Tuxedo

Tuxedo is one of those lost communities that no one ever ventures to. Those that do are only passing through to get to the Alameda County Medical Center. The district itself is small, lying just below Highway 580 and wedged in between 14th Avenue and 23rd Avenue. It is a predominately diverse community, attracting African American, Hispanic and Asian families.

The neighborhood is mostly residential, containing a cluster of raggedy apartment buildings and ugly residential homes. It is known for being a typically unsafe, lower middle-class neighborhood, suffering from gritty parking lots and scuffed sidewalks. Houses are blocky and uniform, standing on small lots with small front gardens. Many homes are one-story surrounded by ugly picket fences with chipped off paint. Side yards are usually taken up by narrow and sometimes grassy driveways. However, East 27th Street has the only respectable homes, in which residents actually care about the aesthetic appeal of their houses.

Central Resevoir is one of the biggest outdoor attractions in the area. It is located just east of Tuxedo’s quarters but offers plenty of recreational activity including fishing and kayaking. For children, Manzanita Recreation Center hosts a small playground, an outdoor basketball court and plenty of grassy space for kids to run around.

Street parking is also easy to come by, especially around these recreational areas. Many locals choose to drive to work, considering public transit foregoes this neighborhood.

This is a diverse, densely packed neighborhood boasting a somewhat better selection of homes than many of the other nearby Oakland neighborhoods. The demographics of the area are fairly mixed with a fairly even mix of whites, African Americans and Asians. Despite the fact that the neighborhood is only about one fifth of mile in size, it has nearly 4,000 occupants, making it a fairly densely packed area—as evidenced by the fair number of apartment buildings you come across in this neighborhood.

The buildings in the area, however, are not quite as old as in other Oakland neighborhoods, on average. Sure, it has its shares of pre-War bungalows, but it also has a good share of smallish Ranch style homes in areas, and even a fair number of post 1970 constructions—many of them the boxy apartment buildings that have become so unpleasantly associated with the 70’s. For all we know some may still have the original shag carpet.

The area is definitely leafy and hilly in a way that could be pleasant.

Like most of Oakland, however, the crime rate here is three times higher than the national average, so this is not the safest of neighborhoods. However, given that there is not much nightlife here, there are fewer occasions on which to be victimized. That said, it is always a good idea to stay alert when you are out and not do anything that may put you in a vulnerable position for being robbed or assaulted.

You do see people walking the streets during the day, mostly in small groups or with intimidating looking dogs like Rottweilers or pitbulls. The cars in the area are mostly older models and almost invariably have discolorations on them indicating crashes—I am not completely sure why. Rents here are cheap, so the area may be attractive for students or nurses in the nearby hospital. Crime however will put a damper on any great influx of new blood.