Albany

History

The first known residents were the Ohlone before Spanish settlement in the early 19th century. In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community. Armed with two shotguns and a twenty-two-caliber rifle, they confronted the drivers of the wagons near what is now the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Buchanan Street. The women told the drivers of the horse-drawn garbage wagons to go home, which they did quickly and without complaint. Shortly thereafter, the residents of the town voted to incorporate as the City of Ocean View. In 1909, voters changed the name of the city, primarily to distinguish the city from the adjacent section of Berkeley which had previously been named Ocean View. On a vote of 38 to 6 The Albany Sauna is one of the oldest Finnish-style saunas open to the public in North America. Built in 1934 by Finnish-American Henry Walter Lundgren (a founding member of the Finnish Lodge in West Berkeley), the original furnace and rooms have been maintained. Albany has a history of real estate discrimination, which made it difficult for non-white buyers to acquire property and build or rent homes in Albany.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (67.28%) is water. The principal shopping street in Albany is Solano Avenue, which cuts across the city from west to east. Another important street is San Pablo Avenue, which travels from north to south. Albany is a small city located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, bordering the city of Berkeley to the south and east, and the Contra Costa County cities of El Cerrito and Richmond to the north. Albany's northern and southern borders are defined by two creeks, Codornices Creek on the south and Cerrito Creek on the north. Cerrito Creek takes its name from "El Cerrito de San Antonio," now known as Albany Hill. The hill's unusual location near the bay shore makes it a prominent landmark in the East Bay. The rest of the city is relatively flat by Bay Area standards, except for a small area near the base of the Berkeley Hills. Albany's waterfront has undergone significant man-made changes; the most prominent landform is now the Albany Bulb, a former garbage landfill jutting out into San Francisco Bay. The bulb was the site of a small art colony and shanty town until it was cleared to turn the area into part of the new Eastshore State Park. University Village, a housing unit of the University of California Berkeley, is located in Albany.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Berkeley High
  High · Berkeley · 3,204 students · 17.9:1 ratio
• Alameda High
  High · Alameda · 1,802 students · 24:1 ratio
• Oakland Technical High
  High · Oakland · 1,796 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Oakland High
  High · Oakland · 1,531 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Encinal Junior/Senior High
  High · Alameda · 1,158 students · 22.7:1 ratio
• Albany High
  High · Albany · 1,151 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Martin Luther King Middle
  Middle · Berkeley · 871 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Albany Middle
  Middle · Albany · 781 students · 19.5:1 ratio