Oakland is primarily one of the largest commercial ports in the United States. Previously, there were also several military bases here, which are now adapted for peaceful use as a result of the conversion. Historically, as the Terminus of the transcontinental railroad, Oakland is now a major transportation hub. The most important air, rail, highway and sea routes for the region intersect here. The city has several Federal and state-level government agencies.
In the past an industrial city and a food processing center, today Oakland is increasingly focusing on high technology, education, and services. There are Mills College, California College of Arts and Crafts, Holy Names College, Patten College, two Peralta Community Colleges, the administrative office of the University of California, branches of Hayward University, California State University, St. Mary's College, the San Francisco State University and the University of Phoenix.
Regular transportation connects people living and working in Oakland with nearby cities: San Francisco in the West, Berkeley, and Richmond in the North, Walnut Creek, and Concord in the East and Hayward, Fremont, Newark and Livermore in the South.
Houses and apartments are mostly located around Lake Merritt (the site of the first national bird sanctuary), on the flat part to the North, East, and West of the lake and along the coastal hills covered by greenery, which delineate the Alameda County and Contra Costa
Oakland itself is one of the largest cities in the region. Other big cities are San Francisco and San Jose. Also, the city of Berkeley, located strictly North of Oakland.
Oakland was the creation of three businessmen who, having settled on the shore of the Bay of San Francisco, designed the city, sold land and achieved the new state government registration of the city. The official Charter was issued to Oakland in 1852. The transcontinental railroad, which was stopped here on the San Francisco Bay in 1869, has stimulated economic development and growth of the urban population. Escaping from the fires and earthquake of 1906, San Francisco was founded on the opposite, Sunnyside of the Bay. As Oakland expanded, it included small industrial towns and farming settlements along the Gulf coast. There were cotton and logging factories, canneries, Breweries, and gardens.
The port of Oakland was founded in 1927 and by the General recognition of container traffic in the 60s has become the main port on the Bay of San Francisco. Due to its strategic location and access to transport, the city is beginning to develop the automotive industry and related industries – there are shipbuilding and operational, service companies, ferrous metallurgy and food industry (in particular salt companies, breweries, yeast enterprises, plants for the production of fruit and vegetable preserves). It also laid a military base, a naval support center and a naval hospital. Companies; Kaiser Industries and Clorox Company have located their headquarters in Oakland.
When industry and residents move to the suburbs as a result of the Second World War, unemployment and racial tensions arise in Oakland. This leads to a decrease in the commercial and economic role of the city and the physical deterioration of business and residential areas. In the last 25 years, there has been a revival, however, the city remained a convenient and attractive place to live and work. The center of Oakland has been redeveloped and is now being renovated, and residential areas are being expanded and reconstructed. Clorox, Kaiser Permanente, Cost Plus, Dreyers, and APL is the largest company that now place their offices in Oakland.
Oakland is known for its Oakland East Bay Symphony, Oakland Ballet, the Dance Dimensions Dance, the Oakland Youth Symphony, the Museum of California (Oakland Museum), Chabot space and science center, Oakland zoo, as well as football, baseball, and basketball teams. (Oakland Athletics baseball team, Oakland Raiders football team, and Golden State Warriors basketball team).
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