333 Third Street

I saw this one walking around Jack London Square and then found a pic of it on the Internet. My thinking about Oakland's architecture has led to my imagining fantastic future extrapolations of existing buildings - dreamlike structures that protrude at strange angles and odd hybrid buildings that combine functions, such as cathedral gas-stations and mausoleum airports. Anyway, this building - which is only a few blocks from Jeff and Leyya's place - looks like a bit like that already.
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333 Third Street - Future Extrapolation

Here's an artist's rendering of a planned renovation of the building pictured above. Aside from whatever merits the proposed renovation has, I am fascinated with the idea of extrapolating possibilities from existing structures. My visions are more bizarre than this pic but it illustrates the idea of extrapolation nicely.
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Oakland Train Station

Shipping Cranes 1

The shipping cranes that dominate the edge of Jack London Square loom like prehistoric beasts at night, red lights blinking like eyes.
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Shipping Cranes 2

City Center 1

I like to mentally contrast these pictures of Oakland's City Center with screen shots from Fritz Lang's "Metropolis."
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City Center 2

City Center 3

City Center 4

Oakland Police Station 1

This is the Oakland Police Station before it was renovated - and made more fortress-like - as a precaution against future earthquakes. Oakland's culture and its psychological fabric is colored by the apprehension of the bloodshed that a future earthquake will bring. This apprehension can be seen in recent trends in architecture and renovation. Older, more ornate buildings, such as Oakland's vintage theaters, are anarchonisms from the past.
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Oakland Police Station 2

I couldn't find an actual photo of the Police Station after renovation, but here's an architectural rendering. It's hard to tell from this drawing, but the new facade is ominous and has an Orwellian flavor. It definitely jives with my visions of Oakland as a dystopia. The dystopian Oakland I imagine would be one where the city has suffered from an earthquake and has been rebuilt with a harder, more fortress-like aesthetic.
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Downtown Oakland

Lake Merritt at Dusk

Masonic Temple 1

One of my favorite buildings in Oakland. There's a great bas relief with a Medieval flavor along the front top of the building. The whole thing emanates cryptic majesty.

Masonic Temple 2

Grand Lake Theater 1

Another one of my favorite buildings in Oakland. One of the auditoriums inside is decorated in an Egyptian style, with a painted dome and tiny lights that twinkle like stars set in the ceiling.
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Grand Lake Theater 2

Shadows Near Lake Merritt

Chris and I go for runs around Lake Merritt and this Greek-styled structure at the eastern end usually represents the finishing line. Just looking at it makes me breathe hard and sweat profusely.
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Fox Theater 1

Another one of Oakland's funky old theaters, exuding a 1920s style decadence.
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Fox Theater 2