Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Alameda (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: USS Hornet Museum, Pacific Pinball Museum, and Bay Farm Island Bridge. Also, be sure to include Croll Building in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Alameda (California).
Table of Contents
USS Hornet Museum
Museum in Alameda, California. The USS Hornet Museum is a museum ship, located on the southernmost pier of the former Naval Air Station Alameda in Alameda, California, US.
The museum is composed of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, exhibits from the NASA Apollo Moon exploration missions, and several retired aircraft from the Second World War and the transonic and early supersonic jet propulsion period. A number of compartments contain exhibits concerning contemporary carriers that are supported by related associations. The flight deck, hangar deck, and first deck below are open for self-guided tours. Docent-led tours are available into the ship's navigation and flight deck control areas of the island and down into one of the engineering spaces containing two of the four ship's propulsion turbines.[1]
Address: 707 W Hornet Ave, 94501 Alameda
Pacific Pinball Museum
Historic and playable pinball machines. The Pacific Pinball Museum is a Board Managed and certified 501 C nonprofit interactive museum/arcade offering a chronological and historical selection of rare bagatelles and early pinball games in addition to over 90 playable pinball machines ranging in era from the 1940s to present day located on Webster Street in Alameda, CA.
Throughout the 7,000 sq/ft museum are hand-painted murals, vintage Jukeboxes, educational handouts and rotating focused exhibits. There are also provisions for field-trips, self guided tours, educated docents and STEAM educational programs as part of the museum's "Play & Learn" philosophy.[2]
Address: 1510 Webster St, 94501 Alameda (Alameda)
Bay Farm Island Bridge
Bridge in Alameda, California. The San Leandro Bay Bridge, better known as the Bay Farm Island Bridge, is a single-leaf bascule drawbridge spanning the San Leandro Channel, the inlet of San Leandro Bay within the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States. It carries California State Route 61 and links the main island of Alameda with Bay Farm Island within the city of Alameda. The present bridge was completed in 1953; it is paralleled by a second bridge devoted to pedestrian and bicycle traffic, the Bay Farm Island Bicycle Bridge.
The Bay Farm Island Bridge is one of the four bridges and two tunnels linking Alameda Island with the mainland. It is the longest bridge of the four.[3]
Address: CA State Route 61, Alameda
Croll Building
Building in Alameda, California. The Croll Building, in Alameda, California, was the site of Croll's Gardens and Hotel, famous as training quarters for some of the greatest fighters in boxing history from 1883 to 1914. James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Jim Jefferies, Jack Johnson, and many other champions all stayed and trained here.
Today this building is home to 1400 Bar & Grill. The stained glass, elaborate etched windows, and carved wooden bar remain as they were when Neptune Beach was a popular attraction.
The second floor of the building is currently a residential hotel, with the third floor of the building being office space.
The building is registered as California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NPS-82000960). It is located at the corner of Webster Street and Central Avenue. A large "Croll's" neon sign marks the location.[4]
Address: 705 Central Avenue, Alameda (Alameda)
Park Street Bridge
Bascule bridge in Oakland, California. The Park Street Bridge is a double-leaf bascule drawbridge spanning 372 feet of the Oakland Estuary in the San Francisco Bay Area. It links the cities of Oakland and Alameda. In a year, the bridge is opened approximately 1700 times and carries approximately 40,000 vehicles per work day. It was built when the Oakland Estuary was trenched, converting Alameda from a peninsula to an island.
The Park Street bridge is one of the four bridges that allow access to Alameda. It is considered the best route for bicycles to cross to Alameda as the small narrow walkway in the Posey Tube is difficult to navigate if there is another pedestrian or bicyclist also using it.
According to the Historic Bridges.org, The design of this fixed trunnion bascule bridge is strikingly similar to the earliest fixed trunnion bascule bridges built in Chicago in the first decade of the 20th Century including external rack (visible at the ends of the trusses) and through truss design (with no overhead bracing at the center of the bridge), however this California example dates to 1935.[5]
Address: Park Street Bridge, 94501 Alameda
Basilica of St. Joseph
Catholic church in Alameda, California. The Basilica of St. Joseph is a Roman Catholic church located in Alameda, California at 1109 Chestnut Street. Its history dates back to early settlement of the City of Alameda, California. A former mission church of St. Anthony's in Oakland, the parish of St. Joseph's was established in 1885. It is part of the Diocese of Oakland. The Basilica was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1978.[6]
Address: 1109 Chestnut St, 94501-4212 Alameda (Alameda)
First Presbyterian Church of Alameda
Church building in Alameda, California. The First Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Building is a historic church building at 2001 Santa Clara Avenue in Alameda, California. It was built in 1904, and was added to the National Register in 1980.
It is 60 by 100 feet (18 m × 30 m) in plan.
The building's main sanctuary walls include 14 stained glass windows. Four of these are decorative; ten depict Christ.
Other buildings on the property, built in 1967, are not included in the nomination.[7]
Address: 2001 Santa Clara Ave, 94501 Alameda (Alameda)
Crab Cove Visitor Center
Park, Relax in park, Visitor center, Beach
Address: 1252 McKay Ave, 94501 Alameda
Oakland Yacht Club
Sailing, Marina
Address: 1101 Pacific Marina, 94501 Alameda (Alameda)
Posey and Webster Street Tubes
The Posey and Webster Street Tubes are two parallel underwater tunnels connecting the cities of Oakland and Alameda, California, running beneath the Oakland Estuary. Both are immersed tubes, constructed by sinking precast concrete segments to a trench in the Estuary floor, then sealing them together to create a tunnel. The Posey Tube, completed in 1928, currently carries one-way traffic under the Estuary, while the Webster Street Tube, completed in 1963, carries traffic from Oakland to Alameda.
The Posey Tube is the second-oldest underwater vehicular tunnel in the US, preceded only by the Holland Tunnel. It is the oldest immersed tube vehicular tunnel in the world.[8]
Address: Posey and Webester Street, 94502 Alameda (Alameda)
Alameda Theatre
Theatre in Alameda, California. The Alameda Theatre is an Art Deco movie theatre built in 1932 in Alameda, California. It opened with a seating capacity of 2,168. It was designed by architect Timothy L. Pflueger and was the last grand movie palace built in the San Francisco Bay Area. It closed in the 1980s as a triplex theatre and was later used as a gymnastics studio. A restoration and expansion project was completed in 2008, making the historic theater the primary anchor of an eight-screen multiplex.[9]