The bird's-eye lithograph of Oakland, 1893. Bridges at Webster Street and Alice Street span the estuary identified here as "Oakland Harbor". (Courtesy of the Oakland History Room, Oakland Public Library)

By 1900, railroads and transbay ferries had contributed to explosive growth in the East Bay, transforming Oakland and Alameda into thriving cities, with a combined population of 83,500. The oak forest has been supplanted by street grids, and there has been extensive reclamation of marshland. The Alameda Mole and the Oakland Long Warf and Mole extend into the bay. Federal harbor improvements to the estuary (here labeled "Oakland Harbor") are evident in the training walls, reconfigured shoreline, and tidal canal. (Map of the Cities of Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda: George F. Cram, Chicago 1902. Courtesy of the map Room, Doe Library, University of California, Berkeley.)

Port of Oakland, 1923, showing Webster Street Bridge after being hit by a ship. Site of Estuary Park is on the curve of the shoreline.

During World War II the military occupied most of the Port for Oakland's maritime facilities. Beginning in 1941, the Outer Harbor Terminal functioned as part of the Oakland Army Base and in 1943 the Ninth Avenue Terminal was taken over the Pacific Naval Air Basses Command. Only the Grove Street Terminal remained under Port Control.