37°42′N122°00′W / 37.7°N 122°W /37.7; -122
East Bay | |
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 The East Bay in 2015, with the Bay Bridge connecting from Oakland to Treasure Island and San Francisco  Oakland and the Bay Bridge  Oakland .jpg) Mount Diablo | |
 Map of incorporated and unincorporated areas in East Bay, California | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Part of | San Francisco Bay Area |
| Principal city | Oakland |
| Other municipalities | |
| Area codes | 510/341,925 |
TheEast Bay is the eastern region of theSan Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores ofSan Francisco Bay andSan Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities inAlameda andContra Costa counties.[1] With a population of roughly 2.8 million in 2024, it is the most populous subregion in the Bay Area, containing the second- and third-most populous Bay Area counties of Alameda (1.7 million) and Contra Costa (1.1 million).[2]
Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay by population and the third largest in the Bay Area. The city serves as a major transportation hub for theU.S. West Coast, and itsport is the largest inNorthern California. Increased population has led to the growth of largeedge cities such asAlameda,Concord,Emeryville,Fremont,Hayward,Livermore,Pleasanton,San Ramon, andWalnut Creek.
Although initial development in the greater Bay Area focused onSan Francisco, the coastal East Bay came to prominence in the middle of the 19th century as the part of the Bay Area most accessible by land from the east. Thetranscontinental railroad was completed in 1869 with its western terminus at the newly constructedOakland Long Wharf, and the new city ofOakland rapidly developed into a significant seaport. Today thePort of Oakland is the Bay Area's largest port and the fifth largestcontainer shipping port in the United States.[3] In 1868, theUniversity of California was formed from the privateCollege of California and a new campus was built in what would become Berkeley. The1906 San Francisco earthquake saw a large number of refugees flee to the relatively undamaged East Bay, and the region continued to grow rapidly. As the East Bay grew, the push to connect it with a more permanent link than ferry service resulted in the completion of theSan Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936.
The Bay Area saw further growth in the decades following World War II, with the population doubling between 1940 and 1960, and doubling again by 2000. The 1937 completion of theCaldecott Tunnel through theBerkeley Hills fueled growth further east, where there was undeveloped land. Cities in the Diablo Valley, includingConcord andWalnut Creek, saw their populations increase tenfold or more between 1950 and 1970. The addition of theBART commuter rail system in 1972 further encouraged development in increasingly far-flung regions of the East Bay. Today, the valleys east of theBerkeley Hills contain large affluent suburban communities such as Walnut Creek,San Ramon andPleasanton.
The East Bay is not a formally defined region, aside from its being described as a region inclusive of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. As development moves generally eastward, new areas are described as being part of the East Bay[by whom?]. In 1996,BART was extended from its terminus in Concord to a new station inPittsburg, symbolically incorporating the newly expanded Delta communities of Pittsburg andAntioch as extended regions of the East Bay.[4] Beyond the borders of Alameda County, the large population ofTracy is connected as abedroom community housing commuters traveling to or through the East Bay.
Except for some hills and ridges which exist as parklands or undeveloped land, and some farmland in eastern Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, the East Bay is highly urbanized. The East Bay shoreline is an urban corridor with several cities exceeding 100,000 residents, including the cities ofOakland,Hayward,Fremont,Richmond, andBerkeley. In the inland valleys on the east side of the Berkeley Hills, the land is mostly developed, particularly on the eastern fringe of Contra Costa county and theTri-Valley area. In the inland valleys, the population density is less and the cities smaller. Cities exceeding 100,000 residents in the inland valleys includeAntioch andConcord.
East Bay cities include:
The East Bay has a free weekly newspaper, theEast Bay Express, which has reported on the culture and politics of the East Bay for over 30 years, and has influenced the identification of the East Bay as a culturally defined region of the Bay Area.The East Bay Monthly, another free newspaper, has been published since 1970. In the early years of the evolution ofUSA Today, during the early 1980s, they operated regional newspapers, with the region's paper entitledEast Bay Today.[5][6]
TheSolano Avenue Stroll, the oldest and largeststreet festival in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, is held every September on theSolano Avenue shopping district in Albany and Berkeley.
The East Bay is the birthplace of many musical acts, includingCreedence Clearwater Revival,Country Joe and the Fish.Counting Crows,Yesterday and Today,Digital Underground,Green Day,Operation Ivy,Primus,Rancid,Set Your Goals,Tower of Power (whose debut album is titledEast Bay Grease),The Pointer Sisters,MC Hammer,Tony! Toni! Toné!,Too Short,Spice 1,en Vogue,Pete Escovedo and Sheila E,Keyshia Cole, andMac Dre. The region is a major center for the development ofrock,folk,funk,jazz,hip hop,soul andwomen's music.
Bay Area thrash metal has centered strongly on the East Bay, including the bandsExodus andMetallica, among others.Possessed andDeath, both considered the firstdeath metal bands,[7][8][9][10] have roots or connections in the East Bay: Possessed formed inEl Sobrante, with Death debuting nationally while inConcord.
