History

The Family: The house was built in 1882-1884 by Julia Moses and Watson A. Bray, for their daughter, Emma, upon her marriage to Alfred H. Cohen, attorney, on February 28, 1884. A. H. Cohen was the son of Emilie Gibbons and A. A. Cohen, the latter also a lawyer. Both families were socially prominent and well-to-do. Watson Bray was a successful commodities broker while A. A. Cohen had in 1863 established the first railroad and ferry system in Alameda County and also served as chief attorney for the Central Pacific Railroad. The Brays bought the land and built the house for the couple. The senior Cohens' completely furnished it ahead of time, allowing the bride and groom to move in on their wedding day after a lavish ceremony at Oak Tree Farm, the Bray mansion [now destroyed] that once stood directly across the street from the Cohen-Bray House.
Oak Tree Farm Estate - Bray Family home
A Noteworthy Structure, Then and Now: The property, listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1975, is an Oakland landmark and unique for a number of reasons. It typifies the Stick style of architecture of the 1880�s and still contains many examples of its original furnishings in the Aesthetic style of Charles Eastlake. The original interior decoration of the house also remains - a quintessential example of the Anglo-Japanese design craze that so caught the fancy of both American and British tastes in the 1880�s. This interior, its most distinguished aspect originally, is all the more remarkable today for having survived intact into the 21^st Century.

Time Has Stood Still at The Cohen-Bray House: Bill O�Brien of the East Bay Express said it best in a 1999 article:

�In the 115 years since the elegant Victorian at 1440 29^th Avenue was built as a wedding gift�the neighborhood has changed considerably. Gone are the grand estates that graced the �Fruit Vale� district back in 1884, replaced by the squat stucco bungalows and featureless apartment buildings typical of lower
middle-class Oakland. Orchards filled with the cherry and apple trees that gave the neighborhood its name have disappeared as well, supplanted by the auto dealers, thrift shops, and restaurants that now line busy International Boulevard.

But even though the newlyweds�wouldn�t be able to recognize the world outside their front window today, they�d have no trouble navigating around the interior of the house. In the parlor, where they often entertained guests, they could sit on the same chairs, still in their original places on the same rug. They could pour tea into cups they received as wedding presents, still stored in the elaborately carved �tag�re transported around Cape Horn for their nuptials. The paintings on the wall, the long dining room table, the books in the library all would have an unmistakably familiar look. In the front hallway, they could consult the grandfather clock that has been keeping time there since Chester Arthur was President.�

Visitors standing today in its halls, parlors, and bedrooms can see a period home with original wallpaper, woodwork, accessories, even heat sources [fireplaces only] as they were for the honeymooners in 1884. This is due in large part to the fact that the house has never been sold out of the family, and descendents of the couple continue to live in the house today. Hence The Cohen-Bray House offers a unique chance to glimpse first hand the life of a house and its family from a century ago, a life that has stretched unbroken through the generations to the present moment.

Origin of the Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland: Upon the death of Emelita Cohen in 1988 the family faced a crisis. Emelita, youngest daughter of the couple for whom the House was built, had lived in The Cohen-Bray House all of her 90 years; she was a formidable, successful advocate for maintaining the House in its original state. What would happen now without this important and unifying individual at the helm? Maintaining the status quo meant dealing also with a structure now more than 100 years old sorely needing upkeep and repair. A decision was made among the heirs to give up private ownership, yet continue to love the house, live in it, take care of it, and most important, preserve it for future generations of Bay Area Californians. They did this by forming a non-profit organization in 1993, The Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland (VPCO), to govern the house, and safeguard its passage into a second century of life.

A wonderful family member and historian Kenneth G. Gilliland 1924-2004.
passed on December 31, 2023 due to a series of illnesses. We will miss his wonderful spirit, his historical recollection and writing about the history of the house. Memorial contributions may be made to the Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland. 5245 College Ave. Suite 145, Oakland CA 94618

�Old buildings are not ours. They belong partly to those who built them, and partly to the generations of mankind who are to follow us. The dead still have their right to them; that which they labored for we have no right to obliterate. What we ourselves have built, we are at liberty to throw down. But what other men gave their strength and wealth and life to accomplish, their right over it does not pass away with their death.� �John Ruskin