Appendix D: West Oakland Walk by Philip Banta, AIA with Norman Hooks, AIA particular combinations of public park space, 1 WEST OAKLAND WALK public service structures and historical legacies as those enjoyed by the city of Oakland, and fewer The West Oakland Walk is an urban design still have them arranged in patterns that can be concept intended to leverage existing city assets so easily linked. The parks have been long into a “social circuit” for walking, biking, organic established; the civic and institutional buildings gardening, exercising and socializing, all have been serving the city for decades; and the activities that build sustainable communities. streets that connect these assets exist now. In The West Oakland Walk would knit together the capital investment or parks and public places of Central and West private property condemnation and Oakland by improving a 4.5 mile loop of existing compensation is required for the idea of the West city streets and sidewalks into an urban Oakland Walk to take shape. Along its pathway greenway, running East – West from Lake Merritt all the elements that make a city great are in at the center of the city to Central Station (16th place waiting to be laced together through a Street Train Station area) at its western edge (see simple process of giving identity to the route. Figure D-1). The West Oakland Walk would bring inter-related Along this greenway loop are 23 parks, the downtown, many of the city’s most • Reuniting West and Central Oakland across historic buildings, four BART stops and seven the 980 Freeway divide, freeway entrances and exits. The parks, the • Reinforcing the Community with an urban building and the streets exist now, so there is no design event that celebrates the history and place of each neighborhood it passes idea to take shape. The West Oakland Walk through, (W.O.W.) is a “found” design that is intended to help transform the way people see and use • the world as a coherent network of Parks, substantial in-place public and private Places and People. infrastructure with a single large-scale geometric stroke. Parks Starting at the western perimeter of the city, the The Parks Map of the West Oakland Walk (see West Oakland Walk travels eastward along 14th Figure D-2 most visible public Street, across Freeway 980 until it reaches open spaces that touch the Walk or are within its Lakeside Drive, then a short leg up to 19th St. orbit. These spaces include: where it continues westward, jogging down to • 18th St., back acre Ernie Raimondi Park, leg of Wood St. where it reconnects with 14th. Few downtown cores are endowed with the • the swimming pool and tennis courts of the 9.5-acre DeFremery Park, • the baseball diamonds of the 8.75-acre Lowell Park, 1 Project description and graphic information for The West Oakland Walk provided by Philip Banta, AIA with Norman Hooks, AIA, copyright BETA, Inc. West Oakland Speci c Plan D-1 I-580 I-80 (to Berkeley & Napa) I-580 SF 30th St. Bay I-980 27th St. Harrison St. I-80 (to San Francisco) I-880 Lakeshore Ave. Lakeshore Broadway Telegraph Ave. San Pablo Ave. Uptown W. Grand Ave. Oakland 15 ac. 23 ac. 20th St. WestW St. 19th St. BART 4 ac. 18th St. 19th St. 10 ac. 14 ac. 2 ac. Central 10 ac. Downtown LakeLake Merritt Station Merritt overview 0.9 ac. City Oakland e. 14th St. Hall Lakeside Dr. West Oakland 0.7 ac. West Av Oakland Walk ore Wood St. h by Philip Banta, AIA with Norman Hooks, AIA 10 ac. Lakeshore© Ave.Beta, Inc. th St. 0.8 ac. 12 12th St. BART 14th St. 1.8 ac. th 12th St. 11 St. 16 ac. 1.5 ac. 1.5 ac. 10th St. 10th St. I-980 Jack London Sq. King Jr. 1.5 ac. Lake Merritt y. Martin Luther Market St. Market St. w Adeline St. Adeline th St. 1.5 ac. 1.5 ac. Wood St. 7 Willo I-880 Mandela Pkw Mandela I-880 Peralta St. I-880 West Oakland BART 3rd St. Jack London Sq. Embarcadero Port of Oakland Raimondi Park Mandela Pkwy DeFremery Park Marston Campbell Frank Ogawa Plaza Snow Park Fairy Land Lakeside Park Splash Pad Park Lake Merritt I-580 I-80 (to Berkeley & Napa) I-580 SF 30th St. Bay I-980 27th St. Harrison St. I-80 Francisco) (to San I-880 Lakeshore Ave. Lakeshore TelegraphTe Ave.Ave Fairy Lakeside Broadway Land Park W. Grand Ave. San Pablo Ave Uptown Central Station y Mandela Parkway 20th St. Peralta Park ve Snow e. WestW St. 19th StSt. BART 18thh St. 19th St. Raimondi r. Marston Campbell D parks Centraln DeFremery Downtown Lake de Stationta si Merritt City Oakland Willow Park ke Hall Frank H. Ogawa Plaza La West Oakland Walk West OaklandO 144th St. ood St. by Philip Banta, AIA with Norman Hooks, AIA W ©Beta, Inc. Lowell Lakeshore Ave. Wade Johnson 12th St. 12th12thS St.t BARTBART 14th St.Peralta th Lafayette Square 11th St. 12 St. Willow Lincoln Square I-880 