JULY 11 MARKS the start of the Summer Walks, sponsored by the Oakland Heritage Alliance. Proceeds from the walking tours benefit the activities of the group, which was founded in 1980 and has been advocating for the adaptive reuse of Oakland's most historic buildings ever since. The summer walks series is in its 29th year, and tour leaders are volunteers who do all of the background research themselves.

Next Saturday's tour is a 2½-hour saunter through historic Mountain View Cemetery. Walkers will meet some of California's early movers and shakers and can view the often-fanciful monuments erected to their memories. The tour begins at 10 a.m. in front of Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Barbara Smith, founder of the tour guide program at Mountain View, and architectural historian Michael Crowe will co-lead the tour.

Other old favorites — back by popular demand, organizers say — are tours through Borax Smith's historic estate near Park Boulevard on July 18, led by Phil Bellman; Oakland's Chinatown on Aug. 9, led by Ernest Chann; and a hike to Leona Heights on Aug. 16 led by Dennis Evanosky. Evanosky also leads the season's final walk on Sept. 20, again at Mountain View, where the focus will be on the extensive research he has done to uncover various Civil War-era denizens who ended up buried there.

Six brand-new tours are offered this year, starting with a close-up view of the Fox

Oakland Theater on July 25, led by Patricia Dedekian and Crowe. This tour is by reservation only and is limited to 50 people.

Also new this year is The Bungalows of Fairview Park tour July 25, which will cover the neighborhoods flanking Alcatraz, between College and Telegraph avenues. The leader of this tour will be author and noted bungalow expert Jane Powell.

Naomi Schiff and Chris Buckley are leading a tour of Oakland's downtown Aug. 1 with an emphasis on proposed changes to rezoning regulations and how this might affect the historic districts. An OHA study group has been working with a coalition of developers, builders and architects for the past year to discuss how potential new infill projects can go forward while still safeguarding older buildings whose character makes downtown unique.

All told, 21 OHA tours are scheduled for this summer, designed to give walkers a renewed and deeper appreciation of our diverse city. The Web site, www.oaklandheritage.org, provides more information. To request a tour brochure, or to make a reservation, call 510-763-9218.

Also continuing this month are the city-sponsored Oakland Tours Program walks. Also led by volunteers, this program has been offering free downtown tours for more than 20 years. A city tour is offered every Wednesday and Saturday, and they continue through October. Preservation Park will be toured Wednesday, led by Renate Coombs. Meet Renate at the park entrance, 13th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and find out how more than a dozen elegantly restored Victorians — now home to nonprofits — came to be located in a beautiful garden setting adjacent to several modern high-rises.

For a listing of downtown walks offered by the tours program, visit www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours or call for a brochure, 510-763-9218.

Reach Annalee Allen at ldmksldy@aol.com.