Oakland

Downtown Oakland is the area towards the lower end of Broadway Avenue, bounded by the I880 on the west, the I980 on the north, and Lake Merrit on the south. It has many architecturally significant historic buildings, as well as some modern high-rises. Amongst the many historic landmarks are the recently renovated Fox Theatre and the Art Deco Paramount Theatre. Downtown Oakland has a bustling Chinatown, which many people prefer to San Francisco’s, as they claim it to be more authentic.

The Oakland Museum, a nationally recognized museum that emphasizes California art, history, and natural sciences, was designed by Kevin Roche and built in 1964. Unlike many modern museums, it is not a monumental structure that can be seen from afar, but rather becomes part of the site, with terraced roof gardens and many other landscaping features. Its location, close to Lake Merritt, between the Alameda County Courthouse and the Oakland Civic Auditorium, makes it very accessible.

Lake Merritt, a fresh and salt-water lake, is a central feature of the city, close enough to downtown to encourage people to walk around or relax alongside it and particularly beautiful at night with its ring of lights. One can rent a kayak or boat at the Lake Merritt Boating Center, spend time at the Children’s Fairyland, or just jog or walk around the lake. Lake Chalet Restaurant located in the recently renovated boathouse right on the lake, has just opened to the public.

The Cathedral of Christ the Light, a glass, wood and concrete structure, recently completed, is not only a place of worship, but also a most unusual, innovative and inspiring piece of architecture right next to the lake.

The Oakland Coliseum, is home to the Oakland A’s baseball, the Oakland Raiders football and the Golden State Warriors Basketball teams with a BART and Amtrak station. It houses many events, besides ballgames, including concerts and fairs.

Rockridge, which has a BART station is adjacent to Berkeley and encompasses the flatlands and the hills. As in Berkeley, the houses in the flatlands tend to be more modest bungalows with grander and many newer houses in the hills as a result of the 1991 firestorm. College Avenue runs through the heart of Rockridge and is filled with all types of stores, restaurants and cafes. A monthly news publication, Rockridge News, is hand delivered to each home. Prices of homes in Rockridge tend to be high, because of the “walkability” to amenities and because of the BART station, which makes S.F. very accessible.

Montclair located in the hills east of Piedmont feels more suburban than Rockridge with a large part of it being heavily forested. The village of Montclair, adjacent to Highway 13 is quaint and accessible and gives the district a small town feel. There is a farmer’s market on La Salle Ave. every Sunday morning. Within Montclair are smaller neighborhoods with different atmospheres, such as the Fernwood area (quaint, mostly older architecture built in the 1920’s and 1930’s) with a creek running through it, large redwood trees and adjacent to freeway 13. The northern part of Montclair was burnt in the 1991 firestorm and therefore contains mostly newer homes. Many of the homes between the village and Skyline Blvd. were built in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s and are on steep slopes.

The Piedmont Avenue district has the same zip code as Montclair but is a very different and very urban neighborhood, much like Rockridge, with a density of houses and apartment buildings. Piedmont Avenue is the main commercial street, which features numerous locally owned small businesses, including shops, bars, coffee houses, restaurants, a movie theater and a many specialty stores. Fenton’s Creamery is a popular local ice cream store, which has been around since 1893. Kaiser Permanente, the Health Maintenance Organization is a large presence in this neighborhood, with many medical buildings and at the east end of Piedmont Ave. is Mountain View Cemetery.

Oakmore and Glenview are adjacent neighborhoods nestled between Hwy.13 and Hwy 580 with small shopping districts on Leimert and on Park Avenue. Most of the architecture in these neighborhoods is from the 1920’s and 1930’s, with generally smaller homes in Glenview.

Crocker Highlands and Trestle Glen, adjacent to the city of Piedmont and bordered by Lakeshore Avenue to the west has a vibrant shopping district at the lower end of Lakeshore and on Grand Avenue and freeway access onto Hwy 580. The Grand Lake theatre, built in 1926 sits at the corner of Grand Ave. close to Lakeshore. The more affluent upland area of Crocker Highlands has tree-lined streets, period lamps, gardens and gracious homes, with a variety of different architectural styles, from Tudors, Arts and Crafts, English Country and Colonials to Art Deco and Beaux Arts.

The Laurel and Dimond districts are both multicultural neighborhoods in east Oakland, where the flatlands meet the hills. A prominent structure that can be seen from afar is the Mormon Temple on Lincoln Avenue and lower down on the same street is the well-respected K-12 co-educational private school, Head Royce. Macarthur Blvd. is the main commercial street that supports both neighborhoods.

Redwood Heights in the hills off Hwy. 13 is a mostly middle-class, integrated residential neighborhood centered on Redwood Road. Because of the good scores of its elementary school, many young families choose to live here. The homes in Redwood Heights like many of the other neighborhoods date mainly from the 1920s-1950s and vary greatly in style, from Craftsman to “Storybook” to Ranch.

Temescal and North Oakland are neighborhoods adjacent to Berkeley and Rockridge. They are primarily residential neighborhoods where most of the houses are early twentieth century bungalows along tree-lined streets. There are also many multi-family homes and mid-size apartment complexes interspersed throughout the neighborhoods. Temescal was an Italian neighborhood until the late 1960s but the demographics has changed in more recent years with many young families moving into the neighborhood, as the real estate prices in nearby Rockridge became less affordable.