Forest Park and Wickham Havens

A south view across Montclair as the real estate venture Forest Park was gaining momentum. What was Forest Park, and who was behind it?

L94-05-Cheney Photo H2121, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 1 of 24)

Wickham Havens brokered real estate tract development mainly in Oakland and Piedmont. By 1925 his firm occupied 1510 Franklin Street in Oakland. There are no books or comprehensive testimonials of Wickham’s life, but a book preserved at OCHS reveals Havens’ plan for selling lots in Forest Park and features Cheney promotional images and tactics for hooking prospective buyers.

L94-10-Cheney Photo H1938, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 2 of 24)

Haven’s obituary in the Oakland Tribune provides the only known published portrait and confirms his death in Moraga on Nov. 25, 1934 at age 58 after a protracted illness. Beyond the obituary, most other information regarding his activities can be found in newspaper accounts and maps, such as this one of central Contra Costa County from 1930. Ref: G4363.C6 1930.A72 Arnold Survey

L94-15-Courtesy Earth Sciences and Map Library, University of California, Berkeley, (Image 3 of 24)

The Wickham Havens Book details the instructions to real estate agents to lure the buyer from the downtown office to the Forest Park development without divulging its location other than it was 9 minutes from Broadway. This was a typical tactic for real estate ventures in the hills, as many of these tracts changed ownership.

L94-20-Cheney Photo H1939, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 4 of 24)

This is the map from the Wickham Havens Book, complete with lot numbers corresponding to those on the Cheney publicity images to follow. To continue with Wickham, he played a large role in reorganizing the Oakland Real Estate Board in 1916, and served as its president from 1918-19.

L94-25-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 5 of 24)

A reoriented map and an annotated copy with present day street names, a red line following present day Thornhill Dr., and two key landmarks; Forest Pool, blue circle, and the Triangle, green arrow. Wickham’s dealings with his famous father are not known, but he was a director of the People’s Water Company in 1909, and had other dealings with members of the Realty Syndicate.

L94-30-Courtesy Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 6 of 24)

This southeast image ca. 1925 shows the vehicle used to bring prospective buyers to Forest Park. Forest Drive is referred to by Cheney on his images as Woodland Way, the name today being Woodhaven Way. As for names, Wickham’s legacy survives today as the developer of Havenscourt in Oakland.

L94-35-Cheney Photo H2074, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department , (Image 7 of 24)

Thorn Road delineated most of the north border of the development. The last section up to Skyline Blvd. shown in this west image no longer exists. Refer to the Landmark “Once Upon a Time at Thornhill Drive”. Details lacking, Havens profited by the sell-off of many of Borax Smiths' assets in Oakland and Piedmont in 1913.

L94-40-Cheney Photo H1975, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 8 of 24)

In the directory of 1928, Mrs. Emma Frances Frederickson was listed on Thorn Rd. and Box 610 as her address. Craig Sundstrom identified the house as 6396 Thornhill Dr.; above is 1782 Woodhaven Way, left, and 1774 Woodhaven Way, right. Behind the scenes, Havens got the Claremont Hotel construction restarted after it had stalled in 1909.

L94-45-Cheney Photo H2076, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 9 of 24)

This north view is most likely the view close to the Forest Pool. Today this is all Thornhill Dr., with the portion at the intersection where Thornhill Dr. makes a curve to the south and deviates from the original course of Thorn Rd. Havens produced promotional films to attract businesses and residents to that area, an example https://archive.org/details/OaklandC1928.

L94-50-Cheney Photo H2097, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 10 of 24)

Turning 180 degrees around from the spot of the previous image, L94-50, this dated image from 1925 is a south view of the pool along what today is Thornhill Dr.

L94-55-Cheney Photo H2099, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 11 of 24)

The southern border of the development was approximated by Colton Blvd. The lot number of this west view post-dates the map in L94-25.

L94-60-Cheney Photo H2091, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 12 of 24)

Colton Blvd. forms part of the “Triangle” delineated in L94-30. The placement of this west view is aided by the next image ...

L94-65-Cheney and Bird Photo, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 13 of 24)

... a south view down Colten Blvd. from Feb. 25, 1925. Havens made sure the level of development promotion at the top of the hill matched that near the bottom section shown in L94-35.

L94-70-Cheney Photo H2105, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 14 of 24)

Another view from the Triangle, also to the west but more northerly versus L94-65. The road junction in view in the image’s center corresponds today to where Thornhill Dr., Oakwood and Overlake meet.

L94-75-Cheney Photo, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 15 of 24)

Using lot 381 from the map in L94-30 as a guide, this north view from Feb. 2, 1925 looks up Everil Place to what is today Thornhill Dr.

L94-80-Cheney Photo H2098, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 16 of 24)

In this view, down Overlake Ct. meeting what today would be Thornhill Dr. would get you to the castle-like home around the next left bend in the road. That building was already built by 1925, but an image was not included in the Wickham Havens Book. Insert of sign notes “prices include macadam street” surface.

L94-85-Cheney Photo H2078, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 17 of 24)

Now three views looking toward the northwest and west starting at the southwestern-most portion near Aspinwall Rd. into an area today occupied by the Woodhaven Way-Indian Way split. Two important images of Forest Park that include Indian Way not included here may be found at http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt209nd06r/.

L94-90-Cheney Photo H2096, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 18 of 24)

Next to the northwest at Overlake Court, the same view of the northwest section.

L94-95-Cheney Photo H2067, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 19 of 24)

Finally, a similar background, but here labelled near “the Lodge” and across “the Park” from Mar 10, 1925. The Park may mean Forest Park, but the Wickham Havens Book doesn’t include anything about a lodge.

L94-100-Cheney Photo H2119, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 20 of 24)

From John Bosko’s collection comes this view of a building with a sign “Forest Park Lodge” above its roof. The south view into Shepherd Canyon is consistent with this location possibly being at what became Lodge Ct. but was just called Court in the map in L94-30. In apparent conflict is the view of the next image.

L94-105-Cheney Photo H2159, Courtesy John Bosko, (Image 21 of 24)

Labelled by Cheney as taken on Skyline Blvd. at the head of Shepherd Canyon, this south view shows the same hill profile as L94-105, yet it is much closer to the viewer. Barring any dependency on camera lens type, L94-105 might have come from a point further east of Skyline Dr., not from Court. More work to be done here.

L94-110-Cheney Photo H2144, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 22 of 24)

This northeast-oriented aerial from 1939 provides the outcome of Forest Park five years after Wickham Havens’ passing. A green x marks the Forest Pool and a blue X the Triangle. Based on the number of homes, development to the north, or left, outpaced that to the south, or right. Full Ref: BUT BUU-289-45 Aug. 2, 1939

L94-115-USDA AAA Western Division Laboratories, Courtesy East Bay Municipal Utility District, Detail, (Image 23 of 24)

In addition to building the Havens shelter for the SN, Havens was involved in Shepherd Canyon real estate ventures, Forestland Heights tract, and with developers, sugar magnate Louis Saroni. These ventures lagged behind the Forest Park project, Follow up soon in the Landmark, “Banning’s Baffling Buildings” in the Shepherd Canyon section. Special thanks to Gail Lombardi, Betty Marvin, John Bosko, and Craig Sundstrom..

L94-120-Cheney Photo H2120, Oakland Cultural Heritage Survey, Oakland City Planning Department, (Image 24 of 24)