Piedmont Ave. District in Oakland, CA

Piedmont Avenue District

For those of you reading this who do not live in the East Bay, you should know up front that the Piedmont Avenue district is not part of the nearby City of Piedmont. They are close to each other, but worlds apart.
The Piedmont Avenue district is a lovely stretch up Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue from MacArthur Boulevard up past Pleasant Valley Avenue to the historic Mountain View Cemetery, bounded by Broadway to the north and Oakland Avenue to the south. But don’t worry; the cemetery is not the neighborhood’s main industry and employer. Ironically, that honor would probably go to the flagship Kaiser medical center, newly remodeled and modernized.

Shopping & Dining

Along the avenue is a beloved collection of shops and restaurants, many in the neighborhood for generations. While there almost any need to can be met retail-wise on this street, from bikes to babies and from yarn to yoga, there is a good number of stops for the reader in all of us. Longtime favorite Black Swan Books has many rare items, Spectator Books has something for everyone, and Dr. Comics and Mr. Games is heaven for comic book fans. And, don’t forget the great local branch library!
Would you be surprised that there are about 4 dozen places to eat in the neighborhood? Classics like Bay Wolf, Cato’s Ale House and Fenton’s Creamery (as seen in the Pixar animated hit Up!) continue to pack them in, along with hot newcomers Dopo for great Italian, Adesso for one of the best happy hours in the east bay, and Park Avenue Grill for a terrific burger and one-of-a-kind cocktails.
Or indulge your inner gourmet and go shopping at the venerable Piedmont Grocery and cook up your own fest at home.
Recreation is a kick in the Piedmont Avenue district. Believe it or not, the cemetery offers great architecture by Frederick Law Olmstead and Julia Morgan, plus excellent hiking opportunities and some of the best views of the bay you can find.
Go discover hidden Glen Echo Creek, peacefully hidden just on the other side of MacArthur, or wander the Oakland Morcom Rose Garden. Finally, catch a flick at the nearly 100-years-old Piedmont Theatre, featuring the newest independent and foreign films.

Transportation

BART

There are many choices of public transportation from this home. There is the popular Rockridge BART Station and the Macarthur BART Station, both offer parking and are situated on AC Transit Bus lines. Some local employers offer door to door shuttle service from these BART Station, like Lawerence Berkeley Labs, Alta Bates Hospital, and Kaiser Hospital.

Bicycle Boulevards

Berkeley, CA sports some of the best bicycling amenities anywhere in the U.S. They are called Bicycle Boulevards - and are essentially bicycle priority streets - where thru traffic is diverted from the neighborhood and traffic calming is plenty.

Bus

A.C. Transit has bus service on College Avenue, Broadway, Piedmont Avenue, and Telegraph Avenue just to name a few.

Car

You are close to the freeway (Highway 24, 13 and 580), so travel to all parts of the Bay Area is quick and easy. Downtown Oakland, Jack London Square, Emeryville, and Berkeley are all close and convenient.

Casual Carpooling

There are 2 different pick up points near by for casual carpooling to San Francisco. Carpool riders are dropped off at the Trans Bay Bus Terminal near the Financial District.

Schools

Click here for the map from the OUSD School-Finder

Temescal Neighborhood in Oakland

Temescal Neighborhood in Oakland, CA

When we picked up a friend from San Francisco at the MacArthur BART station recently, we asked her if she wanted to grab some lunch in the neighborhood, the neighborhood known as Temescal. “Yeah!” she exclaimed. “I hear everything cool in the East Bay is happening in Temescal!”

That very well may be. If you are from San Francisco, like our friend, think of Temescal as similar to the Valencia Street corridor: cool restaurants, fascinating boutiques and galleries, vibrant culture, a dizzyingly diverse group of people, and just a lot of fun.

