37°48′22.25″N 122°16′12.93″W / 37.8061806°N 122.2702583°W
Federal Realty Building | |
Oakland Designated Landmark No. 70 | |
_2.JPG) | |
   | |
| Location | 1615 Broadway, Oakland, California |
|---|---|
| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Built | 1914[2] |
| Architect | Benjamin Geer McDougall |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000467[1] |
| ODL No. | 70 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | January 2, 1979 |
| Designated ODL | 1983 |
The Cathedral Building (originally named the Federal Realty Building), built in 1914, was the first Gothic Revival style skyscraper west of the Mississippi River, located in Oakland, California.[2]
Description and history
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Zio Ziegler's United Nations mural on the north wall of the Cathedral Building
It is also called the "Wedding Cake" for its appearance, which resembles New York's Flatiron Building.[2] Its narrow, triangular form is a result of its location on Latham Square, where Telegraph Avenue branches off diagonally from Broadway. It was designed by architect Benjamin Geer McDougall.[2] It was developed by Brog Properties, a Downtown Oakland development firm who renovated the building for mixed residential and commercial units.[2] In June 2015, the United Nations Foundation commissioned Bay Area street artist Zio Ziegler to create a mural on the Cathedral Building's north-facing wall. The mural commemorates the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, California on June 26, 1945.[3]
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 2, 1979.[1]
In 2012, Oakland North reported that the ground-floor retail space of the Cathedral Building was occupied by Runway Style House (also referred to as Uptown Runway), a fashion and cultural retail concept founded by Oakland-based creative director, Alanna Rayford. The tenancy marked one of the first sustained commercial activations of the space in decades and included the adaptive reuse of the building’s basement level. At the time, Rayford was refurbishing the building’s basement level for cultural and arts-related use. The report also documented access to underground tunnel areas beneath the building.[4]
The third floor of the Cathedral Building was the setting for Cassius's apartment in the Oakland-based Boots Riley film Sorry to Bother You.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Mitchell, Eve (September 12, 2008), "Luxury condos rise in landmark Oakland skyscraper", Contra Costa Times
- ^ Burke, Sarah (June 17, 2015), "Oakland's New International Icon: Last week, street artist Zio Ziegler partnered with the United Nations to erect a massive mural in downtown Oakland in the form of a figure releasing a dove", East Bay Express.
- ^ Harshaw, Pendarvis; Anderson, Mark (October 31, 2012). "Halloween tour of downtown Oakland's Cathedral Building". Oakland North. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
- ^ Costley, Drew (July 17, 2018). "The Black Panther bringing the spotlight to Oakland". SFGate. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
External links
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