Frank Silva Oakland and Alameda waterfront photograph collection
Scope and Contents
This collection contains photographs of longshoremen at work and Oakland and Alameda waterfront environs from 1978 to 1986 taken by longshorman and photographer, Frank Silva. Silva's images document a significant period of change from break cargo handling to mechanized containerization and the advent of globalization. Silva's subjects are the men he worked alongside and the machinery and equipment used on the docks. Shipping companies shown include Maersk Line, Matson Line, Johnson Line, and Blue Star Line. Locations include Encinal Terminals; Howard Terminal; Marine Terminal; Kaiser Yard; Matson Terminal, and Piers 5, 6, and 7. The collection contains two 24 x 30 inch prints which are duplicates of two 8 x 10 inch prints ("Linesman" and "RoRo Lasher").
Dates
- 1978-1986
Availability
Collection is open for research.
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. Photographs are for research purposes only.
Biographical
Frank Silva was born in Oakland, California, and began working on the Oakland waterfront in 1965 after serving in the US Navy. While working on the docks in the 1970s and 1980s, Silva was part of the Waterfront Writers and Artists, a group of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) members who held poetry readings and art shows celebrating dock work and the union experience. Silva photographed the Oakland and Alameda waterfronts from 1978 through 1988 and some of his photos were printed in The Waterfront Writers, published by Harper and Row in 1979.
Extent
51 Photographic Prints : (b&w; ; 48 prints, 8 x 10 in.; 2 prints, 24 x 30 in.; 1 print, 4 x 6 in.)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains photographs of longshoremen at work and Oakland and Alameda waterfront environs from 1978 to 1986 taken by longshorman and photographer, Frank Silva. Silva's images document a significant period of change from break cargo handling to mechanized containerization and the advent of globalization. Silva's subjects are the men he worked alongside and the machinery and equipment used on the docks.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Location
Collection available on site.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Frank Silva, 2018 (2018.004).
- Container ships -- California -- Alameda.
- Container ships -- California -- Oakland.
- Photographs.
- Shipping -- California -- Alameda.
- Shipping -- California -- Oakland.
- Stevedores -- California -- Alameda.
- Stevedores -- California -- Oakland.
- Waterfronts -- California -- Alameda.
- Waterfronts -- California -- Oakland.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Frank Silva Oakland and Alameda Waterfront Photograph Collection
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Wendy Welker.
- Date
- 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Labor Archives and Research Center Repository
San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco 94132-1722 USA
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu