Jack London • bronze statue by Cedric Wentworth

Broadway and Embarcadero, Oakland, California • Jack London spent much of his boyhood on the waterfront that is now Jack London Square. Here, his youthful adventures as an oyster pirate and sailor inspired stories like The Sea-Wolf. Visit the life sized bronze stature of Jack London standing watch over the waterfront at the foot of Broadway, created by artist Cedric Wentworth. – From the website of Jack London Square.

Jack London Square includes the famous Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, listed by the National Park Service on the National Register of Historic Places on September 1, 2000 (#00001067).

• To the left of Heinold's you see a wonderful mural depicting several stages of Jack’s life. To the left you see Jack and Charmian in front of the Winery Cottage welcoming guests to their estate. Then we see him standing at the steering wheel of the Snark. It is followed by an oval which displays the Wolf House as it was days before the fire. Over a view of Jack London Square as seen from the estuary hovering over Jack’s motto: The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. The famous wolf can be seen to the left of the hut Jack lived in during his Alaska years. – From Walter Schweikert's Bay Area Murals.

• Steeped in maritime lore, Jack London Square is one of Oakland’s most identifiable landmarks and a symbol of the city’s history as a seaport. Fronting a natural estuary leading to San Francisco Bay, the site was the heart of Oakland’s port operations, linking the industries of shipping and agriculture. It remains a vibrant working waterfront.

Jack London (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American author who wrote The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and The Sea Wolf along with many other popular books. A pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first Americans to make a lucrative career exclusively from writing.

In an introduction to a collection of stories, he wrote:

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

London made notes for future books while sitting at the tables of Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon, built in 1883 from the timbers of a whaling ship. Now a National Literary Landmark, Heinold’s preserves its rustic character from an earlier era when it was frequented by eminent politicians, statesmen, authors, and artists, as well as humble sailors shipping out to sea. Adjacent to Heinold’s, a recreated model of the cabin Jack London lived in during his time spent in the Yukon is available for viewing. – From the website of Jack London Square.

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Taken in: United States / California / Oakland / Jack London Square (show map)

Taken on: December 14, 2013

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bronze statue

Jack London

The proper function of man is to live, not to exist

to live, not to exist

literature

John Barleycorn

Tales of the Fish Patrol

writer

First and Last Chance

George Heinold

Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon

National Park Service

NPS

National Register of Historic Places

NRHP

#00001067

09/01/2000

waterfront

architecture

Jack London Square

Port of Oakland

Embarcadero W

Oakland, California USA

Oakland

California

USA

94607

Don Shall

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Sets appears in: • + Oakland, California USA

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