At the city’s historic center stands Oakland City Hall, built in 1914 in the Beaux Arts style. The building was heavily damaged in the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 but was later restored to its original splendor as part of a redevelopment project. North of City Hall is the magnificent art deco Paramount Theatre, with colorful tile murals depicting the performing arts. Just south of City Hall are the twin towers of the Federal Building and Oakland City Center. A few blocks west is Preservation Park, a neighborhood of restored Victorian residences; to the east is Lake Merritt and its surrounding Lakeside Park. Near the southwest shore of the lake stand the fortresslike Alameda County Courthouse and the Oakland Museum of California. A waterfront square of shops and restaurants has been named to honor one of the city’s early residents and well-known author, Jack London.

Oakland’s cultural institutions include the Oakland Ballet, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and Oakland Ensemble Theatre. The Oakland Museum of California, devoted to the art, environment, and history of the Golden State, is a notable attraction. The African American Museum and Library interprets the experiences of blacks living in California and the West. Among Oakland’s annual events is Festival at the Lake, a June celebration of the arts and culture of the Bay area.

Educational institutions in Oakland include Mills College as the first women’s college in the western United States); Holy Names College, a Roman Catholic liberal arts college; the California College of Arts and Crafts, one of the nation’s largest visual arts colleges; Samuel Merritt College, a health sciences school; and Patten College, an interdenominational Christian college. Nearby is the Berkeley campus (founded in 1868) of the University of California. The Hayward campus of California State University is also nearby.

Oakland features 64 parks, playgrounds, and recreational facilities. Its crown jewel is Lakeside Park, which encircles Lake Merritt, the nation’s largest urban saltwater lake. Designated in 1870 as the first wildlife refuge in the United States, Lakeside Park is a favorite of lawn bowlers, joggers, and bicyclists. Also on the shores of the lake are Children’s Fairyland, a theme park based on popular nursery rhymes, and the Cameron-Stanford House, a restored Victorian home. Nestled in the Oakland Hills is Knowland Park and the Oakland Zoo, featuring more than 300 exotic and native animals. Nearby is the East Bay Regional Park System, with additional parklands.

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex is the home of the city’s professional sports teams: Oakland Athletics (baseball), Oakland Raiders (football), and the Golden State Warriors (basketball). The basketball arena was extensively renovated in 1997. The Raiders were based in Oakland from 1960 to 1981, then moved to Los Angeles. The team returned to Oakland in 1995.

Oakland is one of the largest container-ship ports in North America. Huge container ships arrive daily at the Port of Oakland from countries around the Pacific Rim. The ships carry cargo in standard-sized metal containers, loaded and unloaded by dockside cranes. The Port of Oakland controls about 19 miiles of shoreline within the city and also operates the Oakland International Airport.

Nearly 20 percent of Oakland’s workers are employed in either retail or wholesale trade, and 16 percent work in manufacturing and construction. Oakland’s principal products are processed foods, transportation equipment, chemicals, and electrical equipment. The seven largest employers in Oakland are federal, county, and city agencies. An era of intense military activity in the Oakland region came to an end in the 1990s, when a federal commission voted to close several major facilities as part of a national base consolidation program. Affected were a naval air station and depot at Alameda, a naval hospital and army base in Oakland, and a naval station on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

Oakland is the transportation hub of the San Francisco Bay area. Interstate 80, a major east-west route across the United States, passes through the city before crossing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. A network of other freeways (580, 880, and 980) also serve the city, as do major state highways (13 and 24). Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) provides high-speed rail service to San Francisco and to Oakland’s outlying suburban communities. Oakland is also a terminus for freight railroads, providing an important connection between U.S. and overseas markets. Oakland International Airport is one of the fastest growing airports in the United States in passengers served, and is an important air freight facility.