Alameda County

Completed 1875. Alameda's Victorian courthouse was built on Oakland's Washington Square after the county seat was moved from Alvarado (part of present-day Union City) to San Leandro and finally to Oakland. The ornate brick building had fallen into disrepair by the mid-1920s (judges called it a "vermin-infested menace to health and records"). During heavy winter rains in its final years, bailiffs held umbrellas over the bench to shield judges from leaks. In 1936, a new county center on Lake Merritt replaced the old courthouse, which county supervisors voted to demolish in 1949. Courtesy Oakland Public Library

Alameda County Courthouse

Completed 1875

Alameda’s Victorian courthouse was built on Oakland’s Washington Square after the county seat was moved from Alvarado (part of present-day Union City) to San Leandro and finally to Oakland. The ornate brick building had fallen into disrepair by the mid-1920s (judges called it a “vermin-infested menace to health and records”). During heavy winter rains in its final years, bailiffs held umbrellas over the bench to shield judges from leaks. In 1936, a new county center on Lake Merritt replaced the old courthouse, which county supervisors voted to demolish in 1949.

Courtesy Oakland Public Library


 
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