Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA

Piedmont Avenue climbs gently northeast from 40th Street toward Moraga Avenue, its core grid packed with pre-war Craftsman bungalows, duplexes, and post-WWII apartment walk-ups. Side streets such as Howe, Glen, and Echo run narrow and shaded, while the namesake avenue slices through the middle with a mix of low brick storefronts and turn-of-the-century commercial blocks. Mature plane trees soften the urban feel, though traffic queues and delivery trucks are part of the daily soundtrack along the retail strip. Nearly everything a resident needs sits within a six-block walk. The Avenue hosts indie bookstores, bakeries, yoga studios, and destination spots like Fentons Creamery and Piedmont Theatre, plus a Saturday farmers market tucked behind the bank lot. Kaiser Permanente’s flagship campus anchors the southern end, while Mountain View Cemetery’s 220-acre garden grounds sit to the north, doubling as a neighborhood running loop and picnic spot. Continuous sidewalks, bike lanes on adjacent Broadway, and AC Transit’s frequent bus lines make it easy to live car-light, though parking tightens on weekend nights and festival days. The vibe is lively, eclectic, and proudly local. Daytime foot traffic comes from hospital staff and shoppers; evenings belong to diners spilling onto parklets and moviegoers beneath the theater’s neon marquee. Downsides include scarce green space beyond the cemetery gates, occasional late-night noise outside bars, and block-to-block variations in building upkeep. Still, buyers drawn to strong walkability, historic architecture, and a “small-town main street” feel in the middle of Oakland often land here.