Jack London District
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The Jack London District is a district of Oakland, California that occupies the region south of the Nimitz Freeway (Interstate 880) between Adeline and the Lake Merritt Channel.
[edit] History
The district developed early in Oakland's history due to its proximity to major transportation: Broadway, Oakland's main street; the Transcontinental Railroad main line along Seventh Street (leading to the immense Oakland Long Wharf); two passenger depots of the Central (later, Southern) Pacific, located at Seventh and Broadway and First and Broadway; the Oakland Estuary (early referred to as the "Creek"; a bridge, later replaced by underwater tubes to adjacent Alameda; and lastly, a public highway utilizing city streets, connecting to points east and south, replaced in the 1950s by today's Nimitz Freeway, Interstate Highway 880.
The junction of convenient transportation led to early industrial and warehouse development, which quickly spread northwest and southeast, largely along the rail corridor.
[edit] Today
The Jack London District encompasses more than 70 blocks and a significant stretch of the Oakland waterfront which had been a prime development project for Mayor Jerry Brown. Prior to 2000 housing mainly consisted of the Portbello condominiums and several reused warehouse buildings including the Fourth Street Lofts, the Tower Lofts, the Brick House Lofts, the Pocket Lofts, the Portico Lofts and the Phoenix Lofts. Since 2000 over one thousand new units of housing have been built in the area including The Sierra, the New Market Lofts, the Allegro Condominiums, The Landings, 288 Third, 428 Alice, AquaVia and 200 Second Street [1]. The interests of the residents and commercial users of the District are represented by The Jack London District Association [2].
The Jack London District includes one of Oakland's largest tourist attractions - Jack London Square - which is an area of retail and office buildings that reside on the former heart of Oakland's port operations. With the advent of containerized shipping the Port of Oakland and most of its operations has moved up the Estuary helping Jack London Square open up to the retail shops and restaurants it now houses, including Yoshi's, a famous jazz club. However, business in the square has been suffereing recently, the area is in need of revitalization. In 2004 a major redevelopment of Jack London Square was approved including a hotel, movie theater, and "harvest hall". As of 2006 little of this has been built and Jack London Square's influence in the area is quietly waning, as many tenants of the retail area have either left or gone out of business, due to the reduced consumer activity.