Memorial Park 10th St. B roadway 10th St. I-980 Madison Square King Jr. Lake Merritt . y y y Memorial Park Martin Luther Market St. Market Jefferson Square Harrison Square Adeline St. Adeline th St. Wood St. 7 Willow St. I-880 Peralta St. Pkw Mandela West OaklandOaklan BART I-880 Bertha Port 3rd St. Jack Londononn Sq. Crescent/South Prescott Wade Johnson Embarcadero Estuary Park Port of Oakland Bertha Port Park Lowell Park South Prescott Lafayette Square Jefferson Square Lincoln Square Harrison Square Estuary Park Madison Square Appendix D: West Oakland Walk • the connection to the Bay Trail along the • the Alameda County Superior Court Building richly landscaped Mandela Parkway linear • the Chinese Presbyterian Church, park, • the Oakland Museum of California, • the Frank H. Ogawa Plaza at the heart of • the Scottish Temple, Oakland’s civic center, • the Camron-Stanford House, • the numerous recreational and botanical options of the 75-acre Lakeside Park • the Cathedral of Christ the Light, encompassing the historic Lake Merritt and its • the Fox Theatre, wildlife sanctuary, • the Oakland Ice Center, • the children’s Fairyland, Splash Park and the • the Paramount Theatre, and Bonsai and garden center Japanese gardens, and • the Grand Lake Theatre. • the majestic trees and putting green of the In addition, there is a host of private structures of 4.2-acre Snow Park. signicant historical interest, both commercial and residential, that can be found throughout Within the vicinity of the West Oakland Walk are the entire circuit of the West Oakland Walk, along the original ve squares of Oakland - Lafayette, with numerous modern structures of Jeerson, Lincoln, Madison, and Harrison (the architectural note. These “places” serve a full Chinese Garden Park) - in addition to Peralta Park gamut of political, cultural, educational, business, that connects to the Oakland Estuary Park. This entertainment and spiritual interests for the extraordinary collection of open spaces, community. providing both passive and active recreational activities represent the “green living rooms” of the city of Oakland. People One dimension not normally accounted for in the Places establishment of any urban design improvement is the history of the people who come from the Equally impressive as the list of parks is the contiguous communities. The recognition of registry of public and private buildings (see notable individuals and groups originating Figure D-3), many of them designated as among the communities which the circuit passes historical landmarks including: would be an integral part of establishing the • Central Station Terminal, identity of the West Oakland Walk. Oakland has been the place of origin, education and practice • the DeFremery House, for numerous well-known contributors to all • The West Oakland Senior Center, walks of life, and the West Oakland Walk presents • Lafayette, Lincoln and Prescott Elementary an opportunity to celebrate their lives as a record Schools, for current and future residents and visitors to • West Oakland Middle School, Oakland, a record of the human potential of the community. • Preservation Park, • Oak Center, The maps ag special persons recognizable to both immediate and wider communities, state- • the First Unitarian Church, wide, national and, in some cases, even global • the African American Museum and Library, (see Figure D-4 and -5). The method of • Oakland City Hall, recognition can vary from traditional brass plaques to GPS triggered biographies delivered • the State and Federal Buildings, on the spot to smart phones. • the Rotunda Building, • the Cathedral Building • the Central Library, West Oakland Specic Plan Page D-5 West Oakland Lafayette Elementary African American Oakland School of Oakland Veterans Central Station West Oakland Library Senior Center School Museum and Library City Hall Oakland Ice Center the Arts Fox Theatre Fairyland Park Memorial Building I-580 I-80 (to Berkeley & Napa) I-580 SF 30th St. Bay I-980 27th St. Harrison St. I-80 (to San Francisco) I-880 Lakeshore Ave. Lakeshore Telegraph Ave. Fairyy Lakesidee Broadway Land PPark W. Grand Ave. San Pablo Ave. Uptown Mandelae ParkParkway 20th St. Snow e. WestW St. 19th St. BART 18thh St. 119th9th StSt.. Raimondi Marstona n Camppbell Central DeFremeryy Downtown Lake places de Station Merritt City Oakland Hall Frank H. Ogawa Plaza Lakeside Dr. West Oakland Walk West Oakland 14th4 St. ood St. by Philip Banta, AIA with Norman Hooks, AIA WoodW St. ©Beta, Inc. Lowell Lakeshore Ave. th Waade Johnson 12 St. th 12th St. BART 14 St. Peralta 12th LafayetteLafayq Square 11th St. St. Willow Lincoln Square I-880 Memoriale Park Pa k 10th St. Broadway 10th St. I-980 Madisonn Square King Jr.