Jack London Square is a popular entertainment and business destination on the waterfront of Oakland, California, United States. Named after the author Jack London and owned by the Port of Oakland, it is the home of stores, restaurants, hotels, an Amtrak station, a San Francisco Bay Ferry ferry dock, the historic Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon, the (re-located) cabin Jack London lived in in the Klondike, and a movie theater. A farmer's market is hosted among the retail shops on Sunday mornings. The former presidential yacht USS Potomac is moored at an adjacent slip.
Jack London Square is located at the south end of Broadway, across the Oakland Estuary from Alameda.
The name has also come to refer to the formerly industrial neighborhood surrounding Jack London Square now known as the Jack London District, which has undergone significant rehabilitation in the last decade, including loft conversions and new construction. Current California Governor (and former Oakland mayor) Jerry Brown made his home here before moving north to the Uptown neighborhood.
Tenants and businesses
KTVU (Channel 2), the Bay Area's Fox affiliate, has had studios at the Square since it began broadcasting on March 3, 1958, and the offices of the Port of Oakland are located there as well. The Square was also the temporary home of the Oakland Tribune from 1989 to 1996 after the newspaper was forced to abandon the landmark downtown Tribune Tower due to damage it sustained in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Other businesses at Jack London Square range from solar energy provider Sungevity and software firm Navis LLC, to popular restaurants including Bocanova, Haven, Kincaid’s Bay House and Yoshi's restaurant and jazz club. Swarm Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in the neighborhood.
Railways and transit
A mainline railroad runs through the middle of the street, with the train speed limit set at 15Â mph (25Â km/h). The tracks running through Jack London Square are used by BNSF Railway, Capitol Corridor, Coast Starlight, San Joaquin, and Union Pacific Railroad. The trains share the road with automobiles, AC Transit buses, and pedestrians. The square is a very popular spot for railfans.
Design and development
Jack London Square’s most recent changes are adding more businesses, restaurants and entertainment. Under lead developer Ellis Partners, Jack London Square's new architecture and public spaces are adding to the daytime and nighttime population and use. Recent new components include the 55 Harrison building, a 178,000 square-foot mid-rise by RMW Architects in association with Steve Worthington. The public spaces by SWA Group extended the city to the waterfront by adding accessible waterfront spaces supporting a variety of programs and events from farmers markets to the popular Eat Real local, organic food fest.
See also
- Jack London District, Oakland, California
- Chinatown, Oakland, California
- Old Oakland
References
External links
- Official website
- The Jack London District Association
- The Jack London News
