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About the
Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland

The 501(c)3 non-profit Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland was founded in 19xx. Contrary to what the name might suggest, the VPCO is not a traditional historical society. The VCPO was founded by descendants of the Cohen-Bray family in order to preserve the historic house, grounds, and artifacts within. We hope to one day be more fitting of our name by offering workshops focused on restoration and preservation, but in the mean time we focus our energies on taking care of our collections and the historic house they reside in.

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About the
Cohen Bray House

While the Cohen Bray House was a wealthy estate when it was built in 1884, embezzlement and mismanagement of the family's assets resulted in a more modest lifestyle for family members starting in 18xx. The house was spared from the ensuing legal issues thanks to the fact that it was no longer an asset of W. A. Bray, having been gifted to his daughter Emma and her husband Alfred Cohen for their wedding. This legal specification saved the house from leaving the family and the lack of funds meant that the family never did extensive renovations to the interiors leaving a treasure trove of original artifacts.

 

Learn more about the history of the house here.

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Mission Statement

The Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland—Cohen Bray House and its historic garden, Oak Tree Farm, is a community resource for establishing and maintaining connections between the past and the present. By sharing its historical collections and grounds with our diverse community of neighbors, local schools, higher learning institutions and historic preservationists, we allow people to find similarities and bridge differences to create vibrant, healthy communities.

Goals

        In carrying out our mission we strive:

  • To play a vital role in the ongoing intellectual and cultural life of our community by maintaining close partnerships with existing local health centers and community organizations;

  • To  become more sustainable by developing a learning and training center in the back buildings for people who want to take workshops to learn specific building trades associated with preservation and climate resiliency for existing buildings, which goes hand-in-hand with architectural preservation; 

  • To share our garden and back buildings with the local community as a community gathering space;

  • To serve as a community resource for local schools by offering tours of the house and grounds that enhance California State Curriculum;

  • To use the garden as a resource for teaching environmental education and sustainable urban agriculture;

  • To make the house and its collections available to visitors, researchers, and museum study programs;

  • To maintain and preserve the buildings and grounds known as the Cohen Bray House (built in 1884 for Alfred H. Cohen and Emma Bray);

  • To preserve the house’s collections of archival documents, photographs, furnishings, textiles, and other objects according to the highest attainable professional standards;

  • To foster appreciation of historic preservation activities, historic architecture, and local history;

  • To operate as a not-for-profit study center according to the highest ethical and professional standards.

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