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Finding Aid to the Frank Silva Oakland and Alameda Waterfront Photograph Collection
larc.pho.0080  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Availability
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Arrangement
  • Biographical
  • Preferred Citation
  • Scope and Contents
  • Restrictions

  • Title: Frank Silva Oakland and Alameda waterfront photograph collection
    Date (inclusive): 1978-1986
    Creator: Silva, Frank
    Extent: 51 Photographic Prints (b&w; 48 prints, 8 x 10 in.; 2 prints, 24 x 30 in.; 1 print, 4 x 6 in.)
    Collection number: larc.pho.0080
    Accession number: 2018/004
    Repository: Labor Archives and Research Center
    J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
    San Francisco State University
    1630 Holloway Ave
    San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
    (415) 405-5571
    larc@sfsu.edu
    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.
    Physical Location: Collection available on site.
    Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English.

    Availability

    Collection is open for research.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Donated by Frank Silva, 2018 (2018.004).

    Arrangement

    Arranged chronologically.

    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.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Frank Silva Oakland and Alameda Waterfront Photograph Collection, larc.pho.0080, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University.

    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").

    Restrictions

    Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. Photographs are for research purposes only.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Stevedores -- California -- Oakland.
    Stevedores -- California -- Alameda.
    Shipping -- California -- Oakland.
    Shipping -- California -- Alameda.
    Container ships -- California -- Oakland.
    Container ships -- California -- Alameda.
    Waterfronts -- California -- Oakland.
    Waterfronts -- California -- Alameda.
    Photographs.