The "Oak-ness Monster" has been spotted in Lake Merritt since the 1940s. It's described as your standard Loch Ness-style creature with humps, spikes, and a long tongue. According to locals, the best spot to catch a peek of the mega-beast is from docks at the Lake Chalet restaurant.

Democrat Jerry Brown served as the 34th governor of California from 1975 to 1983. He later served as Mayor of Oakland from 1999 to 2007 and Attorney General of California from 2007 to 2011, before serving a second stint as governor from 2011 to 2019. He was both the oldest and sixth-youngest governor of California due to the 28-year gap between his second and third terms.

Oakland was one of the worst affected cities in California during the bubonic plague epidemic of 1907. Quarantine measures were set in place at the Oakland ports, requiring authorities to inspect thousands of vessels for the presence of infected rats, and by 1908, over 5,000 people had been detained in quarantine.

Victor J. Bergeron invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, Trader Vic's, in Oakland, California. The cocktail's name is taken from the Tahitian word for "good" or "excellence".

By 1929, when automobile manufacturer Chrysler expanded with a new plant there, Oakland had become known as the "Detroit of the West," referring to the major auto manufacturing center in Michigan.

Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County. The Spanish word alameda means either "a grove of poplars" or "a tree lined street." The name was originally used to describe the Arroyo de la Alameda because the willow and sycamore trees along the banks of the river reminded the early Spanish explorers of a road lined with trees.

The Port of Oakland is the busiest port in the San Francisco Bay. It is part of the California's Green Trade Corridor Marine Highway project, as ships move cargo much greener than trucks and trains.