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  Alameda Community Profile
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Most people experience an immediate sense of community the first time they visit Alameda, a scenic island city with beautiful homes, tree-lined streets and remarkable stretches of scenic shoreline. Its small-town atmosphere is reflected in quaint shopping districts, wonderful parks and beaches and good schools. Located in the geographical center of the Bay Area, Alameda also offers easy commutes to San Francisco and Oakland. The following is an overview of Alameda’s neighborhoods:
 Harbor Bay Isle
Harbor Bay Isle is a beautiful water-oriented community of single family homes and town homes and an executive business park. Mostly developed in the 1980s and 1990s, it has superb community amenities, including walking and biking paths surrounding shaded lagoons, a neighborhood shopping center, a state-of-the-art health club and ferry service for quick commutes to San Francisco. Some of the neighborhood’s most dramatic homes are waterfront properties with breathtaking views set along the bay front trail.
 Bay Farm Island
Bay Farm Island truly was an agricultural community before developers began building new homes in the 1950s and some of the farms remained right up into the 1980s. Today, the ranch style homes in this neighborhood make great starter properties and families who buy here enjoy the same quality schools and amenities as Harbor Bay. Bay Farm also features a number of townhome developments dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
 East End
The East End is roughly comprised of three smaller neighborhoods: the Fernside District, where elegant Mediterranean homes dating back to the 1930s sit on winding tree lined streets, a district of older, turn-of-the-century homes and apartments spreading out from the tiny commercial district at Versailles and Encinal, and a section of homes built after WWII, east of High Street. Like the rest of Alameda, it’s a wonderful area to explore on foot. Residents of the East End enjoy shopping at the charming Encinal Market, strolling Thompson Avenue, which becomes "Christmas Tree Lane" in December, and playing in Lincoln Park, a gracious sweep of lawn and oak trees with a fine recreation center and swimming pool.
 Central Alameda
Central Alameda boasts some of Alameda’s oldest homes next to the Northern Waterfront where the shipping industry once thrived. The remainder of this large district is a patchwork of smaller neighborhoods. Generally, the housing styles are mixed, from charming older homes and Victorian flats to apartment buildings and contemporary condominiums. Central Alameda also holds major civic buildings, such as City Hall, the main library, Alameda High School and Kofman Auditorium, where the Alameda Civic Light Opera performs. Alameda’s most popular retail destination also lies in Central Alameda — Park Street, where charming turn-of-the-century store fronts boast dozens of lovely retail shops, cafes and restaurants.
 Gold Coast
The term "Gold Coast" denotes the shoreline that once ran along this neighborhood’s southern edge before the South Shore was developed. The Gold Coast’s first homes were built by wealthy out-of-towners who sought second homes near the beach. They often spared no expense and today magnificent turn-of-the-century Victorian and Edwardian homes line quiet leafy streets like San Antonio, Dayton and Paru. Tucked in between these historic gems are more spectacular Mediterraneans and Arts and Crafts homes, often built to a generous scale.
 South Shore
An ease of living marks the South Shore neighborhoods with their sleek 1960’s style homes that have become fashionable again with those seeking retro modernist designs. Many are set around a large lagoon that sits just north of Otis Drive. South Shore residents enjoy long morning walks along Crown Memorial beach and easy access to the South Shore Shopping Center.
 West End
Webster Street, a retail district that is undergoing a spectacular renaissance, anchors the West End of Alameda. A good portion of the neighborhood was developed during World War II, when Alameda expanded its military base. Today these small homes with their hardwood floors and wood-framed windows are ideal starter properties. Other options lie among Arts and Crafts bungalow homes, 1960s contemporaries and sets of Victorian flats. For those seeking a nautical lifestyle, Ballena Bay, developed in the 1980s boasts dramatic town homes set along deep water docks. More water oriented properties are available among Alameda’s floating homes in the Barnhill Marina just east of Webster Street.
 Marina Village
On the estuary with its own network of lagoons, views of the Marina, Jack London Square, and the Oakland hills, Marina Village is a thoughtfully laid out business park and residential development spread across 205 acres. Nearly every property is water oriented and faces a lagoon or the estuary. Amenities include a swimming pool, spa and a popular shopping center which features everything from a major grocery store to fine dining.
 Alameda Point
Big changes are in store for the West End as Alameda Point, the city’s 2,500-acre former military base, is poised for redevelopment. Some new housing has already been completed in the award-winning Bayport Alameda, a master-planned community of nearly 500 homes. More plans are in the works for hundreds of new homes, a waterfront golf course and a 900-slip marina along with office parks and shopping centers.
Alameda Festivals Calendar
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