History of Lake Merritt Hotel

The Lake Merritt Hotel is an enchanting Mediterranean Art Deco building with magnificent views, which is now considered one of Oakland’s proudest landmarks. The building has been renovated, restored and redecorated, and is beautiful and comfortable, with up-to-date amenities. The walls are painted in a rich terra cotta color and special lighting includes intricate wrought iron chandeliers.

First designed as an apartment hotel in 1927 by acclaimed architect William Weeks, the Lake Merritt Hotel was designed for living close to the entertainment and other amenities of downtown. It was the place to stay and the place to take a date for a fabulous evening. The Art Deco ballroom which overlooks the lake is full of artistic splendor, and besides the view, it features a mural painted by Oakland’s acclaimed muralist and sculptor Andre Boratko, depicting scenic views of Lake Merritt.

The Lake Merritt Hotel opened in 1927 as a trunk traveler hotel -- an apartment hotel for people who arrived in Oakland by train for an extended stay. This Art Deco beauty and the Claremont Hotel were considered quite posh. The Lake Merritt charged $3.50 a night, while the Claremont charged $2.75. Lake Merritt rents were higher because it had full kitchens. It also was closer to the train station and the then-new Paramount Theatre. Over the years, its ballroom featured entertainment by the likes of Count Basie, and it was a popular place for parties, weddings and other special events.

The hotel discontinued nightly rentals and became an extended-stay apartment hotel in the '60s. The hotel's owner and the developer of an adjacent property wanted to raze it in the '80s, but preservationists objected. In 1987, lifelong Oakland resident Randall Berger and his wife, Cheryl, real estate investors, bought the building and saved it from destruction.

After the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged only the elevator shaft in 1989, most of the tenants moved out rather than rely on the stairs while the elevator was being repaired. The Bergers refurbished the building in 1991. That year the city also designated it a landmark for its Art Deco, historical and social significance.