The ultimate goal is to fully restore the functioning waterworks at the Cascade.
Between the artifacts that were excavated, the photographs we have found, and the morter joint remains, we can construct historically accurate molds to reconstitute the pieces of the Cascade.
The beauty of the 1931 photograph, our love for our neighborhood, the great progress we have made, and the encouraging condition of the Cascade’s foundation suggest the obvious ultimate goal: to restore the Cleveland Cascade to its original flowing-water gurgling vitality!
In March of 2005 the Oakland City Council allocated $300,000 of Measure DD money to the restoration of the Cleveland Cascade. This grant money was administered by the City, in consultation and cooperation with FOCC, to install lighted handrails. PGA Designs suggested using LED lights that would be both effective visually and lost cost. As a result, the Cascade is now usable until later at night for exercisers and walkers and has become an example of how lighting can change the perception of a public park.
We will need to conduct a major capital campaign to complete the restoration.
Our design team has been assembled and they are currently developing the master plan for the site. We are simultaneously working on a Historic Landscape Report, which will be required by Oakland’s Landmarks Advisory Board. Along the way we’ll be holding a series of public meetings to get your input on the project. Stay tuned!
If you’d like to be involved in any way, we need you! Please volunteer or email us.
Our strategy would never have gotten off the ground but for the very generous and major contributions from a local family foundation: the De Long-Sweet Foundation.
Also the very generous folks at the local landscape architecture firm PGA Design have taken a leadership role in putting together a design team. We’ve met with very helpful folks in the City (CEDA and Public Works) to plan the most efficient collaboration between our private efforts and the City’s. Our goal is to produce, and gift to the City, the documents needed for them to put the actual work out to bid.