Civic Center

This is the home of Pixar Studios—that you probably know for their animated films: Toy Story, Wall-E, Bug’s Life and Up. It is definitely the most famous company in Emeryville and one of the most famous of the Bay Area. Many people may be surprised actually to find out that this company is in Northern California and not by Hollywood. But the Bay Area does have a tradition for mixing high-tech and film making—you need only think of George Lucas and Skywalker Ranch on the other side of the Bay.

This is, however, only one part of the bustling commercial neighborhood. It is an area jam-packed with stores and restaurants. If you are into unusual Fifties Diners, I recommend Rudy’s Can’t Fail Café—very good for burgers and fries and for unusual décor. If you like a good gourmet pizza, try Arizmendi Bakery and Pizzeria on San Pablo—its just outstanding stuff.

As far as night spots go, one of the more unusual places is the Oaks Card Club where you can go to have some card sharks take you for all you’re worth. (Actually, there are limits on how much you can bet because of a city ordinance—but they’ll take you up to that limit.) The Oaks Club is actually a real throw back to the early 20th Century when Emeryville, believe it or not—was called by the then governor and future Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren the “dirtiest city in California” and he didn’t mean because of the slaughterhouses that used to inhabit Gaskill. The security guards keep things kosher here, so no need to worry about things getting out of hand.

There are also a handful of gyms in this neighborhood—Alameda Athletic Club, East Bay Badminton Association and East Bay Pilates.

One of the more idiosyncratic stores in the neighborhood is Folkmanis Inc., a toy store featuring hand-crafted puppets.

And if you are looking for someone to cater your wedding and you got the dough, try Paula Leduc—she has her store in the neighborhood as well.

Oh yeah, and the Emeryville city offices are here too—but with so many creative distractions you are unlikely to even notice them as you fork over your taxable legal tender—just the way they like it.