Gateway Emergency Preparedness Exhibit Center and Garden

I love this place.
Awesome sweeping views of Oakland/​Berkeley and SF. Come here for a nice sunset or come learn about some fire preparation tips.
Must stop if you’re anywhere NEAR here. If you have to consider if you should stop or not, just do it!

I was on my way from the Cal Campus towards the Caldecott Tunnel when I finally decided to stop here. I lived in this part of the East Bay during the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm and still vividly remember the flames and the news footage of the Claremont Hotel in front of it.
The Gateway Center is an exhibit station resembling the burned-​out frame of a house and a garden area composed of fire-​resistant landscaping and an «interesting» Stonehenge-​like rock formation. If you’re interested in learning just how potentially doomed (Fire or Earthquake) we are for living in the Bay Area, or you just want to check out the view, this place is for you. I could also see a picnic here, but it seemed like more of a teenage hangout when I was here.

I’d driven past this exhibit numerous times but today, after a disappointing trip to Ikea, I decided to swing by on the way home. The day could still be saved, couldn’t it?
As the granite plaque declares, this joint project between the North Hills Landscape Committee and the City of Oakland was dedicated in 2003. The website (
) describes the former as:
«…a group of local residents who lost their homes in the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm and work to prevent future disasters by creating and maintaining landscaped parks in the area and at local schools.»
It was hot today and walking around the platform, it felt very exposed. The sun was beating down on me and I was starting to wonder why they hadn’t simply erected a roof over the steel beams when I realized: that’s exactly the point. Reading about the horrific damage fire and earthquakes can inflict is a different experience when you feel exposed to the sun and wind, and the bare structure of the roof reminds you of a house stripped by fire. On this stage, then, set near the point of origin for the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm, you’re more likely to think, «yeah, it could happen again.»
There’s a tidy botanical garden next to the exhibit, which you gain access to via a series of descending beams set in gravel. The whole thing is pleasingly landscaped and delightful to view from the platform.
Overall, the Gateway Emergency Preparedness Exhibit Center is an effective reminder of the geographical vulnerabilities of living in California. And if you find that too heavy, you can always take in the awe-​inspiring views instead.
Maybe next time I’ll skip the consumerism and go straight to the educational exhibits.