small photos of the house, stained glass, the entryway, teacups and lace clothing.

The Cohen Bray House is a unique Victorian house in Oakland, California with original interiors, historic collections, a period garden and ongoing preservation and restoration projects you can be a part of. We offer monthly tours, special teas & tours, speaker programs, school programs, and other community events.

Come visit us to adventure into the past and see how one prominent East Bay family live in Fruitvale from 1884 to present. Most historic houses try to recreate the decorations, colors, furniture and feelings to give their homes an historic appearance. The Cohen Bray House is an unaltered original, never needing guesswork to display the past.

The Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland is run by volunteers and is supported by memberships and donations. You can help us restore and save the house and its contents.

We welcome you to get involved and become part of something bigger for the future.

—volunteer, donate, become a member, and join our email list.

Take a drone tour of the house

Read our Newsletter

The Cohen Bray house is important.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as the Alfred H. Cohen House and designated an Oakland Historic Landmark in 1978, the Cohen Bray House represents what is left of the fortune of two prominent Bay Area families from the Gold Rush era. Mismanagement and embezzlement changed those fortunes. The house and property are all that remain on the original 200 acres of the Bray Estate in the Fruitvale District. The homestead was established by W.A. Bray in 1862 and was called Oak Tree Farm. The Cohen Bray house remains complete, filled with its original contents and interiors from 1884. The furniture, family possessions, clothing, china and original carpets are too fragile for the house to be a museum; therefore, we are a study center for everyone who loves antiques, furniture, light fixtures and Victorian architecture of the late 19th century. Here is a rare and unique opportunity to study and learn about the Cohen Bray family's life from 1884 to the 1980s. The house is full of all the original contents since the time of its construction, including items from the estates of their parents' houses, long ago dismantled. Join us to protect this gem of a house and property. It takes a community to save a house.

stained glass around a square glass panel with a bluebird and branches painted on it.

The House and Property

The three-story house is a hybrid of architectural style. 1883 Stick-style Victorian architecture is prominent in the front rooms. Rooms in the rear of the house were remodeled in the Craftsman style after the damage from the 1906 earthquake. The house has 17 rooms, five fireplaces, Eastlake-style curly redwood paneling which is ornately carved, pocket doors, Pottier & Stymus and Herter Brothers furnishings, stained glass, and original wallpapers and carpeting. The property also includes a half-acre garden. It is complete with native trees, fruit trees, seasonal vegetables, hops, wildflowers, beehives, rose bushes and other ornamental plants. In 1865, this property was originally the asparagus patch of Oak Tree Farm Estate before it was gifted to W.A. Bray's oldest daughter, Emma. He built her the Cohen Bray House on the property as a wedding present. A.A. Cohen, her father-in-law who lived in Alameda at the Fernside Estate, provided the house with the most modern high-end furnishings that money could buy in 1883. The income that maintained the house diminished substantially in 1925. This historic house unlike other houses is not supported monetarily by funds from a dedicated trust or government funding. The descendants agreed that this house and contents are an irreplaceable time capsule. In 1994, they willingly donated the house and created the Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland (V. P.C.O.) as a 501(c)3.

Eastlake style door knob elaborate style with a star

Why are my membership/donations needed?

The Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland (V. P.C.O.) is a 501(c)3 organization. The house, contents, and the remaining 1/2 acre property are tax-exempt, and eligible for grants, bequeathments, and donations. This status enables the V.P.C.O. and its members to restore and to preserve the house and grounds for the future. We are a volunteer organization and 100% of the donations go directly into maintaining the house and property. Becoming a member of the Victorian Preservation Center of Oakland provides us with a budget each year and is the best way to ensure the preservation of this unique home and property for future generations. The large buildings across the back of the property now offer us an opportunity to become more sustainable into the future. We are using part of the building space as a workshop to repair the 85+ wooden windows and doors. 30 are completely rebuilt so far by volunteers and Mark, our caretaker, who lives and works on the property with his wife, Elizabeth. We are contacting skilled retired craftspeople to teach/help with projects. Refine your DIY techniques, and learn what parts the pros should do. We can use the back buildings to teach and practice the crafts of preservation and restoration while we share our work on the house. We are looking for fundraisers and funding to upgrade these back buildings. We want to be a resource to the community by providing training and scholarships for individuals from our neighborhood. Join us with your funds, time and talent and help us keep this rare piece of California history together and moving safely toward the future. Friends, please support us through your membership! Join or renew today! You are helping us survive.