Downtown Oakland Historic District

Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay Area, and the eighth most populated city in California. With a population of 440,646 as of 2020, it serves as a trade center: the Port of Oakland is the busiest port in Northern California, and the fifth busiest in the United States of America. An act to incorporate the city was passed on May 4, 1852, and incorporation was later approved on March 25, 1854. Oakland is a charter city.Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. In the late 18th century, it became part of a large rancho grant in the colony of New Spain. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco. The fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the population, increasing its housing stock, and improving its infrastructure. It continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry.

The Diocese of Oakland (Latin: Diœcesis Quercopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern California. The diocese comprises Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Cathedral of Christ the Light serves as the bishop's seat, replacing the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales which was demolished after the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. Once a part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Diocese of Oakland remains a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province governed by the metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco. Its fellow suffragans include the dioceses of Honolulu, Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Stockton. The patron saints of the Diocese of Oakland are Mary, Queen of the World and Saint Francis de Sales.

Downtown Oakland is the central business district of Oakland, California, United States; roughly bounded by both the Oakland Estuary and Interstate 880 on the southwest, Interstate 980 on the northwest, Grand Avenue on the northeast, and Lake Merritt on the east. The Downtown area is sometimes expanded to refer to the industrial and residential Jack London Square and Jack London warehouse district areas, the Lakeside Apartments District, which are a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lake Merritt, the Civic Center district, Chinatown, and the south end of Oakland's Broadway Auto Row, an area along Broadway which has historically been used by car dealers and other automotive service businesses. While many consider these areas outside of downtown proper, they are generally considered more geographically proximate to Downtown Oakland than to East Oakland, North Oakland or to West Oakland and are thus sometimes associated with Downtown Oakland.

The Oakland East Bay Symphony (OEBS) is a leading orchestra based in Oakland, California. Michael Morgan held the position of music director and conductor from September 1990 until his death in August 2021. The Paramount Theatre has been the home of the Symphony since 1995. Bryan Nies has been Associate Conductor since 2002. The Symphony presents six programs of music during the season.

Frank H. Ogawa Plaza is a public square located in Downtown Oakland.

The College of California was a private college in Oakland, California. It is the predecessor of the University of California public university system.

Lincoln University is a private university in Oakland, California. It enrolls over 500 students in undergraduate and graduate level programs in business administration, as well an English language program, certificate programs, and bachelor of science degrees.

The Tribune Tower is a 305-ft. (93 m), 22-story building located in downtown Oakland, California. Built in 1906, tower erected in 1923, the 89,251 sq.-ft. (8,291 sq.-m.) building was the tallest building in Oakland constructed in the 1920s. It is currently the 11th tallest building in Oakland. The architecture of the tower, much like The Campanile on the UC Berkeley campus (officially the Sather Tower), was inspired by St Mark's Campanile in Venice, Italy. The building was opened by Joseph R. Knowland on January 1, 1924, as the home of the Oakland Tribune newspaper, and is a symbol of both the Tribune and the city of Oakland.

Kahn's Department Store, also called The Rotunda Building, is a historical seven story Beaux-Arts architecture building in downtown Oakland, California. The Kahn's Department Store was built in 1912. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1989. Some of the noted features of the building are the 120 foot high elliptical dome, with a 5,000 sq. foot floor below, a grand staircase, columns and terrazzo floors. The 167,000 square feet Kahn's Department Store was designed by Charles W. Dickey for Israel Kahn (1822–1883). Israel Kahn came from Germany to New York City and then to San Francisco in 1877. The original Kahn's Department Store was at 12th and Washington. Israel Kahn founded the Kahn's Department Store in 1879. The store was successful and in 1923 the building was expanded on the northeast corner, to 385,000 Sq. feet. In 1949 two partial levels were also added. The name of the store change in 1960 to the Rhodes Department Store and in 1975 changed again to the Liberty House store. Liberty House store closed in 1983 and remained vacant. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake did major damage to the building. The building was sold in 1991 to the Oakland Redevelopment Agency, with plans to restore and update the building and some adjacent buildings. The Oakland Redevelopment Agency and Rotunda Partners II, LLC partnered for the restoration in 1998, with Rotunda Partners buying the building in 1999. After a three-year renovation at a cost of about $50 million, the building reopened as The Rotunda Building office building. Kahn's Department Store is also an Oakland Landmark #132 listed on April 9, 2002.

12th Street/Oakland City Center station is an underground Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located under Broadway between 12th Street and 14th Street in Downtown Oakland, adjacent to the Oakland City Center. It is the second-busiest BART station in both Oakland and the East Bay (just after 19th Street Oakland), and the 6th busiest BART station overall, with a daily ridership of approximately 13,900 in February 2020.The station has three underground levels, with tracks on the second and third levels. It is served by the Richmond–Millbrae+SFO line, Berryessa/​North San José–Richmond line, and Antioch–SFO+Millbrae line, as well as by AC Transit buses on the surface. Oakland City Center/12th Street station opened in 1972 as part of the first section of BART. In 1980–1986, the KE Track project added the third track to the station. From 1992 to 2002, and 2004 to 2010, it was the timed transfer point between northbound trains. Tempo bus rapid transit service began in 2020.

The Bank of America Building, also called Oakland Bank Building and Oakland Bank of Savings, is a 69 m (226 ft) high-rise located in downtown Oakland, California. The building was originally constructed with nine floors, and the 18-story tower was annexed later. It was built as a headquarters for the Oakland Bank, which was acquired by Bank of America in 1929.

Oakland City Center is an office, shopping and hotel complex in Downtown Oakland, Oakland, California. The complex is the product of a redevelopment project begun in the late 1950s. It covers twelve city blocks between Broadway on the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Way on the west, Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on 14th Street on the north side of the complex and the Oakland Convention Center and Marriott Hotel extend south to 10th Street. An hourly parking garage is located beneath the complex's shopping mall. The mall features an upscale fitness and racquet club, in addition to numerous take-out restaurants and other stores. The complex is served by the 12th Street/Oakland City Center BART station.