Token - Oakland Rotary Club Oakland, California

Reverse

Denticles inside of rim. Image of Hotel Oakland. Legend follows perimeter at top and bottom of token. A line of text also above and below building.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
GOOD FOR 2 DAYS
DURING 1914
AT
HOTEL OAKLAND

Edge

Plain

Comment

This token was a promotion for both the building of the Oakland City Hall (Complete in 1914 at the cost of $2 million US dollars) and the worlds fair in 1915. The city hall building was the tallest building in the city until 1923 when the Tribune Tower was built (The Okland Tribune is still a functioning news paper)

The Hotel Oakland was first proposed in 1906, as Oakland's business community sought to capitalize on the flow of commerce from San Francisco to Oakland. This following the 1906 earthquake as Oakland's business community sought to capitalize on the flow of commerce from San Francisco to Oakland following the earthquake. It opened with a Grand Black Tie Affair 23 December 1912. KLX Radio station was built on top of one of the towers. In 1921 the radio station KLX got its start there, broadcasting from high atop the west tower of the hotel. It was originally a "radio operator's training school called the Western Radio Institute occupying two rooms on the seventh floor of the Hotel, As part of the school, a small "experimental radio station" was built in the west tower. The batteries for the transmitter were kept charged by the elevator, and "...the two towers rising from either side of the building that were perfect for supporting the station's antenna. The station grew to include news, music, and live broadcasts, including a band playing on the hotel roof. In 1923 the station moved to the Tribune Tower. The hotel struggled to stay in operation during the years around the depression. In 1943 the War department took the hotel. Stirped out all of the lavish furnishings. Then made it into a VA hospital known as Oakland Area Station Hospital. It operated there until August of 1963. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to reopen the hotel for public use. For the next 15 years it stood vacant. Finally, in 1978 a Boston-based developer obtained possession and remodeled it into a housing project for the elderly. It remains in this use today. 2022
This image is of City hall shortly after it opened. The 2nd photo is of the Hotel in it's early years.