A former Oakland mayor's $3 million Bay Area estate finds buyer in weeks

"A historic survivor, 5311 Golden Gate Ave. in Oakland 's sylvan Upper Rockridge neighborhood has been listed for the first time in over 40 years. The 1940s abode was built for one of Oakland's most popular and influential mayors. Now, with an asking price of $2.995 million and less than three weeks on the market, this home is already pending."

"In 1941, Oakland City Councilman Herbert Beach commissioned 5311 Golden Gate Ave. for his family and himself. Beach presided as mayor from 1945 to 1947, during a tumultuous time in the East Bay. While he is credited with the "inauguration of $15,754,000 in public improvements, including five municipal swimming pools financed by bond issues approved by voters in May 1945," to quote an article in the Virginia Free Lance-Star, he is also remembered for his unpopular role in a 1946 labor strike."

"Oaklandside reported that "by 1946, workers across the United States were tired of the Depression and war, which had called for enormous sacrifices. A wave of strikes and unionization drives was already underway when workers at the Kahn's and Hastings department stores in downtown Oakland, mostly women, walked off their jobs in October due to their employers' resistance to their organizing efforts.""

5311 Golden Gate Ave. in Oakland's Upper Rockridge neighborhood is a 1940s residence built in 1941 for City Councilman Herbert Beach and his family and has been listed for the first time in over 40 years with a $2.995 million asking price; the property went pending in less than three weeks. Beach served as Oakland mayor from 1945 to 1947 and oversaw millions in public improvements, including five municipal swimming pools financed by voter-approved bonds. Beach ordered police to move merchandise through picket lines during a 1946 department-store labor dispute, which prompted a general strike that shut down much of Oakland and attracted thousands of protesters. The general strike ended in early December 1946; the store workers' strike concluded six months later.

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