Prescott (also known as The Lower Bottoms or The Bottoms) is a residential neighborhood and commercial district in
West Oakland in
Oakland, California. The neighborhood boundaries are Mandela Parkway to the east, 7th Street to the south, West Grand Avenue to the north, and Frontage Road to the west.
History
The area was originally part of
Oakland Point
Oakland Point, or Gibbons' Point, was a small promontory formerly on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in West Oakland, California. It was located in the vicinity of what is now the Port of Oakland shipping terminal.
History
Oakland Point ...
. It was a residential area of
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
homes, many of which still stand, some in disrepair and some having undergone rehabilitation.
The neighborhood has suffered from high rates of crime, gang activity, and poverty since the decline of Oakland's industrial economy in the late 20th century. The neighborhood earned its nickname after the construction of the
Cypress Freeway in the 1950s that split the West Oakland neighborhood in two and isolated
Oakland Point
Oakland Point, or Gibbons' Point, was a small promontory formerly on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in West Oakland, California. It was located in the vicinity of what is now the Port of Oakland shipping terminal.
History
Oakland Point ...
from the remainder of West Oakland. The one housing project is Campbell Village Court.
Seventh Street was an
African-American cultural center of Oakland from the 1940s to the 1960s, due to nightclubs such as Slim Jenkins' Place, Esther's Orbit Room and the Lincoln Theater, which drew top blues and jazz performers from across the United States. The area was sometimes referred to as "The Harlem of the West."
The decline of Seventh Street has been blamed on the construction of the Cypress Freeway, the Oakland Main Post Office—and subsequent
BART elevated track lines, which took up much of the street.
At the corner of Tenth and Center Streets,
Huey P. Newton
Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966.
Under Newton's leadershi ...
, founder of the
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...
, was gunned down in an alleged failed drug deal on August 22, 1989.
Points of interest
Architectural landmarks
16th Street Station is an abandoned
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
station and historical landmark located in the Prescott neighborhood of
Oakland, California, United States. The
Beaux-Arts building was designed by architect
Jarvis Hunt
Jarvis Hunt (August 6, 1863 - June 15, 1941) was a Chicago architect who designed a wide array of buildings, including railroad stations, suburban estates, industrial buildings, clubhouses and other structures.
Biography
Hunt was born in Weathe ...
, a preeminent railroad station architect, and opened in 1912. The station has not been served by trains since 1994, and is currently available as a rental space for private events through 2021. The station has also served as a film location for the 2005 film ''Rent'' and Vallejo rapper
E-40's "
Tell Me When to Go"
video.
Performance arts
![Trapeze Arts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Trapeze_Arts.jpg)
Trapeze Arts is a performance arts school that teaches flying trapeze and other circus arts and is one of only a handful of full time circus schools in the United States.
Parks and green space
Mandela Parkway is a major street and greenway in West Oakland that was created following the collapse of the Nimitz freeway Cypress Street Viaduct on October 17, 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake. American Steel Studios, Horn Barbecue, and the Cypress Freeway Memorial Park are all located on Mandela Parkway and its southern end goes right into the West Oakland BART Station.
Raimondi Park
Prescott (also known as The Lower Bottoms or The Bottoms) is a residential neighborhood and commercial district in West Oakland in Oakland, California. The neighborhood boundaries are Mandela Parkway to the east, 7th Street to the south, West Gra ...
(aka “Ernie Raimondi Park”) is West Oakland's largest park 10 acres. It includes an Athletic Field located at 18th Street & Wood Street. Dedicated in 1947, the park was named in honor of
Ernie Raimondi
William Louis Raimondi (December 1, 1912 – October 18, 2010) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Minor League Baseball for 22 years, including 21 years in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). He played for the Oakland Oaks ...
(1919–1945), a minor league baseball player and WWII veteran who grew up in Oakland. In September 2008, the first of two stages of a $7.2 million refurbishment of the park was completed. This included new drainage systems for the playing fields.
Transportation and BART station redevelopment
The
West Oakland BART station is located in Prescott, on 7th Street, and is one stop from downtown Oakland and downtown San Francisco. All lines except the
Richmond-Warm Springs/South Fremont line
The Orange Line is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) line in the San Francisco Bay Area that runs between Berryessa/North San José station and Richmond station. It has 21 stations in San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont, Union City, Hayward, San Lea ...
stop at the station.
In June 2020, the BART Board of Directors approved
mixed-use housing and commercial developmentat the West Oakland BART station that will include 762 housing units, 30 percent of which will be designated as affordable, 50,000 square feet of retail space, 300,000 square feet of office space and various amenities such as wider sidewalks and more crosswalks for pedestrians.
Community organizations
Several community organizations are based in Prescott, including the Lower Bottoms Neighborhood Association, the Prescott-Joseph Center, UNIA, Alliance for West Oakland Development, Prescott-Oakland Point Neighborhood Association,
and the Lower Bottom Playaz theater troupe. Commercial outlets like City Slicker Farms, Revolution Cafe, Bikes 4 Life, and Mo Better Foods serve the community. In 2006, a locally owned full-service cooperative grocery store named
Mandela Foods Cooperative
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
(member of the
Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives The Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NoBAWC ''- pronounced "No Boss"'') is a network of worker cooperatives dedicated to building workplace democracy in the San Francisco Bay Area.Gans, LydiaBe Your Own Boss, Join a Collective.''The Berkele ...
) opened in West Oakland, providing residents access to fresh produce, and focusing on nutritional education and affordable foods grown locally.
Political representation
The entire neighborhood lies within the boundaries of Oakland's Downtown-West Oakland District 3 City Council seat.
References
{{Oakland, California neighborhoods
Neighborhoods in Oakland, California