Major music (and sports) venues include theOakland Arena; adjacentOakland Coliseum; theOakland Paramount Theater, venue for theOakland East Bay Symphony; theFox Oakland Theatre, theUC Berkeley Greek Theater, the nonprofitThe Freight and Salvage, and theConcord Pavilion (formerly Sleep Train Pavilion).
Major museums include theOakland Museum of California, theLawrence Hall of Science and theChabot Space and Science Center.
TheEast Bay Regional Parks District operates over fifty parks, many consisting of significant acreage of wildlands, in the East Bay, many directly adjacent to urban centers.Tilden Regional Park, is one of the largest regional parks (2,000 acres (8.1 km2)) located directly adjacent to the urban center of Berkeley.Briones Regional Park, at 5,000 acres, is another large wildlands park near an urban center, Walnut Creek.
The East Bay also has a rich political history. One of the revolutionary movements founded in Oakland was theBlack Panther Party.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
The East Bay is home to many of the restaurants central to the creation ofCalifornia cuisine, includingChez Panisse.
All vehicular crossings of the San Francisco Bay land in the counties comprising the East Bay.Interstate highways in the East Bay includeInterstates 80,580,680,880,980, and238.California State Routes 24,4,13,92,160,242,84, andRichmond Parkway are limited access highways for at least part of their lengths in the area.State Route 61,State Route 84,State Route 123,State Route 185, andState Route 238 are major surface streets that receive state funding for maintenance.San Pablo Avenue previously carriedU.S. Route 40 until the terminus was moved progressively east toUtah.
AC Transit is the major bus transit agency for the region, and provides bus service throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties, hence the "AC" moniker.County Connection,WestCAT,WHEELS,Tri Delta Transit andUnion City Transit also provide bus service in the East Bay.
Ferry service is provided bySan Francisco Bay Ferry fromJack London Square and Alameda Harbor, with service atRichmond Ferry Terminal slated to begin in 2018.Hercules may also see future ferry service to San Francisco.
Bicycle transportation is strongly promoted by city and county agencies, and by organizations like theEast Bay Bicycle Coalition.
Major pedestrian paths across the region include theSan Francisco Bay Trail, theBay Area Ridge Trail, theOhlone Greenway,Iron Horse Regional Trail,Contra Costa Canal Trail, and theRichmond Greenway.
Rail service in the East Bay dates to theFirst transcontinental railroad, when theWestern Pacific Railroad was contracted by theCentral Pacific Railroad to provide the link between the Bay andSacramento. This railroad eventually became theNiles Canyon Railway. Service to Alameda commenced in September 1869, four months after driving thegolden spike at Promintory, Utah.Oakland Long Wharf eventually became the western terminus before ferry service to San Francisco. This road provided the sole link to the rest of the country until about 1879 when a more direct route across the Carquinez Strait was completed. Today,Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) operatescommuter rail services through Niles Canyon to San Jose.
Streetcar service across the East Bay was historically provided by theKey System, incorporated in 1902 as theSan Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose Railway. An amalgamation of severalstreetcar companies established in the late part of the century, the Key System provided interurban routes across Alameda county, with connections to San Francisco ferries via their private Key System Pier.Southern Pacific ran a competing system, East Bay Electric Lines, until they, too, had the Key System take over operations. When theSan Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936, Key System cars could make the trip directly to theTransbay Terminal across the lower deck. Streetcars were replaced with busses in 1948 and transbay service halted in 1958. The system's assets were sold to the newly formed AC Transit in 1960.
The East Bay's modern rail transit service isBay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, which was primarily designed to deliver commuters to San Francisco via theTransbay Tube, and to a lesser extent Oakland and Berkeley.
Amtrak'sCalifornia Zephyr terminates inEmeryville, providing connections as far asChicago, and further stations across the East Bay are served byAmtrak California'sCoast Starlight andGold Runner.
The East Bay has a mixed economy of services, manufacturing, and small and large businesses. The region is headquarters to a number of highly notable businesses, includingKaiser Permanente,Chevron, andSafeway, among others. The East Bay Economic Development Alliance was founded by Alameda County as the Economic Development Advisory Board in 1990 as a public/private partnership with the mission to promote the East Bay as an important region for development, with Contra Costa County joining in 1996, and the current name chosen in 2006.[18]
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The East Bay, as a part of the greater Bay Area, is a highly developed region, and is a major center for new and established economic ventures.[19] Along with the county governments of Alameda and Contra Costa, the largest employers are:
Other major companies with headquarters in the East Bay include10x Genomics,24 Hour Fitness,Alibris,ANG Newspapers,Clif Bar,Clorox,Columbus Salame,Dreyer's,Ellie Mae,GE Digital,Ghirardelli Chocolate Company,Gillig Corporation,LeapFrog,Peet's Coffee,Pixar Animation Studios,Ross Stores andWorkday.Mervyn's headquarters were located in the East Bay until they declared bankruptcy. TheNew United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) automobile manufacturing plant employed about 5,100 employees at its peak.Tesla, Inc. has taken over part of the NUMMI plant, which is still the only automobile manufacturing plant in California.
The East Bay is served by a number of both public and private higher education institutions:
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