Historic Oakland Foundation

Hardscape - HOF's preservation crew completed restoration of the Jewish Hill area, completed the restoration of the historic African American burial grounds, and began work on Phase I of the Cemetery's East Hill. HOF completed the restoration of the 1908 Women's Comfort Station and completed architectural drawings on the new East Gate for the Cemetery at the corner of Boulevard and Memorial Drive. HOF also began architectural drawings for the 1899 Bell Tower to turn this overtaxed space that currently serves as the Visitors Center, offices, storage, public restrooms, and sexton's office into a flexible programmatic space. In all of its work HOF's restoration department follows the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

Programming/Education - HOF's pilot Title I field trip program welcomed 864 students in 2019, and 2310 students visited on K-12 field trips and in homeschool programs throughout the year. HOF launched Illumine 2019 in the Spring welcoming almost 5000 visitors for a nighttime art event using light to illuminate the untold or hidden stories of Oakland Cemetery. Capturing the Spirit of Oakland sold out in 19 days and welcomed 8,000 visitors to these tours designed to "enlighten not frighten". A visitor study conducted for 2019 confirmed 105,000 visitors visited Oakland Cemetery in 2019 and enjoyed the Cemetery using our self-guided map and mobile friendly website map.

Gardens - HOF's Gardens department completed Phase III of the Jewish Hill area and Phase I of the historic African American burial grounds, added additional staff to the gardens team and provided the opportunity to showcase different cultural landscaping traditions. HOF's gardens department restores and establishes landscape with two main priorities: 1) historical appropriateness, and 2) sustainability. Oakland's gardens reflect the diversity of the Victorian gardening tradition and provide seasonal beauty.