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Home , Berkeley Hills, Downtown Oakland, East Bay, Gourmet Ghetto, Shattuck Avenue, Solano Avenue

berkeley neighborhoods & nearby communities

BERKELEY NEIGHBORHOODS apartment buildings, and the neighborhood is dotted with Victorian farmhouses that were SOUTHSIDE: A bustling, student-oriented the original dwellings in the area. area adjacent to south campus. Bookstores, record stores, cafes and restaurants abound. WESTBRAE: A quiet, residential neighborhood is a main feature with its just north and west of the North Berkeley colorful street vendors. Student housing is BART station, the Westbrae area consists of relatively plentiful in Southside. small homes, duplexes and fourplexes. A highlight is a specialty produce store that ELMWOOD: Just to the south of Southside attracts shoppers from all over Berkeley. Easy is the Elmwood district, which can be found access to BART and the campus makes this a by following College Avenue away from popular area. Tennis, jogging track, pool and campus. Elmwood is a charming mix of small playground are nearby at the local middle apartment complexes and large homes. Gift school and are open to the public. shopping is a delight, and there are many restaurants featuring international cuisine. OCEANVIEW: The outlet stores, specialty cal rentals There is also a popular movie theater. shops and restaurants along the popular Fourth Street area make this formerly sleepy 2610 Channing Way CLAREMONT: A neighborhood consisting place of small homes and light industry into a Berkeley, CA 94720-2272 primarily of grand, expensive homes and few bustling, lively street scene. Hours: rentals. The typical Claremont rental might Monday–Friday, be an “in-law” apartment in someone’s house, NORTHSIDE: This area directly north of campus 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., excluding or a room in a private home. The Claremont is a contrast to the bustling Southside area. official University holidays area is generally characterized as the area Quiet by comparison, Northside boasts several surrounding the Claremont Resort and Hotel. student coops and charming apartment Web site: buildings interspersed with large, single family calrentals.berkeley.edu SOUTH BERKELEY: West of the Southside, homes. The main street is Euclid Avenue, Elmwood and Claremont districts and south which features a small grocery store and shops e-mail: of Dwight Way is an area generally known as and restaurants. [email protected] South Berkeley. This area, in addition to West Berkeley and the Westbrae neighborhoods, is NORTH BERKELEY AND THOUSAND : Phone: where the most affordable housing is likely If you hear the term “,” it’s (510) 642-3644 to be found. Small, single-family bungalows, referring to this North Berkeley area of north duplexes and fourplexes are featured on the . Here you’ll find gourmet tree-lined streets. Cute cafes, antique shops food shops and, of course, the famous and the Ashby BART station with its weekend restaurant, , among others. flea market in the parking lot are part of the Thousand Oaks continues the North Berkeley South Berkeley scene. theme through the Solano Tunnel and down with many restaurants, cafes DOWNTOWN BERKELEY: While “downtown” and bookstores frequented by local residents. can be found just a block from the West This is a popular area for young and old. Entrance of campus, continue a few more blocks westward and you will find tree-lined NORTH : The Berkeley Hills, streets with a mix of apartments and houses. north of Northside and east of North Berkeley Many students live in this area and enjoy its and Thousand Oaks, is an area of winding, hilly convenience to downtown BART, movies, streets and stately homes with bay views. This restaurants and the campus. is one of the most expensive areas for housing and is bordered by Tilden Park, an enormous WEST BERKELEY: South of University stretch of Regional Park. Buses serve this area Avenue and west of Sacramento Street is during the day and early evening, but the the area known as West Berkeley. Modest steep terrain and lack of nearby shops most single-family homes are interspersed with often require a car for getting around.

university of , berkeley • residential and student service programs berkeley neighborhoods & nearby east bay communities

OAKLAND: A Selection of Areas ALBANY: Albany is a small city to the north This metropolis stretches to the south of Berkeley and west of Berkeley. This is a town of mostly and offers a variety of neighborhoods that are owner-occupied, small, single-family houses extremely commutable to campus by bus, bike and some rentals. It is also home to a large or BART. Oakland features a major “Chinatown” complex of University-owned Family Student area and an attractive waterfront with shops, Housing (call (510) 642-4109 for information). restaurants and movie theater in Jack London Solano Avenue, with its movie theaters Square. There is also service to San and many shops and restaurants, travels Francisco. Popular Oakland neighborhoods for through Albany and into the Thousand Oaks students are: neighborhood of Berkeley. Albany is a quick bus or bicycle ride to campus. ROCKRIDGE: One of the most popular Oakland neighborhoods, Rockridge features KENSINGTON: Just to the north of the North the convenience of a BART station with trains Berkeley hills lies the small community of that go directly to and buses Kensington with its many homes similar to cal rentals and bicycle routes that lead directly to the UC the homes in the Berkeley Hills. Students may 2610 Channing Way Berkeley campus. Bookstores, gourmet shops, find “in-law” type apartments, shared housing Berkeley, CA 94720-2272 flower stands and bakeries characterize this or room rentals in Kensington, and much of neighborhood. Houses and apartments tend Kensington is an easy commute by bus, either Hours: to be expensive to rent due to the desirability on The Arlington or Colusa Avenue. There is Monday–Friday, and accessibility of the area. a small grocery store and other shops on The 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., excluding Arlington. official University holidays NORTH OAKLAND, PIEDMONT AVENUE AND : These three popular EL CERRITO: El Cerrito is to the north Web site: areas contain a lot of rental apartments and of Albany and conveniently situated for calrentals.berkeley.edu houses and some of the most attractive and commuting. El Cerrito South, with its focus affordable housing in the East Bay Area. around the El Cerrito Plaza and BART station, e-mail: Much of North Oakland is easily accessible is two BART stops from campus. There are [email protected] to campus, either by a short bicycle ride or a many affordable apartments in this quiet, longish walk for avid walkers. The Piedmont clean, small town. Phone: Avenue area is attractive with its many shops, (510) 642-3644 restaurants and movie theater. Lake Merritt is a gem in the middle of , with its jogging paths and surrounding parks.

THE CITIES OF EMERYVILLE, ALBANY, KENSINGTON and EL CERRITO

EMERYVILLE: Emeryville has recently emerged as a major area for shopping and entertainment. Outdoor shopping malls, a major Cineplex, a club and new apartment housing have made Emeryville come alive in the past decade or so. The city runs free shuttle buses to BART stations and around town.

, berkeley • residential and student service programs