I say that for two reasons. First is the new down town area. The city has done a lot to clean up the area. The buildings and the streets have been cleaned There are outdoor cafes as and a nice plaza by city hall and another one by 12th street BART. In this area you can see two very attractive landmarks. The first one is city hall. Oakland's city hall was built in 1914 and is considered a Beaux Arts masterpeiece. It was damaged in 1989 by the Loma Prierta Earthquake. However, city planners took this as a chance to restore (and retrofit) the neglected building. I feel that it is quite building attractive. The second is the modern federal building with a bridge connecting its towers together. I took these pictures on a midwinters day where the sun was at the right angle to cause a reflection of these two buildings on the shiny skyscrapers next to them. (A news paper just ran some photos of Oakland with a reflection of the tribune building on the sky scrapers )
The second reason why I encourage a day trip to Oakland is for the old city. It is quit attractive if you know where to look yet at the same time quite depressing to see its beauty clearly neglected. Many of the old buildings were ornately carved in various styles. The Fox Theater was the center piece of old Oakland with its Morish arches and design. Alas, it fell into neglect after the 1940's and you see what 60 year of abandonment has done. Another highlight of "old" down town Oakland is the Tribune Building, which can be seen from the plaza near the federal building. Lastly, close to downtown Oakland is also a set of old, turn of the century Victorian homes that have been restored. The place is called Preservation Park. Some of these buildings are where they stood at the turn of the century. Others were moved to make way for a freeway. I've included those photos on an additional page. Please be sure to see part 2.
I hope you like the photos. If you happen to be taking Bart from S.F. to Berkeley on your trip, hop off and take a quick look down town. While it is not San Francisco, Oakland has the potential to be an attractive city, if you know what to look for.
Please e-mail any comments to
Each photo is a thumbnail. Click on the photo or select the title to view in higher resolution