Temescal radiates out from the intersection of Telegraph and 51st Street in North Oakland, just south of the Berkeley border. Right at that corner is Bakesale Betty, one of the eateries most associated with the recent Temescal revival. Perhaps it was their sinfully delicious fried chicken sandwich that started the revolution? If the line is too long, try the lines at Dona Tomas, Pizzaiolo or Genova Deli before they those lines get too long. Not in the mood for food? Check out the recently renovated Studio One Arts Center. A great way to sample the neighborhood is at the annual Temescal Street Fair each June.

The neighborhood originally sprang up around the Temescal Creek in the mid twentieth century, when it evolved from a working class Italian neighborhood into the eclectic celebration of diversity and culture that it is today. Maybe this is why This Old House just called Temescal one of the best “old house” neighborhoods in the country! Because of its background, the area is populated with adorable single-family bungalows, mostly in the Craftsman style. Due to its close proximity to Rockridge, Berkeley and BART, the Temescal neighborhood has held its real estate values well.

Speaking of BART, Temescal is a very pedestrian-friendly neighborhood, thanks to being smack dab in the middle of two convenient BART stations. There is also the Telegraph Avenue RAPID bus line, among other offerings from AC Transit. Plus, there are bike lanes galore and it is very flat and walkable. You would be surprised how close you are to everything in Temescal!

Are we saving the best for last? Perhaps. Some people consider the Temescal Farmer’s Market to be the best one in the area (yes, even better than that big one in the City at the Ferry building). Yet, some of you in the audience think that the Temescal Pool is the best thing in the neighborhood, especially with Temescal’s warmer micro-climate. Let’s enjoy them both and decide later.

5748 Ivanhoe Rd Rockridge, Oakland, CA 94618

Broker, Ron Kriss presents

5748 Ivanhoe Rd

Rockridge, Oakland, CA 94618

Offered @ $1,500,000

New Listing: Stunning Romantic Mediterranean Revival Amazingly Preserved in Perfect Period Condition

This is a rare opportunity to own an amazing Storybook Mediterranean Revival Home in the Heart of Rockridge. There are very few homes in the area offering so much period architecture and all in nearly perfect condition. The exterior architecture tells you it is special. The front courtyard confirms it. The bubbling fountain is the focal point leading you to the wood & wrought iron front door. Once inside, you'll be stunned by the entry way with its soaring ceiling, tiled floors and sweeping stairways. The Mayan calendar inlaid in the tiled floor is truly unique.

The living room and its details are equally dramatic. There are wide planked and plugged oak floors, soaring vaulted ceiling with hand hewn beams and wood work, the fireplace set in the corner, unique windows and recessed bookshelves, original light fixtures and metal curtain rods. Of course, there is room for a grand piano and still plenty of space for all the furnishings. The patio door opens to the front courtyard for easy access while entertaining.

The formal dining room has a sunny view of the entry courtyard and patio doors, too, completing the circle of access. Hand-hewn beams complement the living room and have original hand stenciling. Pass thru the cozy breakfast nook on your way to the kitchen. This kitchen is understated and is a very beautiful marriage of old and new; new appliances, new soap stone countertops w/built-in dish drainer and sink. The cabinets are old school and very beautiful with cool features; slide-out storage in the panty and the very unique built-in step stools so everyone can reach the top of the upper cabinets. There is easy access to the backyard, too. There is a cozy bedroom and bath with period tile still in place. The final kicker is the Grand Family Room. This is always the space missing from other homes in the area built in the 20s. We love the homes, but where do we hang-out? Well, with a room big enough for a real party, a fireplace and separate access to the yard, you could not ask for a more modern feature in a historic home.

As you ascend the stairway to the 2nd floor, you can appreciate the antique light fixture, the intricate ceiling detailing and metal work of the railings and windows. There is room to display your favorite art on the walls. The stairway makes a stop at the bedroom floor, but also takes you to the upper balcony. It's an intimate space, but how pleasing to look upon! The bedrooms and bathrooms offer a myriad of configurations. Two large bedrooms share the master bathroom making your choice of a room to sleep in difficult. The front bedroom has 2 closets and 2 balconies while the back bedroom overlooks the backyard, has a big walk-in closet and a cozy enclosed back porch, perfect for reading or penning your thoughts. The 3rd bedroom is sunny and bright with a changing room and private bathroom. Two things we need to discuss here: bathrooms and storage – the bathrooms defy my descriptive powers (and believe me I describe a lot of bathrooms,) and there are 8 big closets in addition to the spacious closets that grace each of the bedrooms. How modern is this? No tiny 1920's closets in the whole house!

