Oakland Ave / Harrison St.

This is a relatively poor, mostly residential neighborhood bordering the western edge of the MacArthur Freeway. The neighborhood is made up of older bungalow style homes, typical of Oakland in general. Some of the homes are actually very well kept and they are kept in a state of authenticity that would make historians and preservationists proud. This is a hilly neighborhood that sloops upward towards the Piedmont area on its western half as it nears the freeway. As you might expect, rents are higher as you near this western edge, as the streets become less flat, get slight views over the city and take on an attractive, very Bay Area feel to them.

The weather in the area is also conducive to those Romantic in spirit, filled with the kinds of fogs and drizzles that make the poetry flow. This, combined with the moderate rents is part of what makes it attractive to students who are often the tenants here—often sharing the homes with other students. There are some stores—but few of them are anything more interesting than auto repair shops or liquor stores as far as I can tell, so I will spare you the blow by blow.

One exception to the usual run down looking apartment buildings and bungalow homes that make up this neighborhood is on the northern end where Richardson Blvd. cuts through Glen View park leaving a series of attractive, older hillside apartment buildings that stare our over the park and over the city on their upper floors. If it weren’t for the noise of the adjacent freeway, this would be sure to be an even more impressive real estate hotspot. As it stands, it is still a pretty good find for those who are not bothered by the highway noise.