Although initial development in the larger Bay Area focused on San Francisco , the coastal East Bay came to prominence in the middle of the nineteenth century as the part of the Bay Area most accessible by land from the east . The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 with its western terminus at the newly constructed Oakland Long Wharf , and the new city of Oakland rapidly developed into a significant seaport . Today the Port of Oakland is the Bay Area 's largest port and the fifth largest container shipping port in the United States . In 1868 , the University of California was formed from the private College of California and a new campus was built in what would become Berkeley . The 1906 San Francisco earthquake saw a large number of refugees flee to the relatively undamaged East Bay , and the region continued to grow rapidly . As the East Bay grew , the push to connect it with a more permanent link than ferry service resulted in the completion of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
East Bay