“In the Roaring Twenties, Piedmont was known as the “City of Millionaires” because there were more millionaires per square mile than in any city in the United States.” (City of Piedmont)
The City of Piedmont is a 1.7 square-mile charter city with approximately 11,000 residents, located within the larger city of Oakland. It is found in the foothills of the Oakland Hills, overlooking the San Francisco Bay. It is best known for its grandiose homes on established tree-lined streets. Within the city of Piedmont, you’ll find five city parks, several areas with wooded paths, tennis courts, children’s playgrounds, and picnic facilities. The Piedmont Unified School District includes three elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools.
In 1852, Walter Blair moved to California from Vermont, bought 600 acres of land in the area, built a dairy, started a quarry, built a hotel in Piedmont Park, and opened a 75-acre amusement park in Moraga Canyon. In 1877, James Gamble, president of Western Union Telegraph, bought 350 acres from Blair and built a large house and planned to sell the rest of the land for development; he called his company the Piedmont Land Company. Piedmont means “foot of the mountain”, or “foothill” in Italian. Fast forward to 1906 and the San Francisco earthquake, which resulted in many people from the city migrating to the east bay. Piedmont grew 10x in size that year. In 1922, Piedmont became a charter city under the laws of the State of California.
Piedmont is located northeast of Lake Merritt/Grand Lake/Lakeshore areas, south of Rockridge and Glen Highlands, southwest of Montclair, and east of Oakmore, at the lower part of the Oakland Hills. It is a 12 minute drive to Lake Merritt, 13 minutes to downtown Oakland, and 20 minutes to either Berkeley or Lafayette.
The city offers a community pool, tennis courts, pickleball courts (at Piedmont Middle School), and a skate park to its sports organizations and residents. For a complete list of parks, sports fields and dog parks, visit the City of Piedmont website.
Five minutes down the hill from the heart of the City of Piedmont, you’ll find the restaurants, coffee shops, and shopping options of Piedmont Avenue. This bustling strip, surrounded by single-family homes and multi-unit buildings, is technically in Oakland. On Piedmont Ave, you can catch the latest indie film at the Landmark’s Piedmont Theater (the oldest operating movie theatre in the city of Oakland), visit Mountain View Cemetery, go to yoga, buy pet supplies, pick up something for dinner at Piedmont Grocery, watch the game at a bar, or peruse the latest comic books at Dr. Comics & Mr. Games. Piedmont Ave. really is a hub for the community and is a one-stop shopping, eating, and socializing destination.
While in the area, if you are looking to satisfy your sweet tooth or get caffeinated, stops of note include Fenton’s Creamery, where Rocky Road ice cream was born, Timeless Coffee, La Farine bakery, and Gaylord’s Caffe Espresso.
For finer dining, Piedmont Ave. is definitiely the place to be, with choices including the prix fixe menu restaurant Commis, Spanish-inspired Bar Cesar, cozy trattoria Dopo, northern California fare Mago, French-inspired The Wolf, open-kitchen eatery Homestead, and the popular but small Japanese restaurant, Geta.
Though technically considered a “suburb” of Oakland, Piedmont is located in the center of the larger city. Its grand, beautiful homes, semi-urban feel, good schools, and central location make it a very desirable place to live. Casual carpool (pick up on Oakland Ave.) and the C and P transbay buses will get you to San Francisco.
