Downtown Oakland facts for kids
Downtown Oakland is the main business area of Oakland, California, in the United States. It's located near the Oakland Estuary and Lake Merritt.
Sometimes, people include other nearby areas when they talk about Downtown. These include Jack London Square, which has industrial buildings and homes, and the Lakeside Apartments District, a neighborhood by Lake Merritt. The Civic Center, Chinatown, and part of Broadway Auto Row (where car businesses used to be) are also sometimes linked to Downtown. These places are closer to Downtown than to other parts of Oakland.
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Culture in Downtown Oakland
Black Cowboy Parade
Downtown Oakland hosts a special event each year called the Black Cowboy Parade. This parade celebrates the black cowboys who helped settle the American West. It's the only parade of its kind in the nation.
The parade usually starts in early October. It begins at DeFremery Park in West Oakland and travels to Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. Here, judges pick the best participants. After an awards ceremony, the parade returns to DeFremery Park for a celebration.
What You'll Find in Downtown Oakland
Downtown Oakland is a busy place with many things to see and do. People live in apartments and condos here. There are also many shops and modern office buildings. You can find older, historic buildings with different uses.
Downtown is a major hub for public transportation. Both AC Transit buses and BART trains serve the area. It also has Oakland's official Entertainment District. This area includes the historic Paramount and Fox Theatres. You can also find nightclubs and many restaurants. The main office for the company Clorox is also located here.
Part of Downtown Oakland is the oldest section of the city. The area near the Oakland Estuary was where Oakland first began. You can still see some 19th-century houses around the edges of Downtown and in Chinatown. The Oakland Museum is located on Oak Street, close to the southeastern part of Downtown.
Getting Around Downtown Oakland
Streets for People
Frank H. Ogawa Plaza is a city park and a "pedestrian plaza." This means it's mostly for people walking, not cars. Some streets that used to have cars now have been changed for people to walk through. For example, parts of Washington Street and 13th Street are now part of the Oakland City Center development. This area is like an outdoor shopping mall with walking paths that follow the old street layout.
BART Subway Stations
Three subway stations for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) serve Downtown Oakland. These are 12th Street/Oakland City Center and 19th Street. Both are on the Broadway subway line. The Lake Merritt station is in the eastern part of Chinatown.
AC Transit Buses
AC Transit operates many bus routes that go through or start in Downtown Oakland. These buses help people travel within Oakland and to other cities in the Bay Area.
There are different types of AC Transit routes:
- Local Routes: These buses travel within Oakland and nearby cities like Berkeley, Alameda, and Emeryville. Some routes, like the 1T, have special lanes for faster service.
- Transbay Routes: These buses connect Downtown Oakland to San Francisco.
- All-Nighter Routes: These buses run late at night when BART subway service stops. They help people get home safely. Many of these routes meet near 20th Street and Broadway in Downtown Oakland.
Many AC Transit bus stops are located near Broadway and 12th Street, close to the 12th Street BART station. There is also the Uptown Transit Center on 20th Street, which is connected to the 19th Street BART station. This center has bus shelters, seating, and signs that show when the next bus will arrive. You can use a Clipper card to pay for rides on AC Transit and BART.
Future Gondola Project
The Oakland Athletics baseball team has suggested building a special gondola lift in Downtown Oakland. This gondola would travel along Washington Street from 10th Street to Water Street in Jack London Square. It would help fans get to the team's future ballpark in Jack London Square. The plan is for the gondola to carry about 35 people in each cabin. It could move up to 6,000 people per hour. This project might be finished by 2023.
Historic Areas
The Downtown Oakland Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. This means it's a special area with many old buildings that are important to history.
Other historic areas in Oakland include Old Oakland, the Lakeside Apartments district, Preservation Park, and the Waterfront Warehouse district.
Education in Downtown Oakland
Colleges and Universities
Laney College is located on Fallon Street, near the Lake Merritt BART station. It has over 12,000 students. Other schools include Lincoln University, a business school, and a downtown office for Cal State East Bay. Oaksterdam University is also in Downtown Oakland. It teaches students about working with medical hemp.
The first campus of UC Berkeley was once located in Downtown Oakland. The main office for the entire University of California system is currently in Downtown.
Schools for Kids
Lincoln Elementary School is one of the few public elementary schools in the downtown area of a major U.S. city. It's located near the edge of Downtown, close to Chinatown. The Oakland School for the Arts, a special public school, is building a new facility around the Fox Oakland Theatre in Oakland's Uptown Oakland area.
Images for kids
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Downtown Oakland view from Lake Merritt
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Oakland City Center as seen in 2018
