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Insider's Guide
California’s Only Black Whaling Captain, William Shorey, Lived in Oakland
This West Oakland vintage home housed the only Black whaling captain in Pacific coast history.
Credits: Courtesy POPNA
In West Oakland, a plaque sitting in front of an impressively restored red Victorian commemorates a surprising achievement. The home, originally...
Preservation Park in Downtown Oakland Is an Oasis
Preservation Park is a sorta-secret urban oasis in downtown Oakland.
Credits: Ronald Owens
Downtown Oakland has many virtues — but peace and quiet probably aren’t at the top of the list. At least not with the cars roaring down...
Oakland’s Most Iconic Tree Is Named After A Socialist Firebrand: Jack London (Of Course)
Long before Europeans arrived in the East Bay, oak trees allowed native Ohlone people to exist on this land for thousands of years without agriculture. The annual abundance of acorns provided a source of reliable and easily...
Lake Merritt’s Weird, Polluted — And Stinky — Legacy
Possibly the strangest thing that ever happened on Lake Merritt was Eugene Frey’s test ride atop his “hydromotorcycle.”
The kooky inventor strapped two 14-foot metal canoes under a bike and rigged a...
The Cemetery-Park: Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland is Also a Killer Spot to Jog
Quite possibly the most underrated park in Oakland is not really a park at all.
Founded in 1863, Mountain View Cemetery sits at the top of Piedmont Avenue, and on any given day you can...
Berkeley Is The Original Sanctuary City
President Trump’s vow to eliminate sanctuary cities by withholding federal funds has thrust this controversial topic into the national spotlight. As a growing number of municipalities launch legal challenges to the administration’s immigration crackdown, many media outlets...
Havens for Cinema Junkies: The Legacy of East Bay Movie Houses
It may be difficult to grasp in this era of multiple platforms for screened entertainment, but not so long ago the only way to see a movie — any movie — was to tromp down to the...
