Lake Merritt
2013.09.08
Oakland's "jewel" is this lake bordering downtown, a popular place for a lunchtime or after-work walk or run. Earlier this year, they completed some streetscape and design improvements to enhance ped and bike access to the lake, including a new bridge and improved walking and running trails.
First, we start off above street level with a contextual overview. This is looking southeast over the Lakeside neighborhood. In the distance is the Oakland Estuary and Alameda.
Looking down Webster Street, along the eastern edge of Downtown Oakland:
Lakeside is sometimes called "The Gold Coast", and there are some beautiful historic buildings here.
A relatively new addition to the Lakeside area is this condo tower, The Essex (2001). Behind it is the expanse of Lake Merritt and the dense residential neighborhoods along the eastern shore.
The condo tower at street level:
On the eastern shore of the lake is 1200 Lakeshore, an older building of luxury apartments. They recently remodeled, so it actually looks like a fairly modern building now.
West of the lake is the up-and-coming Uptown, where residential blocks haved sprouted up after Mayor Jerry Brown's "10K" compaign to build 10,000 new housing units in Downtown Oakland.