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An O’dam stroll PDF Print E-mail
Written by Chris Conrad   
The map on the Oaksterdam guide page shows highlights and historic sights of the area, so refer to it for landmarks.
Starting at City Hall, head East on 14th to Broadway and turn North. At the end of the block you see the towering Cathedral Building at the Telegraph and Broadway split.
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To the left of the First National Bank building is Frank Ogawa Plaza and City Hall. To the right is the Cathedral Building and Oaksterdam

Turn left onto Telegraph and you soon pass the Fat Cat Cafe on the right-hand side. Across the street is a small three story building where the 420 Cafe operated. If you peer into the window you’ll see murals and a skunk doll perched on a room divider.
    Next you will pass a BART entrance and a few doors later is a yellow sign: “Lemondrop Coffeeshop.” The Lemondrop once had a candy store front and a dispensary in the basement. A few doors later another dispensary site wears paper signs announcing its closure and a new location for people to visit.

Image     Continuing North you can’t miss the massive, ornate Fox Theater on the left, in the middle of a costly restoration project. At the end of the block and across 19th Street is a beautiful Art Deco building with gold trim and sylvan murals painted in the windows.  This is the licensed dispensary CARE. It’s worth walking along the building’s Telegraph facade before you continue east on 19th Street to Broadway.
    Turn south on Broadway and on your right you will soon encounter 1755 Broadway. This is the original location of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative where Jeff Jones first opened his dispensary on the fifth floor on July 4, 1996.   
    Next door is the Bulldog Coffeeshop, which once housed a cannabis dispensary. It’s a good place to stop for a cappuccino or soy chai before you go south past the Four Seasons garden center to the Co-op Stop that offers vaporizers, gear and ID cards for people with documentation that they are qualified patients.
    Keep strolling south to 15th street, then turn East once again. On the South side of the street you will see the Oaksterdam Gift Shop, which also houses the Oaksterdam News. Continue up 15th to Webster, and turn north past the YWCA to see the Green Door dispensary sign in a tall-windowed building at 1521 Webster, covered with for lease signs.
Image     Further north, turn left on 17th and walk west along the tree-lined street. Under a red canopy is SR-71, another licensed and operating dispensary.
    Two other active dispensaries are further out, one on Broadway and the Oakland Compassionate Healing Center at 578 W. Grand Ave.
    Turn back east on 17th one block and turn left on Harrison, to the north. At 19th you will see beautiful Snow Park to the right and cut across diagonal to Lakeside Drive and on the other side is Merrit Lake.
    There is a walking path that leads into the park surrounding the lake.
    In the park you can find the boat house where sailboats, paddleboats canoes and kayaks can be rented for a few dollars. You can walk the trail around the lake and catch scenic vistas or rent a gondola for a romantic sunset cruise.

 
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