Oakland Trotting Park

If you were taking a walk down Temescal Creek in the late 1800s, you'd be standing in a beautiful willow thicket as the creek made its way to the Bay. Some of that thicket endured, but most of the creek was culverted (buried) in 1871 to build the Oakland Trotting Park. The art over the entrance to the parking lot is built directly over a piece of the race track and displays all the kinds of racing that took place at the park. The car and airplane races took place between 1915-1919 after horse racing became illegal in the state. The park was closed in 1919 and this area became an industrial park.