Many West Oakland streets consist of small and mid-sized Victorians built between 1880 and 1900. Some residential neighborhoods are interspersed with commercial and industrial buildings. Until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, West Oakland was divided by a two-level freeway. Thanks to the efforts of residents, the freeway was relocated after its collapse and West Oakland has begun a renaissance. Mandela Parkway, a wide thoroughfare with a greenway and pedestrian path median, replaced the freeway and is lined with condominiums and businesses. Older Victorians are being refurbished and the newly built Mandela Transit Village provides mixed retail and housing across from the West Oakland BART station.

The thriving arts community in West Oakland includes the Black Dot Artist's Collective and The Crucible, a nonprofit sculpture studio and metal fabrication shop offering classes in everything from glass sculpture to fire performance. Don't miss The Crucible's Fire Arts Festival which takes place every summer in July. It showcases some of the best fire and light artists from all over the country with lectures, demonstrations and performances.

Learn more in local newspapers: The Oakland Tribune, East Bay Express.