West Oakland - Oakland, CA Area Guide

The last stop on the First Transcontinental Railroad, West Oakland has served as a port for travelers and cargo for almost 200 years. The neighborhood housed a diverse community of immigrants and newcomers to California, who often found employment in the nearby ship or rail yards. Post-World War II, the neighborhood came to be known as an African-American cultural haven and earned the nickname the "Harlem of the West" for its blues music.

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake changed the neighborhood drastically, both taking the lives of 42 residents and destroying a freeway that ran through the heart of the neighborhood.

History lovers return to the African-American Museum and Library time and time again, located on the east side of the I-980 freeway, close to downtown Oakland.

Anyone with a love for the Wild West should visit the Annual Black Cowboy Parade and Festival, a yearly celebration of African-American culture on the frontier, featuring horse rides, food and more 10-gallon hats than you can shake a lasso at.

West Oakland's relatively low rent attracts a diverse group of restaurants looking to ply new and inventive cuisines in a less capital-intensive market. Due to the mixed-use nature of West Oakland, you won't have to head to a certain avenue to find the culinary heart of the neighborhood. Many intriguing eateries dot the landscape evenly.

10th And Wood, named for intersection at which it resides, serves the neighborhood with hearty Southern-influenced sandwiches and breakfast fare. Customers rave about the fried chicken sandwich. Be sure to order the sweet potato fries as well.

Fusebox, located in the northeast portion of West Oakland, attracts customers with a thoughtful mix of Japanese, Korean and other Asian cuisines. Take a seat in their minimal indoor dining section, or enjoy the open air in their heated patio area. While Fusebox has few constant menu items, as most of the menu is made up of daily specials, customers love the KFC, or Korean Fried Chicken, served daily. Order lots of plates, as they run small, and bring a friend along to share.

Get a soul food fix at the Brown Sugar Kitchen, another highlight of Oakland's Southern-influenced establishments. You can do no wrong ordering one of Brown Sugar's po' boy. Regulars particularly love the fried oyster version.

West Oakland hides away a few watering holes and clubs within its mostly residential confines. The Continental Club, located just a few blocks from 10th and Wood, serves drinks in a friendly atmosphere every night and often hosts local and touring rock bands for those looking for a live music fix. Sports enthusiasts can find kindred spirits at the JK Brickhouse, a lively sports bar in the southeast corner of West Oakland. Downtown Oakland, located just across the I-980 freeway to the east, holds a bevy of nightclubs, including the Fox Theater, a historic venue, and the Penelope, a classy cocktail bar.

Most locals bike or drive around West Oakland, though many walk to destinations easy to get to on foot. Public transportation expands your travel radius greatly. The East Bay's Alameda County Transit, or AC Transit, serves multiple bus lines to West Oakland, and Bay Area Rapid Transit, or the BART, as most call it, has a station in the southwest portion of West Oakland.

Hailing a cab may come with some difficulty in the more residential West Oakland areas, so you'll likely need to call ahead for a pickup. Uber also provides service to West Oakland.

Drivers find parking in West Oakland to come fairly easy, and few spots charge any sort of fee. Those traveling through West Oakland by car also enjoy easy access to several freeways. The 980, 580 and 880 interstates all lie within a 10-minute drive of any part of West Oakland.

West Oakland provides bike lanes on some avenues. Oakland houses a high number of bike commuters, but riders should still exercise some caution riding in West Oakland, especially at night.

You can enjoy the outdoors in Raimondi Park and Lowell Park. Raimondi contains a kid-friendly playground and a baseball field. The field costs nothing to use, but you may reserve it ahead of time for a fee. While it doesn't contain a dog park, dog-owners can walk their dogs on the fields when not in use.

Lowell Park contains a baseball field, but has no specific dog or children-friendly facilities. Like Raimondi, this park also does not have specific exercise facilities. The park also plays host to the annual Umoja Festival, a celebration of the African diaspora in West Oakland.

Renters looking in West Oakland find prices to be lower than the city average. Median rent for a one-bedroom residence costs about $830. You can reach downtown from West Oakland on the BART system for only $1.85 and on an AC Transit bus for $2.10.

A beer costs around $6, and gas prices run about 22 percent higher than the national average.

Shopping establishments mix in next to residencies and restaurants in West Oakland. The mixed-use neighborhood spreads its shopping evenly throughout the streets, so shoppers looking for a central shopping district head to Oakland's other neighborhoods. West Oakland tucks away shopping gems, however, and while no high-value stores exist in the boundaries, you can find some community-minded commerce on its streets.

Cyclists love Bikes 4 Life, a social justice-focused organization that uses profits from its full-service bike repair shop and store to donate bikes to communities unable to afford bikes. Jewelry hounds flock to Rare Bird for a wide selection of handcrafted, locally-made jewelry.

The Smart and Final in Old Oakland, Chinatown grocers, and the Pak N Save and Safeway in neighboring Emeryville to the northwest serve the neighborhood with its main grocery store needs. The Mandela Foods Cooperative, located a block away from the BART station, offers a smaller selection focused on sustainability. Several small community farms grow limited crops. On Fridays, farmers' market lovers can visit the Old Oakland farmers' market, located just across the freeway.