"Members of the community at large are invited to tour the club, and we will have docents staffing each room to offer historical information," says Mary Lou Weggenmann, an event organizer.

Longtime Oaklanders may remember the building by its original name -- the Women's Athletic Club. According to Library History Room files, early founders had definite ideas of how they wanted their club building to look when they first came together in 1926.

The lakeside location they had selected seemed to speak of the French Riviera, say the files, and it was this romantic notion that evidently dictated the structure's architectural style. Lead architect Charles Roeth came up with a French chateau for the women's group, said to be inspired by Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon. The 5-story clubhouse was completed in 1929.

During the 1920s, other notable (some would say grandiose) club buildings emerged in Oakland, becoming centers for social and athletic activities. There was the baronial Athens Athletic Club on Clay Street, between 12th and 13th streets, and the equally impressive Elks Lodge, designed in the so-called High Gothic style, located at Broadway and 20th Street. Locally prominent architect William Knowles designed both structures, built primarily to serve the prominent businessmen of the day.

Numerous news clippings, photographs and renderings remain in the History Room to recall this long-ago era, although both the Athens and the Elks Lodge have long since passed from the scene.

The venerable Bellevue Club carries on, offering a variety of daytime and evening events and activities to members and guests in the meticulously maintained landmark. "The club's name officially changed in 1991," says Weggenmann, and memberships are now available for men as well as women.

Appearing to be eligible for the National Register for Historic Places (according to Cultural Heritage Survey files), the club building has been designated by the city as a primary contributor to a local historic district. The historic Bellevue-Staten Apartment District is part of the three blocks located on the lake side of Grand Avenue.

"Visitors will see our fitness center, indoor pool, conditioning salon as well as our drawing rooms and dining facilities," says Weggenmann. Also on display will be memorabilia from the club's active past. More information is available at the Web site, www.bellevueclub.org, or by calling 419-3529.

The month of March is also "Art IS Education" month throughout Alameda County, and many of the arts exhibits feature the work of young people, on view well into April. Artwork from the Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA) Project YIELD, and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center are on display at the State Building's gallery, 1515 Clay St.

"We are also featuring 'the Children of Oakland,' a series of portraits by photographer Marianne Thomas, for Harbor House Ministries," says gallery curator DiAnne Love. Harbor House is a 30-year-old nonprofit organization located in the San Antonio neighborhood.

The interdenominational Christian organization came up with the idea of depicting the wide variety of ethnicities of children living in Oakland. The project resulted in a book that is for sale to benefit the many social service programs offered at the community center, says Love, who staffs the State Building gallery in partnership with Oakland's Cultural Arts and Marketing Department.

Located in a large 1907 Colonial Revival style house at 1811 11th Ave., Harbor House Ministries has a Web site, www.hhministries.org that lists its wide range of services.

The "Our World: The Children of Oakland" exhibit will be on view at the State Gallery through April 30. A free walking tour on April 6, sponsored by the Oakland Tours Program, will include a visit to the gallery. Call the Oakland Tours Program, (510) 238-3234, for more information.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email