Oakland City Hall, Oakland, CA, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Oakland City Hall is the white, tiered tower on Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland, California. Completed in 1914 and designed by the New York firm Palmer & Hornbostel, it is often described as the first high-rise city hall in the United States. It still anchors the civic centre of Oakland, and the plaza at its foot has hosted many of the city's public gatherings.

The story behind it

Oakland built its city hall in the early 1900s as a statement of how big the city meant to become. The tower rises in stepped tiers of light-coloured stone and terra cotta, topped with a cupola. It is a very different shape from the low town halls of the era. In 1989 the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the building badly and it was closed. Rather than demolish it, the city strengthened it and set it on base isolators, so the tower can now move with the ground in a quake instead of resisting it.

The plaza has its own history. It is named for Frank Ogawa, born in Lodi, California, in 1917. During the Second World War he and his family were forcibly relocated to the Topaz camp in Utah. In 1966 he became the first Japanese American on the Oakland City Council, and he served until his death in 1994, after which the plaza was renamed in his honour. In the fall of 2011 the plaza became the main camp of Occupy Oakland, and protesters also called it Oscar Grant Plaza, after the young man killed by a BART police officer in 2009.

What to look for

• Look up at the stepped tiers of the tower and the crown at the top, which give the building its wedding-cake silhouette.
• Notice how the tower stands apart from the buildings around it, a clear sign of how ambitious the city was in 1914.
• Find the coast live oak in the plaza, a tree that echoes the city's name and symbol.
• Look for the memorial to Frank Ogawa in the plaza and think about the life that gave the space its name.

Tips for your visit

• The plaza is an open public space, so you can see the exterior any time. Check current opening hours if you hope to go inside the building.
• Give it 15 to 30 minutes on its own. Daylight shows the stonework best.
• Step back to the far side of the plaza to take in the whole tower in one view.
• Downtown Oakland's streets and Lake Merritt are within walking distance, so it works well as the start of a longer stroll.

See it on a quest

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Oakland, CA passes City Hall on foot as one stop of a longer route through downtown. The app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Ghost Hunt in Oakland, CA suits you if you like your history with a spooky edge. You walk between the stops, hear the story of each place as you reach it, and solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever you like.