Lower Bottoms, Oakland, California
Encyclopedia
The Lower Bottoms is the informal name of a neighborhood in West Oakland
in Oakland, California
. The neighborhood boundaries are Mandela Parkway to the east, 7th Street to the south, West Grand Avenue to the north, and the former Oakland Army Base
to the west. It includes the "central station development" of the former 16th Street Train Station, which served as a film location for the 2005 film Rent and Vallejo rapper E-40
's "Tell Me When to Go
" video
. It is also the hometown of playground basketball legend Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell.
from the remainder of West Oakland. The one housing project is Campbell Village Court.
Seventh Street was an African-American cultural center of Oakland from the 1940s to the 1960s, due to nightclubs such as Slim Jenkins' Place, Esther's Orbit Room and the Lincoln Theater, which drew top blues and jazz performers from across the United States. The decline of Seventh Street has been blamed on the construction of the Cypress Freeway and subsequent BART elevated track lines which run along the street.
At the corner of Ninth and Center Streets, Huey P. Newton
, founder of the Black Panther Party
, was gunned down in a failed drug deal on August 22, 1989.
, similar to neighboring "Dogtown" area of West Oakland. Once the most devalued neighborhood in Oakland, the Lower Bottoms now has some newly rehabilitated Victorian homes that have recently sold for $700,000. It is now a slightly more sought after area to live in because of its location as a historic center of the Bay Area and its proximity to San Francisco.
, who was re-elected, in 2008, to her fourth term (four years) on Oakland's City Council.
West Oakland, Oakland, California
West Oakland is a neighborhood situated in the northwestern corner of Oakland, California along the waterfront near the Port of Oakland and San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. It lies at an elevation of 13 feet .-History:...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. The neighborhood boundaries are Mandela Parkway to the east, 7th Street to the south, West Grand Avenue to the north, and the former Oakland Army Base
Oakland Army Base
The Oakland Army Base, also known as the Oakland Army Terminal, was a former United States Army base in the San Francisco Bay Area of California...
to the west. It includes the "central station development" of the former 16th Street Train Station, which served as a film location for the 2005 film Rent and Vallejo rapper E-40
E-40
Earl Stevens , better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and investor from Vallejo, California. He is also part of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. His solo debut album, Federal, was released in November 1992, after The Click's debut...
's "Tell Me When to Go
Tell Me When to Go
"Tell Me When to Go" is the first single from E-40's BME/Warner Bros. debut, My Ghetto Report Card. Keak da Sneak is also featured on the track. It was produced by Lil Jon, and one of the first singles to kick off the hyphy movement on a national level...
" video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
. It is also the hometown of playground basketball legend Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell.
History
The neighborhood has suffered from high rates of crime and poverty since the decline of Oakland's industrial economy in the late 20th century. The neighborhood earned its nickname after the construction of the Cypress Freeway in the 1950s that split the West Oakland neighborhood in two and isolated Oakland PointOakland Point, Oakland, California
Oakland Point, in Oakland, California, USA, was the name of a small promontory on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay located in the vicinity of what is now the Port of Oakland shipping terminal. Oakland Point was previously known as Gibbon's Point, named for an early American settler who...
from the remainder of West Oakland. The one housing project is Campbell Village Court.
Seventh Street was an African-American cultural center of Oakland from the 1940s to the 1960s, due to nightclubs such as Slim Jenkins' Place, Esther's Orbit Room and the Lincoln Theater, which drew top blues and jazz performers from across the United States. The decline of Seventh Street has been blamed on the construction of the Cypress Freeway and subsequent BART elevated track lines which run along the street.
At the corner of Ninth and Center Streets, Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton
Huey Percy Newton was an American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.-Early life:...
, founder of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
, was gunned down in a failed drug deal on August 22, 1989.
Gentrification
The Bottoms is undergoing gentrificationGentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
, similar to neighboring "Dogtown" area of West Oakland. Once the most devalued neighborhood in Oakland, the Lower Bottoms now has some newly rehabilitated Victorian homes that have recently sold for $700,000. It is now a slightly more sought after area to live in because of its location as a historic center of the Bay Area and its proximity to San Francisco.
Cultural character
Several community organizations are based in Lower Bottoms, including the Lower Bottoms Neighborhood Association, the Prescott-Joseph Center, UNIA, Alliance for West Oakland Development, Prescott-Oakland Point Neighborhood Association, The Lower Bottom Playaz theater troupe, City Slicker Farms and Mo Better Foods. In 2006, a locally owned and full-service grocery store, named Mandela Foods Cooperative, opened in Lower Bottoms, providing neighbors access to fresh produce. Mandela focuses on nutritional education and affordable foods grown locally. Bikes 4 Life, on the corner of 7th and Peralta, is a community bicycle shop that sells new and used bikes, offers repairs, trains youth and organizes bike events for the community.Political representation
The entire neighborhood lies within the boundaries of Oakland's Downtown-West Oakland District 3 City Council seat represented by West Oakland resident Nancy NadelNancy Nadel
Nancy Nadel is a U.S. politician, businesswoman, and member of the Oakland City Council serving her fourth consecutive term. After two terms on the Board of the East Bay Municipal Utility District, Nadel was elected to the District Three Downtown-West Oakland City Council seat in 1996. In 2006,...
, who was re-elected, in 2008, to her fourth term (four years) on Oakland's City Council.