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1914 2

The Princeton Apartments are at 353 Grand Avenue on the corner of Perkins, and opened c.1913. 1 For at least 11 years, the building was signed as the Mei Lan Building and 353 Grand.

Less than a year and a half after opening, Judge E.J. Turner sold the building to J.F. Garrette for $80,000 in 1914. 2

A fire truck crashed into the building in 2022 after swerving to avoid a car on Grand. It broke the water main, which flooded the ground floor spaces. 4

Commercial Spaces

The building had commercial spaces grafted on at some point before 1950, which is probably when it lost the front porch, and has had a variety of ground floor tenants over the years, including Coffee With a Beat on the Perkins St. side. The tenants were evicted in 2017 when the building changed hands. 3

In 2023, Clio's Bookshop opened on the ground floor. 5 At some point they added a bar.

1950 Sanborn excerptsign in 2010
CC SA-BY Our Oakland

Links and References

  1. New Apartment House Near Lake is Leased Oakland Tribune July 27, 1913
  2. Rice King Selects Oakland For Investment Oakland Enquirer October 24, 1914
  3. The Beat Won’t Go On: Chicago Landlord Evicts Coffee With A Beat, Longtime Adams Point Shops East Bay Express March 30, 2017
  4. Oakland firetruck crashes into apartment complex, 3 firefighters injured East Bay Times February 26, 2022
  5. A ‘cabinet of curiosities’ bookstore is coming to Oakland Oaklandside May 18, 2023
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