Financial Center Building

The Financial Center building is downtown at 14th St. and Franklin.  It was built in 1929 and is considered to be an example of Art Deco.  It was previously featured here.  Here's a closer look: 

Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Pacific Ring Sports

If you drive by this gym you'll see all kinds of martial arts being practiced across the day and well into the evening.  I'm especially fond of the building and the old timey style of the sign.

city hall amphitheater

A small amphitheater was placed in front of City Hall, which has helped it become a focal point for political gatherings.  The mosaics include a representation of the Jack London Oak, the official city oak tree.  Concerts are also held here, including weekly performances by the Bay Area Blues Society.  Other times people from nearby office buildings often come here to eat their lunches.

I'm out of town for a week and using the wonders of auto-posting.

Skywatch Friday: roof lines

The gray sky before the storm.  Thunder and lightening tonight after an intermittent cloudy day.  These  roof lines illustrate the architectural diversity of downtown.  And a ghost sign is thrown in for free.  For more sky shots, visit Skywatch Friday.

ABC Wednesday: T is for tiles

Many Oakland buildings are trimmed or decorated with hand made tiles.  Most are from the 20s and 30s.  Here's a sample.  For more takes on "T", visit ABC Wednesday.

Halloween survivors

Spotted on Ivy Hill just off Park Blvd.  A bright spot on a gray day.

ABC Wednesday: Q is for quiet

This sign is back stage at the renovated Paramount Theater.  The Paramount is the most deco-y building you'll find in California.  It has previously been featured many times including here, here, and here.  It remains a performance venue for monthly movies and concerts.  For more takes on Q, visit ABC Wednesday.

decorative tiles

This tiled "fountain" is in the entryway of a Spanish style building near Lake Merritt.  The building was closed when I walked by and I had to stick my camera through the wrought iron gate to get this shot.  I love the old tiles that decorate so many of our buildings.

Skywatch Friday: market garland

Swan's was built in 1917 in the historic business area now called Old Oakland.  It is covered in white tile and has these wonderful garlands and majolica style plaques.  It contains Housewives Market which is composed of multiple food shops.  Old Oakland has beautiful Victorian building blocks and a number of popular restaurants, yet often feels empty.  For some reason it lacks the pedestrian traffic that gives a neighborhood its lively quality.  The sliver of sky shows that after recent rain we are again enjoying fair weather.  For more sky shots, visit Skywatch Friday.

Still autoposting.

Skywatch Friday: slivers of glass and sky

Downtown near City Center.  Visit Skywatch Friday for more sky shot entries.

garden gate

A lovely garden gate off Broadway Terrace.  Love the Mediterranean blue color.

parking shadows

Spotted downtown late one afternoon.  Submitted to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Weekend Reflection: varied building styles

At least a half block is reflected in these windows downtown at 14th Street and Broadway.  Submitted to both Weekend Reflections and SOOC Sunday.

Skywatch Friday: oculus

This oculus in the Lionel Wilson Building shows the blue skies we still enjoy, even though the weather has gotten cooler.  For more sky scenes, visit Skywatch Friday.

Theme Day: Green

This month's theme for City Daily Photo is "green."  I found this wonderful deco tiled facade when I accidentally looked up.  Nothing else about the building indicates it's era.  Our skies are cloudless today after an inch of rain on Tuesday.  We're now in for a heat wave.  Go figure.  For more Theme Day photos Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.  To view the skies around the world, check out Skywatch Friday.

Weekend Reflection: Howden Building

The Howden Building is located at Webster and 17th St.   The tiles above the entry hint at the tiled facade and a wide variety of tile within.  It was built in 1925 by Robert Howden, who had a tile business in Oakland for 30 years.  Originally from Scotland, Howland is also known for building a castle home in the Santa Cruz mountains.  This building now houses many different retail and office spaces.  Linked to Weekend Reflections.

Lakeshore apartments

Typical of 1920s and 30s California architecture are white stucco, the terra cotta tile roofs, wooden balconies, and arched windows.  Definitely has a Mediterranean feel.  These graceful apartment buildings are on Haddon Hill just across from Lake Merritt.  Too bad the balconies now face a freeway on-ramp.

ABC Wednesday: L is for Lakeshore Avenue

Lakeshore Avenue is a shopping district east of Lake Merritt.  In just a three blocks it offers a wide variety of restaurants, businesses, and architectural styles.  You can see from this sampling that it's been around for quite a while.  At least by California standards.  For lots more L photos, visit ABC Wednesday.

Theme Day: fountains

This month's CDP theme day is "fountains."  This water fountain is found at the Paramount Theater.  The style, of course, is deco.  Pretty cool, huh?  For more fountains Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Weekend Reflection: powder room at the Paramount

This powder room at the Paramount Theater was restored to its exact, original appearance.  The guy who did the upholstery enlarged photos of the period to count the number of nail heads the chairs had!  The draperies reflected in the mirror were replicated from a reflection in an old photo.  The restorers attention to detail is beyond remarkable.  Can't you imagine Ginger Rogers here dabbing on her lipstick?  For even more reflections, visit James' meme Weekend Reflections.