Donated to the city of Oakland by Dr. Samuel Merritt, a physician and Oakland’s thirteenth mayor, Lake Merritt is a unique lake with both freshwater and salt water. A sanctuary and stop-over for countless migratory birds, it was designated a protected National Wildlife Refuge in 1870, the first one in America. On the acreage surrounding the lake are numerous themed gardens, a children’s amusement park, a boat-rental center, a nature center, a library, a museum, tennis courts, and a convention center. And towering above it all since 1929 is the fifteen-story Bellevue-Staten building.
Named for the two streets that intersect at its corner, the complex is colloquially known to locals as “the Ghostbusters building,” due to its passing resemblance to a structure featured prominently in the 1984 blockbuster comedy. Designed by San Francisco-based architect Herman Carl Baumann in a singular mixture of Art Deco and Spanish Baroque styles, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Distinctive design elements include chess-piece-like finials along its rooftop, a poured-concrete Churrigueresque-style entry, and a two-story lobby with coffered-plaster ceiling and bronze elevator doors decorated with panels of squirrels eating acorns (a symbol of Oakland).
Originally a luxury apartment high-rise, the landmark building is now a condo complex with 36 units, one of which is currently on the market. Located on the fifth floor, it measures 1,160 square feet, within which are contained one bedroom with walk-in closet, one bath, a formal entry, living room, dining room, kitchen, and storage area. Among its many charming attributes are hardwood parquet floors, copious casement windows allowing in ample natural light, a decorative fireplace, crown molding, archways, and coffered-wood doors.
Less charming are the kitchen and bathroom, which appear to have fallen victim to a mid-’90s remodel in which their walls and floors were sheathed in small stone tiles in various shades of gray and brown, complemented with countertops of glossy brown granite, and, in the bathroom, a dreaded vessel sink. Fortunately, the East Bay happens to blessed with a number of outstanding architectural salvage dealers where one can find most if not all of the elements to execute a suitable period restoration, like this six-piece ceramic bathroom set in a lovely pale jade hue, for instance.
The condo is listed with Ana Canezales-Menendez of Sotheby’s International Realty for an asking price of $549,000, plus monthly HOA dues of $1,827, which covers the building’s 24-hour valet and concierge service, as well as cable TV, security, sewer, trash, water, heat, and grounds maintenance costs. The condo also comes with Mills Act tax benefits.
