Jack London’s Oakland

City of Oakland seen across the channel from Alameda

Securing the Dinghy at Jack London Square - Oakland

Jack London Cabin

From Marina Village Yacht Harbor in Alameda, we took our dinghy across the Inner Harbor Channel and visited Jack London Square along Oakland’s waterfront. Jack London (1876-1916) was born in San Francisco and much of his youth was spent in Oakland on the waterfront. Jack became the most popular and highest paid author of his time. He is best remembered as the author of Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf. London was also an advocate of unionization and socialism and dealt with these topics in his novel The Iron Heel and in his non-fiction expose’ The People of the Abyss. The “First and Last Chance Saloon” along Oakland’s waterfront was frequented by Jack London and still stands in its original location. We paid a visit to this historic saloon where Jack studied as a schoolboy and where he later wrote notes for The Sea Wolf and Call of the Wild. The same tables where he sat are still in the saloon along with the original stove, bar & rail, clock, music box, movie machine, and other items. The dimly lit saloon uses the original gas lights and the stove was used as the only source of heat as late as 1989. The saloon was built in 1880 from timbers of an old whaling ship and opened in 1883 by Johnny Heinold, a historic figure in his own right. During the 1920’s, the ferry that ran between Alameda and Oakland stopped next to Heinold’s Saloon. Since Alameda was a dry city at the time, this bar was truly a commuter’s first and last chance for a refreshment. Other notable figures that visited the First and Last Chance Saloon included President William Howard Taft and Robert Louis Stevenson, who spent time here waiting for his ship to be outfitted for his final cruise to Samoa. While enjoying our drinks at this saloon from the past, we couldn’t help but notice the sunken floor and extremely uneven bar. When the great San Francisco earthquake struck in 1906, the pilings underneath the saloon settled in the mud. We also visited Jack London’s Cabin located near the Saloon, or should I say half the cabin. When London’s actual cabin was found from his trip to the Yukon Gold Rush, the City of Oakland and Canada both wanted it – the solution, cut it in half! The Oakland cabin is a recreation from half of the original materials and stands in stark contrast to the modern skyline of Oakland.