Spikes

The road to paradise runs through the East Bay. In 1869, Oakland became the final stop on the transcontinental railroad, its future sealed in steel. A few months earlier, the famous "golden spike" had been driven into a track in Utah, linking the Union and Central Pacific tracks, and creating a nonstop path across the continent. The railroad made all of California's industry possible — a journey that once took months could now be completed in under a week.

California's gold rush was over, but passengers still surged West in the hopes of finding their fortunes where the rails met the Pacific. When they disembarked in Oakland, their journey was over, and their future began. A new city was forged in steel, and adopted its strength and resilience. Steel can be recycled without losing any of its original strength, which made it the perfect material for a booming new city. Eventually, the original tracks fell into disrepair, and the rails were dug up and re-purposed into other industrial landmarks. Today, Oakland's rails, bridges and cranes still symbolize the end of the line — and the beginning of a new adventure.