Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA, Guia do visitante e o que fazer por perto

Frank H. Ogawa Plaza is the public square in front of Oakland City Hall in downtown Oakland, California. It is named for Frank Ogawa, the first Japanese American on the Oakland City Council, and it has long been the city's place for civic life and public protest. Above it rises the white tower of City Hall, completed in 1914.

The story behind it

Oakland City Hall was designed by the New York firm Palmer & Hornbostel and finished in 1914. It is widely described as the first high-rise government building in the United States. Locals nicknamed it the wedding cake, and the stepped tiers of white granite and terra cotta explain why. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the tower, it was closed. Instead of demolishing it, the city cut into its structure and set the building on rubber bearings, so it can now move with the ground rather than fight it.

The plaza took its current name in honor of Frank Ogawa, born in Lodi, California, in 1917. After Executive Order 9066 he and his family were forcibly moved to the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah. In 1966 he became the first Japanese American on the Oakland City Council and served until his death in 1994, when the council voted to rename the square for him. The plaza has rarely been quiet since. In the fall of 2011 it became the main camp of Occupy Oakland, and protesters called it Oscar Grant Plaza, after the young man killed by a BART police officer in 2009.

What to look for

• The tower steps back in tiers as it climbs, and from across the plaza you can see how the wedding cake nickname came about.
• The pale granite and terra cotta of the facade are worth a closer look, especially in direct daylight when the detail stands out.
• Signs and markers in the square tell you it is named for Frank Ogawa, a small reminder of the man behind the name.
• The open space of the plaza itself, with the early 20th-century tower on one side and modern downtown buildings around it, shows how much Oakland has layered onto one spot.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 20 to 30 minutes to walk the plaza and look at the building from several angles.
• Go in daylight, when the white facade is at its brightest and the square is busiest.
• The plaza is an open public space you can walk through freely. City Hall is a working government building, so check current opening hours and access rules if you want to go in.
• Downtown Oakland's streets and cafes are right around the square, so it fits easily into a longer walk.

See it on a quest

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Oakland, CA brings you to the plaza on foot as one stop on a longer route through the area. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Ghost Hunt in Oakland, CA is a good pick if you like your sightseeing with a spooky edge. You walk between stops, hear about each spot as you reach it and solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Oakland, CA Detective Mystery: Infiltrate a Secret Society. turns the streets around City Hall into a detective trail. You reach the plaza as part of a longer walk, learn about it from the app and work out a puzzle right where you stand. One ticket covers the whole group.