West St, Crockett

Crockett is a really charming little town up by the Carquinez Bridge. It is built around the C&H Sugar plant which in part accounts for all the nearly hundred year old buildings that grace the sloping town of Crockett.

I came here to take a look at just such a studio in one of these older buildings. Old is definitely the word to describe it. You do feel as if you are in a Depression era costume drama here. From the cold tiles to faded paint to some kind of old musty smell, this place definitely reminded me of my grandpa.But with rent for this studio as low as $650, it is very tempting.

West Street is a fairly typical Crockett street. It ends at the C&H plant on its bottom end where the old building is that I went to see. As it climbs its steep 3 blocks there are some nicer, though still old, homes. It is really a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the homes have old faded wooden boards and just look like they would be a nightmare in terms of upkeep. Other homes have beautiful French style windows and terraces that probably have great views of the brick factory and rusty old bridge as backdrop. West has no sidewalks and lots of very leafy trees that partly droop onto the roadside--a bit of charmingly unkept look in spots.

You are fairly close to the freeway here, but the commute from this area is pretty awful from what I hear from those in Rodeo and Hercules. That is the main problem with this location. Whatever savings you might get in terms of rent, you would lose due to the high costs of the commute.

Overall, it is an okay spot and you definitely can’t beat the price, but with the need to commute it would probably not be worth it.