Roma Cafe c1940

Description:
Interior, Roma Restaurant, 5036 Telegraph Avenue, Temescal district, Oakland, Calif. Felix Croce was the owner. "One of Temescal's great Italian restaurants." [Ray Raineri note]

Date of Document:
circa 1940

Document Author:
Unknown

Geographic Location:
5036 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, Calif.

Context:
Immigrants from northern Italy had begun to settle in Temescal well before the turn of the 20th century. However, it was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire that brought a significant influx of Italian Americans to Temescal, eventually transforming it into the East Bay s Little Italy. So many came many fleeing San Francisco s North Beach neighborhood that by the 1930s, most Temescal s stores, markets, banks, restaurants, and bars along Telegraph Avenue were Italian American owned. It was said that Temescal s commercial district so diverse was its businesses provided everything one might need.