Pre-application documents for a several-times proposed Museum of Jazz and Art have been accepted for review by the Oakland Planning Commission. The museum hopes to build on city-owned land at 1310 Oak Street, across from Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland. David Allen, the founder, CEO, and Board Chairman of the Museum of Jazz and Art and lead at Allen Architectural Engineer, is responsible for the crystalline design.
Museum of Jazz and Art at 1310 Oak Street interior view, rendering via Allen Architectural Engineer Website
The proposal appears like a floating aluminum space ship set atop the adaptively reused Fire Alarm Building, completed in 1911 by architect Walter J. Mathews. Triangles serve as an aesthetic motif to express emotion from the inanimate object. The focal point culminates at the corner of Lake Merritt Boulevard and 13th Street, pointing to the Lake Merritt Amphitheater.
Museum of Jazz and Art at 1310 Oak Street set to a composite background image of downtown and Midtown Manhattan, rendering by Allen Architectural Engineer
The 82-foot tall structure will rise four floors, each roughly 20 feet tall, to contain around 70,000 square feet of total area. The interiors will include a 400-500 person auditorium, expansive atrium, galleries, a gift shop, cafe, educational facilities, and an outdoor dining roof terrace with views over Lake Merritt. It will be dwarfed by the neighboring Alameda County Courthouse, complete in 1935 to stand twelve floors with a 151-foot pinnacle.
Museum of Jazz and Art at 1310 Oak Street floor plan, rendering by Allen Architectural Engineer
MOJA hopes to provide a valuable new destination for civic engagement to the community. The planning application outlines four key community benefits within the project’s mission; to serve the public & environment with public free library type services, to educate with music tutors, Jazz Music history classes, and an online archive, to partner with schools for afterschool + summer programs, and building and connect with cultures around the world with the National Hall of Fame. MOJA is a non-profit.
1310 Oak Street, image via Google Street View
In a published statement supporting the proposal in 2019, District 2 Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas wrote, “Museum of Jazz and Art (MOJA) presents an opportunity to prioritize cultural equity and historic preservation, to be a beacon of light for artists, especially Black artists, a place to learn and dream for our students, and a new source of economic opportunity.”
The address is a five-minute walk from the Lake Merritt BART Station and ten minutes from the 12th Street/Oakland BART stop.
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This could be a great asset to the Oakland community. A much improved use than the existing one-story (dilapidated) structure.
This looks amazing!
I’m confused by the rendering. Lake Merritt Blvd appears to be missing, or if it’s supposed to be shown behind the building, it looks way too narrow. They appear to have paved over all the current greenspace to create a second street parallel to the existing streets surrounding it. Very strange.
Maybe the second street is actually a parking lot– disappointing, but better than spending tens of millions on structured parking, I suppose.
Look closer and you’ll see the Lower Manhattan skyline in the background.?
It looks fantastic! Lets get started!
What a positive thing for the City of Oakland.
Finally Oakland has arrived let’s get it started and please employee your local community
I’d like to apply for an exhibition at this hall of fame if my late husband, Paul Jerome Jackson, a founding member of the Headhunters, which was nominated 3 times in a row fir Glammy in 1971, 2 & 3.
Paul, my husband, lived in the past 3 decades and passed away in Japan.
Please contact me, as I have several
things for Paul’s exhibition.
This would be awesome for Oakland. It appears to be sited well, in a commanding triangle next to the courthouse and near the new entrance to OMCA. Let’s hope this actually gets built this time!