10th St, Old City / Produce & Water

This is one of those places in Oakland where the statistics for median household incomes and rental costs from just a few years ago seem not reflect the realities on the ground. For example, the median household income for residents of Old City is listed as around $20K. This would seem to indicate a very poor neighborhood with old buildings and high unemployment. Most of these statistics however are culled from the 2000 census. A simple drive through the streets here, however, reveals a very different kind of a neighborhood. Newer apartments, clean streets, quaint lampposts give one the feel of neighborhood undergoing revitalization. In short, much of this area has been gentrified.

Of course, old problems persist in Old City. Crime rates are high—especially property crime, but that is only to be expected in a part of the city where the economic disparity is so stark. During the day, one feels relatively safe here. The architecture of these newer buildings tells a different story, giving you a sense of the fortress mentality of these new Yuppie keeps. Windows are kept off the ground levels, front doors offer clear lines of sight on approach, and the doors themselves have an extra fortified look to them.

That said, the attractions for the young and well off are obvious as well. The mix of these newer earth toned structures with the pre-World War II brick warrens makes for a compelling eclectic street scene. With a BART station within the neighborhood, the nearby ferry, buses and pay parking, there is certainly no lack of choice when it comes to public transportation.

If that weren’t enough, the neighborhood itself is packed with restaurants and nightspots serving the theater crowd of the adjacent downtown as well as the tourists spilling off of nearby Jack London Square. Notable establishments include the pubs The Trappist (a Belgian Brewery), and Pacific Coast Brewery, one of several local artisan hops joints. Restaurants also offer a wide variety of choices, with Mexican at Tamarindo Antajera, Cambodian at Battambang, and fresh food at the Farmers’ Market Bistro. For dancing there is the AIR Lounge and the several clubs just over the border in Downtown.

In other words, they might as well change the name of this neighborhood to Young and Hip City—times have changed for this pocket of Oakland.