Downtown Hayward is the original and current city center of Hayward, California

Hayward, California

Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...

, and is home to the current Hayward City Hall

Hayward City Hall

Hayward City Hall is the third and current Hayward city hall building, located in downtown Hayward, California, USA. next to the Hayward BART Station. The city hall opened in January 1998, replacing the abandoned Hayward City Center Building, which served as Hayward's city hall for 29 years from...

, along with the two previous city halls, Alex Giualini Plaza

Alex Giualini Plaza

Alex Giualini Plaza is a park surrounding a vacant building in downtown Hayward, California. The building was Hayward's first city hall. It is located on Mission Boulevard and D Street.- History :...

 and The Tower at Hayward City Center. The Hayward Fault runs through the area, and is the cause of the two previous city halls being taken out of use.

Its approximate boundaries are Foothill Boulevard to the east, Watkins Street and Hayward BART

Hayward (BART station)

The Hayward station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit station that serves the Downtown Hayward area of Hayward, California. It is directly across the street from the rear of Hayward City Hall. The station consists of two train platforms and a free five-level parking garage.-History:Service at the...

 to the west, Jackson Street

California State Route 92

State Route 92 is an east-west highway in the San Francisco Bay area between Half Moon Bay near the coast in the west and downtown Hayward at its junction with State Route 238 and State Route 185. It is most notable for being the route that traverses the San Mateo Bridge. It has interchanges with...

 to the south, and City Center Drive to the north. Foothill Boulevard is also known as "The Hayward Strip", a retail business corridor that was built in the 1950s. Parks include Newman Park and The Julio Bras Portuguese Park. San Lorenzo Creek

San Lorenzo Creek

San Lorenzo Creek is a year-round natural stream flowing through Hayward, California, into San Francisco Bay at the Hayward Regional Shoreline.-Watershed:...

 runs through downtown. The Hayward Public Library is located there. "Hayward City Center", located at the northern end of downtown, contains the former Centennial Tower/City Center Building, which served as the city's second City Hall from 1969 to 1991, and is now an abandoned 11 story building, Hayward's second tallest after California State University's Warren Hall

California State University, East Bay

California State University, East Bay is a public university located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The university, as part of the 23-campus California State University system, offers over 100 areas of study...

. The City Center complex previously contained the now demolished Centennial Hall Convention Center. The bankrupt Mervyn's department store chain's former headquarters is across the street from the City Center mall. The Hayward Area Historical Society operates a museum downtown, which is currently closed to the public until a move is completed. The FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 operates a resident agency in downtown Hayward.

Cinema Place

Cinema Place is a 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) entertainment and shopping center, comprising a single structure, which opened October 24, 2008. Directly adjacent to the center is a large city run parking garage. The City of Hayward has commissioned 3 large murals, designed by Hayward artist Andrew Kong Knight, decorating the exterior of the garage, featuring scenes from Hollywood and Hayward, which are being executed in 2011. An additional mural by Knight is found at the northern end of The Hayward Strip.

The main tenant

Anchor store

In retail, an anchor store, draw tenant, anchor tenant, or key tenant is one of the larger stores in a shopping mall, usually a department store or a major retail chain....

 is a Century Theatre

Century Theatres

Century Theatres is a movie theater chain which operates many multiplexes in the western United States, primarily in California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. In recent years, it has expanded into the inter-mountain states, the Pacific Northwest, Texas, and parts of the Midwest...

 multiplex, which is Hayward's lone movie theater since Mann

Mann

Mann may refer to:* Isle of Man, known as "Mann" as an alternative shorter name* Mann , a Nazi paramilitary rank* Mannaz, the Futhorc m-rune* Mann Theatres, a theatre chain corporation* Mann , a Norwegian magazine...

's Festival Cinemas

Festival Cinemas

Festival Cinemas was founded in 1978 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The purpose of Festival was to show Canadian specialty art and other high quality films....

 closed in 2003. In 2011, the Hayward Art Council opened a gallery on the ground floor of the center, in a storefront that has remained unused since the center's opening.

Other businesses

Lucky

Lucky Stores

Lucky Stores is an American supermarket chain founded in Alameda County, California in 1935. Lucky is currently operated by SuperValu in Southern California and Nevada and by Save Mart in Northern California and Nevada.In 1998, Lucky's parent company, American Stores, was taken over by Albertsons,...

 and Safeway

Safeway Inc.

Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...

 operate supermarkets there. California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...

 the Green Shutter Hotel

Green Shutter Hotel

The Green Shutter Hotel is a historic hotel building located in downtown Hayward in Alameda County, California. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It is also a California Historical Landmark.-History:...

 is located downtown. Buffalo Bill's Brewery, founded in 1983 by photographer Bill Owens

Bill Owens (photographer)

Bill Owens is an American photographer, photojournalist, brewer and editor living in Hayward, California. The recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship in 1976 and two NEA Grants, he is best known for his photographs of suburban domestic scenes taken in the East Bay and published in the book Suburbia...

, is one of the first brewpubs to open in California since Prohibition

Prohibition in the United States

Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...

, after legislation passed in 1982 legalizing brewpubs again. A Marinello School of Beauty

Marinello Schools of Beauty

Marinello Schools of Beauty was found in 1905 by Mrs. Ruth Maurer. The schools were named after Giovanni Marinello, the founder of Modern Cosmetology...

 is downtown. The Daily Review

Daily Review

The Daily Review is a daily newspaper published in Hayward, California. Floyd L. Sparks was owner of the Review from 1944 to 1985, along with The Argus of Fremont and the Tri-Valley Herald. It is now owned by Bay Area News Group-East Bay , a subsidiary of MediaNews Group, which bought the paper in...

newspaper operates from downtown.

Services

The All Saints Catholic Church is located downtown. It operates the Mount Saint Joseph Cemetery

Mount Saint Joseph Cemetery (Hayward, California)

Mount Saint Joseph Cemetery is a cemetery in Hayward, California. The site was first established in 1875. It is operated by the All Saints Catholic Church in Hayward. Many of the historic gravestone inscriptions are in Portuguese.- References :...

. The Hayward Veterans' Memorial Building, built in 1932, is adjacent to the old City Hall building, and is available for public events.

Road improvements

The Route 238 Corridor Improvement Project broke ground July 2010, with an expected completion date of 2012. It will include extensive landscaping, bringing parks and improved traffic flow to the downtown region.