A picture of the apartment building from about 150 yards away at the top of a ramp that leads to an underpass between the Kaiser Convention Center and 14th Street. The body of water immediately before it is the western edge of Lake Merritt. The tide was low at the time the picture was taken Generally it would be a couple of feet higher.

A view across the lake of the eastern side. The Oakland hills are in the background.

The Essex, a new luxury rental building that opened last year, taken from the western edge of Lake Merritt. Really snazzy too, but WAY overpriced, especially since the rental market is getting rather soft because of the economic downturn. Nicely done building though, with VERY nice views of the lake, especially at night when the lights around the lake are lit.

Another shot of the apartment building, this time from across the lake, about 5 minutes walk west along 14th Street.

A shot north across the lake from the sidewalk across the street in front of the building.

A shot across the lake from the walkaround around the lake, roughly in front of the building. You can see the columns in the distance in the center of the picture, with the Oakland hills in the background. There are a couple of apartment buildings in the background on the left. There's a boom, the white ribbon stretching across the lake, that traps debris washed down after the rain.

The tennis courts near the apartment. The building in the background is Lake Merritt bakery, part of a small shopping area that includes an Albertson's supermarket and a couple of small restaurants. Across 3rd St. there's also a Walgreens pharmacy. The apartment building is about 5 minutes walk to the right. The black car on the right is now entering Lakeshore Avenue from Foothill Boulevard. The trees in the left of the picture are California redwoods.

The houses on the hill. A shot of the houses across Lakeshore Avenue from the trail around the lake. The columns are out of picture to the left, about 100 yards away.

A shot of me on the north side of the walkway under the columns. In the background is northern loop of Lakeshore Avenue, with the Lakeshore branch of the Oakland Public Library. If you look closely above my right shoulder you'll see an elevated roadway, Highway 580, which runs east-west.

The view from the columns looking west across the lake. The tall building left of center is our apartment building. The structure to the right is the Kaiser Convention Center, which contains a busy performing arts theater. The taller building behind it is Laney College, a 2-year college, that is across 10th Street from the Convention Center. The building with the domed roof and flagpole atop it is the Superior Court building on Oak and 10th Streets. The buildings to the right of those are in downtown Oakland proper. The black band across the lake in the near distance is a boom that stretches across that part of the lake to trap debris washed through the storm drains.