Richard Montgomery c1925

Description:
Portrait of Richard J. Montgomery, a detail from the book, Who Made Oakland? (page 75).

Date of Document:
1925 (publication date)

Document Author:
Written by Florence B. Crocker; published by Clyde Dalton

Geographic Location:
Telegraph Avenue and 40th Street, Oakland, Calif.

Context:
Page 75 in Who Made Oakland? features a short, laudatory biography of Richard J. Montgomery (born 1863), a realtor, member of the Oakland Realty Board, and cofounder of the Central Oakland Improvement Club. Montgomery is credited with opening up to development 40th Street and streets to the north (41st, 42nd, 45th, Rich, and Webster streets) following the annexation of Temescal by the City of Oakland in 1897. It is reported that he preferred the name "North Oakland" over "Temescal" for the newly annexed area. His maternal grandmother was early Oakland pioneer, Bridget Miranda Shannon Evoy, who in 1854 purchased 160 acres in the vicinity of what is today 40th Street (formerly Evoy Avenue.) and Telegraph Avenue from Vicente Peralta. Richard's parents, Zachariah Montgomery and Ellen Evoy, were married in the small chapel Vicente Peralta had built adjacent to his adobe, located near what is today the northeast corner of Telegraph Avenue and 55th Street. According to former Oakland Public Library librarian, Quentin, who researched and wrote about the origins of Oakland s street names, Rich Street . . . is likely named for Richard J. Montgomery, an active member of the Oakland Realty Board and organizer of the Central Oakland Improvement Club.