Okay the back yard and other such nice things. The backyard is very special. It is fenced and has a nice grassy place to play, a beautiful brick fireplace and BBQ. There is a patio to enjoy a summer day while the kids can race up and down the gated driveway. There is still more storage in the potting shed and a real 2 car garage completes the picture. Of course, the sewer has been done recently and the termite is next to nothing. Proving that all the past owners have not just lived here, but loved and cherished living here - You can be next!

Rockridge Neighborhood

Neighborhood Resources

• Chabot Elementary School

• OUSD School-Finder

• Montclarian Rockridge Story

• Rockridge Newsletter

• Rockridge Community Planning Council

Rockridge is Oakland's Premier Shopping and Dining District. College Avenue, the main commercial area of Rockridge, is always alive with people and activity. There is so much to see and do here, it is hard to describe the experience as anything else except 'very satisfying'. College Avenue supplies all your basic needs, like coffee, supermarkets, cleaners, coffee, burgers, pizza, coffee, banks, and did I mention coffee.

Coffeeshops

Yes, there are coffee purveyors on College Avenue (NO STARBUCKS YET! for good or bad). At last count there were probably 8 major coffee houses on College Ave. And there is great debate over which is best. I suggest a simple rotation plan, so as to spread the coffee dollars around evenly and also avoiding getting into a rut.

Dining

Besides a lot of coffee, College Avenue supplies all the food and drink that anyone could want or need. There are more places to eat out than I care to count. Basically, you can find any kind of meal you want. From the fast and inexpensive to the 'you better have a reservation to get in' and everything in between. Some local favorites are; Rocky's Burgers, Purple Pepper Pizza, Garabaldis On College, La Creme De La Creme, Pizza Rustica, Obelisque, Citron, The Rockridge Cafe, Pasta Pomodoro, Cactus Taqueria, Crepevines, Eve's Hunan, Olivetos, Olivetos Cafe, Juiceys, Zachary's Pizza, Barney's Hamburgers, Iso Bune, and The Original Noah's Bagel Shop. Wow, that's a lot of restuarants. You could eat out for the first 30 days you live in Rockridge and never repeat a restuarant. Also available on College Avenue are a number of fine drinking establishments. Again, you can choose from micro brew pubs to the old Irish pub.

Market Hall

For a lot of people, Market Hall represents the life blood of Rockridge. It is located at the main crossroads, College Avenue and the Rockridge BART Station. Besides having 8 of the areas finest specialty food shops, set in an open indoor market, Market Hall is the place to go and meet your friends and neighbors. It's also great for picking up tonight's fresh dinner ingredients on your way home from BART.

Temescal Farmers' Market

Centrally located just blocks from Rockridge BART, Rockridge and Temescal. Open Every Sunday from 9 AM to 1 PM.

Local Parks

Lake Temescal

Lake Temescal is located about a half a mile from College Ave. There are plenty of activities for everyone here, swimming at the sandy beach area, fishing, hiking, biking, 2 play areas for the kids, picnic spots, and lots of clean Oakland air. This is one of Rockridge's hidden jewels.

61st St. Toddler Park

This toddler park is hidden away in a quiet part of lower Rockridge on 61st Street between Colby and Canning. There are great shade trees and plenty of lawn space for a game of tag and a picnic lunch.

Hardy St. Dog Park

A great place to play with your dog and his buddies.

Transportation

BART

There are many choices of public transportation from this home. There is the popular Rockridge BART Station and the Macarthur BART Station, both offer parking and are situated on AC Transit Bus lines. Some local employers offer door to door shuttle service from these BART Station, like Lawerence Berkeley Labs, Alta Bates Hospital, and Kaiser Hospital.

