The Necklace of Lights — 126 lampposts and 3,400 bulbs — was first lit in 1925, went dark for the 1941 blackout, was relit in 1987, and turned 100 in 2025.
The hills above town tell an older story about the sea. The East Bay ridges once carried a forest of giant coast redwoods, and two of them stood so tall that ship captains sixteen miles out lined them up with Yerba Buena Island to steer clear of Blossom Rock, a hazard lurking just beneath the bay — Captain F.W. Beechey of the Royal Navy wrote the bearing into his log in 1826. The old giants were felled by about 1855 to build Gold Rush San Francisco, and the redwoods that shade Redwood Regional and Joaquin Miller parks today are their descendants, sprouted from the original stumps. The site of the Navigation Trees is California Historical Landmark No. 962, at the Madrone Picnic Area high in the Oakland hills.
Why People Visit Oakland
Visitors come to Oakland for a Bay Area city with its own strong character: a wild lake at its center, redwood groves in the hills, a historic waterfront, and one of the most celebrated food scenes in California. The museums and Jack London Square sit minutes from the lake, and San Francisco is a quick trip across the bay. Equal parts oak-grove heritage and creative energy, Oakland rewards anyone drawn to the heart of the East Bay.
