The Oak Knoll clubhouse has a bell tower again.
The last architectural remnant of the sprawling former naval hospital property in the East Oakland hills, the Oak Knoll officers clubhouse, was cut into seven pieces last year and reassembled a half-mile away on the 187-acre property, helping make way for hundreds of homes that will be built there in the next few years.
As a crowd of spectators cheered Friday morning, a cherry red crane hoisted the century-old white stucco cupola back into place.
James Salata, president of Garden City Construction of San Jose, orchestrated the move. He watched the flying bell tower with the nervousness of an expectant father, not relaxing until the delicate cargo was finally delivered safely to its rooftop platform.
“It’s looking really good. Things are really going to start moving now,” said Salata.
What’s going to start moving now is the pace of restoration of the Mission-style building that was designed by architect William Knowles. The clubhouse was part of the Oak Knoll Country Club, which went bankrupt during the Great Depression. In World War II, the country club above Interstate 580 was purchased by the U.S. Navy, which operated a naval hospital there until 1996.
Developer SunCal plans to restore the building, which had fallen into disrepair in the years since.
Flying bell tower in Oakland today as restoration of Oak Knoll clubhouse continues. pic.twitter.com/GvvsxGNkAE
— Karl Mondon (@karlmondon) April 15, 2022