Bicycle Boulevards

Berkeley, CA sports some of the best bicycling amenities anywhere in the U.S. They are called Bicycle Boulevards - and are essentially bicycle priority streets - where thru traffic is diverted from the neighborhood and traffic calming is plenty.

Bus

A.C. Transit has bus service on College Avenue, Broadway, Piedmont Avenue, and Telegraph Avenue just to name a few.

Car

You are close to the freeway (Highway 24, 13 and 580), so travel to all parts of the Bay Area is quick and easy. Downtown Oakland, Jack London Square, Emeryville, and Berkeley are all close and convenient.

Casual Carpooling

There are 2 different pick up points near by for casual carpooling to San Francisco. Carpool riders are dropped off at the Trans Bay Bus Terminal near the Financial District.

North Oakland Neighborhood: 94608

North Oakland Neighborhood

People are keenly interested in making sure their neighborhood has a name. But what about those streets that could be Rockridge or Temescal? Try calling it Baja Rockridge! And those boundaries between the Golden Gate and Santa Fe districts can be hard to define. For those who live between downtown Oakland and Berkeley and just want to avoid the debate, you can just proudly proclaim that you live in North Oakland.

North Oakland is the macro neighborhood name for the northern portion of Oakland, and includes such well-known neighborhoods as Rockridge, Piedmont Avenue, Temescal and Golden Gate. There are some neighborhoods that are so specific, like Idora Park, that the public at large isn’t even aware of them.

Neighborhood Values: Sustainability & Ecclecticism

What is great about using North Oakland is that catches the best of each of those neighborhoods, and all the good stuff that falls in between. North Oakland includes such unique places as green sustainable Nomad Café on Shattuck, the wonderfully eclectic Ace Ellis Hardware on Martin Luther King, and the White Horse Inn on Telegraph, which is the second oldest LGBT bar in the country. And there are street fairs and farmers markets galore!
A great way to keep up with everything going on in North Oakland is to bookmark OaklandNorth.net, a project of the journalism school at UC Berkeley. Their up-to-the-minute coverage often rivals the major dailies, especially on stories of great interest to North Oaklanders.

Great Weather

From its Mediterranean climate, with warm days cooled off by bay breezes, North Oakland is situated perfectly within the Bay Area.

Accessible Location

Not only is it close to Berkeley and Emeryville, but San Francisco is a quick BART ride away. And Highways 580, 80 and 24 point you in the right direction when you need to get out of town. North Oakland is quite flat in most areas, making it very bike-friendly, and there are car-sharing programs when your bike-basket isn’t big enough.
Why not call North Oakland home? Many of us at Lawton Associates do!

Transportation

BART

There are many choices of public transportation from this home. There is the popular Rockridge BART Station and the Macarthur BART Station, both offer parking and are situated on AC Transit Bus lines. Some local employers offer door to door shuttle service from these BART Station, like Lawerence Berkeley Labs, Alta Bates Hospital, and Kaiser Hospital.

Bicycle Boulevards

Berkeley, CA sports some of the best bicycling amenities anywhere in the U.S. They are called Bicycle Boulevards - and are essentially bicycle priority streets - where thru traffic is diverted from the neighborhood and traffic calming is plenty.

Bus

A.C. Transit has bus service on College Avenue, Broadway, Piedmont Avenue, and Telegraph Avenue just to name a few.

Car

You are close to the freeway (Highway 24, 13 and 580), so travel to all parts of the Bay Area is quick and easy. Downtown Oakland, Jack London Square, Emeryville, and Berkeley are all close and convenient.

Casual Carpooling

There are 2 different pick up points near by for casual carpooling to San Francisco. Carpool riders are dropped off at the Trans Bay Bus Terminal near the Financial District.

Schools

Click here for the map from the OUSD School-Finder

Rockridge Neighborhood Video Tour

Welcome to Rockridge.

For those who are unfamiliar with the area of North Oakland called Rockridge, take a minute and watch the video.

I hope you like it.

Claudia