loving husband and father--who passed away earlier this month in Oakland, California." 
12. ^ Allen, Annalee; Lee, Sam. Oakland City Center: Frank H. Ogawa Statue (video). EzineMark.com. http://video.ezinemark.com/exploring-the-oakland-city-center-oakland-city-center-frank-h.-ogawa-statue-44bf4d7e134.html. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
13. ^ http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19139574
14. ^ Abraham, Zennie (2011-10-30). "Occupy Oakland: The Oscar Grant / Frank Ogawa Plaza Issue". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-11-11. http://blog.sfgate.com/abraham/2011/10/30/occupy-oakland-the-oscar-grant-frank-ogawa-plaza-issue/. Retrieved 2011-11-11.