Adams Point, Oakland

residential with diverse, blue-collar families making up the majority of the population. Many of the residences are two-story stucco homes or old, mid-size apartment buildings with plain or blemished features. If you’re looking for nicer and more attractive homes, look towards the northern end of Adams Point.

Adams Point aesthetic appeal is somewhat of a work-in-progress. Many of the locals enjoy the tall palm trees and other bushy shrubbery that are peppered along the sidewalks. Locals take advantage of the abundant street parking considering many of the driveways are short and narrow.

For business, restaurants line Lake Merritt’s northern edge while ground floor retail shops cluster around Grand Avenue Street (just outside of Adams Point). The neighborhood is also conveniently located to Downtown Oakland and its public transit system. 12th Bart and 19th Street Bart Stations are within walking distance to the community while buses run along Broadway Street periodically.

Locals typically take advantage of the lakeside front and the many amenities that come with it. Joggers run around the narrow cement path that wraps around the lake, while others use the exercise equipment that lines the parkland. During the night, decorative lights are strewn across tall poles, illuminating the lakeside pasture. On the south end of Adams Point lies Children’s Fairyland, a small park that holds events for children.

Adam’s Point is a densely packed lower middle class neighborhood on the northeast side of Lake Merritt. It stretches up from the lake into the hills at one of the prettiest spots along the lake, just Lakeshore Blvd. This is at the spot that is right by the Lakeside Park.

Adam’s point has a lot of apartments. It is, in fact, four times more packed than your average Oakland neighborhood because of the high density of apartments, and the residential high rises near the lake.

This neighborhood, like much of Oakland, has also undergone gentrification, as is evidenced by businesses like Gold’s Gym and Whole Foods. Overall, however, the neighborhood has kept its diversity, being fairly evenly divided in terms of numbers of African Americans, Asians, Latino’s and Whites. In fact, this is one of the main selling points of the neighborhood.

A number of good restaurants take advantage of the lake side location and make their homes here on Grand Avenue. Here are some of my favorites. ZZA’s Tratoria is a smallish Italian place that features what they call “home-made” Italian food and a fine wine bar. They also cater events, so keep them in mind next time you have an event. If you crave something a little bit more off the beaten track, you might try Enssaro Ethiopian. And if you would prefer a Mediterranean buffet, Bacchesso might be the place to try. There are also restaurants like Milano Spretto, Coach Sushi, and Ahn’s Burgers.

If you are okay with living in an apartment in a very crowded area, this is actually a pretty cool place to live. You can jog at the lake in the morning, be anywhere in the East Bay or the city in less than an hour via public transportation, and be within walking distance of a number of nightspots. Perfect for twenty somethings just out of college.