Historic Photo Collection Highlights Park District Events from the 1960s to Early 1980s
Final Martin J. Cooney Photo Collection Released to Mark 90th Anniversary
The East Bay Regional Park District proudly announces the release of Special Events, the fourth and final Martin J. Cooney photo collection released this year to celebrate the Park District’s 90th Anniversary. This historic four-part digital photo collection was researched and curated by Park District Archives staff and volunteers. The collection includes People in Parks, Park Landscapes, Park Workers, and the latest, Special Events. All four Martin J. Cooney photo collections are available to view on the Park District’s Celebrating 90 Years webpage.
The photo collection focuses on the Park District’s special events, ranging from media photo opportunities, public and staff events to groundbreakings and dedications between the mid-1960s to 1981.
“At the culmination of our 90th anniversary year, it gives me great pleasure to share this final time capsule of photos documenting the milestone events and activities during this important era of the District’s growth,” said Archives Program Supervisor Brenda Montano. “We are so fortunate to have this treasure trove of photos to share with the public.”
In 1934, the Park District was able to garner 71 percent approval from Alameda County voters during the Great Depression, when the public may not have been focused on parklands. During the campaign for the vote the Park District garnered interest by sparking public enthusiasm through events like the ones represented in these photos.
In 2016, Martin J. Cooney’s family donated over 15,000 negatives taken from the 1960s to the 1980s to the Park District. Cooney’s commercial studio provided professional photography services to the Park District during that time. While Cooney took some of the photos, most were taken by Nancy McKay, who became his apprentice in 1968 while working in the Park District’s Public Affairs Department and served as its primary photographer for more than 37 years. Additional Cooney photo collections were donated in association with the Oakland Tribune archives and are housed at the Oakland Museum of California.
Visit the Park District’s 90th Anniversary webpage to explore other interactive photo collections, story maps, and online exhibits.
