Rw's Random Blog

The Mall’s History

Hey folks when I used to live in east Oakland from 2004-2006 the mall was my local stomping grounds. Opened in the early 70’s on the former site of an automotive production plant called the Oakland assembly designed by architect William Pereira.

Drama in the Mall Oh My

Around 2003 I was walking down the empty corridor with some empty storefronts. While heading to the mall’s public library unusual as that seems anyway I looked over to my right and saw the most ironic thing in my life at the time there was get this 2 security guards brawling with each other YIKES. There are things that you should not do and that is fighting each other when they need to be preventing crime from taking place in the mall at the time however it is east Oakland that was a mecca of crime.

Decline&Rebirth into East mont Town Center

During the 70’s and 80’s then east mont mall was on the verge of decline due to high crime rates the city of Oakland was considering demolishing the semi abandoned edifice however it deem too expensive to do so. A few decades later a developer renovated the property that once contained Mervyns, orange Julius, and Jc Penney. New retail breathed new life into the now town center like CVS, a social security office, and the Alameda county medical services replacing most of the empty storefronts.

A transit center for Ac Transit busses was opened on the property march the 4th 2001. 15 bus routes a few going to downtown Oakland Ca with 15,000 passengers a day throughout the greater Oakland and Alameda county.

A senior center facility on the property. The Nathan Miley senior apartments

Building started as a dilapidated, abandoned 4 story building. Completed space consists of a completely gutted and rebuilt structure to serve as modern housing for 69 senior citizens. Major improvements included replacing all of the essential systems, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire safety, windows, walls, doors, cabinetry, elevators and bathrooms.

Through extensive value engineering, over $1M of hazardous materials removal that was not in the original scope of work was absorbed without a net budget increase to the client. The project was completed more than a month ahead of schedule and 10% under budget.

A McDonald’s opened early 2000 me and my family used to eat there from time to time was formerly located on Foothill blvd

the former restaurant site is now abandoned I am not sure if the property is for sale though a gate has been installed to keep out vandals.

East mont Town Center Reviews

Annie G: so sometimes I wonder what I’m doing with my life. And then I go to the Planned Parenthood in the East mont Mall and realize I’m doing OK.
These are the things I saw while I was getting medical treatment for a UTI:
1) A gay, potentially homeless man walked in and rudely asked for some condoms. He was on his cell phone and eating Cup Noodles.
2) The girl sitting next to me was on her cell phone and talking about how she needed emergency contraception because she got, “soooo fucked up last night!” It was a Tuesday morning.
3) My consultation with the nurse got interrupted because the Oakland Police Department needed to talk to her about the homicide of a girl that had recently been a patient.
Kind of a daunting experience for a Tuesday morning before work. But it was nice to feel like I was getting mental gold stars from the nurse when I told him that I’ve never given birth or been pregnant. It’s sometimes nice to have a false sense of hope for oneself. me times I wonder what I’m doing with my life. And then I go to the Planned Parenthood in the East mint Mall and realize I’m doing OK.
These are the things I saw while I was getting medical treatment for a UTI:
1) A gay, potentially homeless man walked in and rudely asked for some condoms. He was on his cell phone and eating Cup Noodles.
2) The girl sitting next to me was on her cell phone and talking about how she needed emergency contraception because she got, “soooo fucked up last night!” It was a Tuesday morning.
3) My consultation with the nurse got interrupted because the Oakland Police Department needed to talk to her about the homicide of a girl that had recently been a patient.
Kind of a daunting experience for a Tuesday morning before work. But it was nice to feel like I was getting mental gold stars from the nurse when I told him that I’ve never given birth or been pregnant. It’s sometimes nice to have a false sense of hope for oneself.

Roland O: malls all over have been closing their doors for good or sitting in disrepair with a couple sad storefronts inside, and the east mont mall has figured out how to not be a waste of space. i started coming here to go to the east mont wellness center. i go to the Dr, and then he gives me referrals to many other drs (dental, women’s clinic, blood work, optometry) that are all in the same building! too bad i usually don’t have time to go everywhere and set up my appointments. next time I’ll make sure to have the whole day free and it’ll stop into the public library to take out a book to read during my waits. i think what they did with the space is really nice.
i would give it 5 stars but being close to the OPD makes it uncomfortable.