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Oakland Architecture!

3/9/2014

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It was Easter Sunday (I know, I'm incredibly and ridiculously behind with my blogging), so naturally we went to church!

Kidding. We're not that religious. But we did went to see the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, and it was Easter.
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It's a building by the renowned Skidmore, Owings & Merill (SOM). We saw the model of the building earlier that week at the Autodesk Gallery. Usually before I travel somewhere I look up some buildings I would like to visit, and this building was high on my list. I love SOM's work, it's always nice neat lines, and they have this great way with light and materials. The Cathedral of Christ the Light really is a great example of their work.
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I've seen pictures of it before we went. We saw the model. But I really didn't realise how beautiful this cathedral was until I stood right there in the middle of the cathedral. There's like a thousand of these gorgeous wooden louvres contrasted by a solid base of concrete. The space is so bright (thanks to all the louvres letting the light in) and tall and incredibly mighty. See what I mean about SOM? So clean and simple, yet so effective.
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I love how even the organs were incorporated beautifully into the design.
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Pretty paper flowers in one of the side chapels.
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If you want to see how they built this baby: http://www.som.com/projects/cathedral_of_christ_the_light 
Kudos to the contractor, this must've been a fun yet complicated project to do!!
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More pretty spaces downstairs
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The floor in this picture almost looks like water!
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It's safe to say that this is the most beautiful modern cathedral I've ever been to. I'm usually more into those brick churches that are hundreds of years old, but I absolutely loooove this piece of architecture!
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We then wandered around a little, hoping to find a place open on Easter to eat. Oakland was deserted, but then again it was a holiday. I did not know Oakland had a lot of surprising architectural gems to offer (to be honest I did not know a lot about Oakland period)! Walking around downtown really amazed me. Here is the I. Magnin building, a former department store (founded by a Dutch woman, might I add). Look at the green terracotta and black marble! Such a shame it's now empty.
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Right next to the I. Magnin building is the Paramount Theater.
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I must say, the architecture in Oakland isn't your average run of the mill architecture. I mean, it's all a little odd? Striking and pretty cool, but.. totally odd! This theater was designed by Timothy Pflueger in 1930. I mean, what's up with the Egyptian like mosaic!!! There's a half naked lady sitting on the front side of a giraffe-dragon-fish? And a sworded dancing Nutcracker soldier in heeled boots and spurs? A tennis player? A masked Victorian couple dancing? It's all so very confusing andtotally awesome :')
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More terracotta right around the corner at the Floral Depot building, also from the '30s. The intricate silver design is really not something I would expect in a building from the '30s. But then again, neither are any of these buildings.
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Across the street from the depot is the amazing Fox Oakland Theatre. My Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area tells me the architectural style is called Exotic Revival, which makes sense as it looks like something you would find in Morocco or some middle eastern country. 

I think it's incredible that all these buildings were built in the '20s, '30s. If you look at what they were building here in the Netherlands around that time for instance - all a bit austere, tidy and without decorations... such a stark contrast! I have no idea what all these architects were thinking, but it resulted in some awesome, unusual and iconic architecture! So if you're into architecture, Oakland is a great place to visit!!
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By this time we were pretty much starving, and next to the theatre we fortunately found Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe. It was open and there were a lot of people sitting outside so it was an easy decision ;)
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My dad couldn't decide what beer he should have, and the waiter told us passionately about all the different draft beers they had. To the waiter's horror, my dad almost opted for the most generic beer anyway. 'Wait, why don't I just get you something I think you would like' the waiter offered. My dad thought that was a good idea, fully expecting the waiter to just pick one beer and bring it to him. Instead, the waiter brought out some beer samples, including the generic beer my dad had wanted! We thought that was so nice of the waiter. My dad indeed thought the other beers were much much better, haha. 
I just had a simple root beer float, which was excellent.
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The menu had a looooooooooooooooot of options. When we asked the waiter what he would recommend, he didn't make it any easier: 'Ohhh I like this. And that. And this is also good. And you know, that is always a good choice. And this is good. And that. And I just ate this' haha. I had something of the special brunch menu. It was hash browns, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, perfectly poached eggs and hollandaise sauce :D It was so filling though, couldn't eat it all!

Ohh we had a great time in Oakland! If you ever find yourself in Oakland, enjoy the architecture and then head off to Rudy's Can't Fail cafe for lunch (or dinner. or breakfast. whatever)! I googled them when I got home and they're apparently a well known establishment, co-owned by Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt. Great diner, great rock 'n' roll vibe, great food. Very generous portions and not that expensive. And our waiter was so nice, always a plus!
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