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Jack London Square and The Oakland Waterfront
The ramshackle wooden wharves of Jack London's day are gone for good, and so are the lawless men who worked on them. The only boats around are trim little yachts, sailboats, ferries and water taxis; the real business of the Port of Oakland is down the estuary, where the giant cranes are. But at Jack London Square the lights still shine on the water, the island of Alameda looks close enough to swim to, and it's easy to forget that you're only two minutes from the semis rumbling down I-880. Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon Jack London Square was originally developed in the '70s into a Ghirardelli Square-type tourist attraction and is in the middle of further changes, with freshly renovated public spaces and a constantly evolving commercial life. The layers of different eras and uses give the area a lot of its appeal; it's a place where '50s coffee shops, turn-of-the- century warehouses, and recent far-out architecture coexist in heterogeneous companionship. The hundreds of new residential units being completed will change the area even further, since population density is the one thing it lacks. When you look at the Square it seems pretty compact; but many of the most intriguing places to go are found in the surrounding streets, where the hurly-burly of the wholesale produce market mixes with restaurants, clubs, businesses, new lofts, and artists living in the remaining cheap-rent buildings. There are some unique, even bizarre businesses isolated among the warehouses, far from the yachts. The Square itself does have some one-of-a-kind treasures, but you have to search among the TGI Friday's and other chain restaurants for them. The other attractions in and near the Square include a good farmers' market on Sundays and an artisan fair on weekends. The restaurants range from fast food to elegant, the music scene is hopping, and with all the bars you can party from one end of the Square to the other. It's as if, somehow, the spirit of those old sailors survives, making everyone on their old turf belly up to the bar and ask for what they like best. | |
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