The Bellevue-Staten, Oakland, California
historic place
The Bellevue-Staten, located in Oakland, California's Alameda County, stands overlooking Lake Merritt. This historic place was completed in 1929. Designed by architect Herman Carl Baumann, the building showcases a blend of Art Deco and Spanish Colonial architectural styles. It was originally built as a luxury apartment complex, and its 1929 sales brochure described it as "the last word in ultra-modern Home-Apartment Construction." The Bellevue-Staten featured Oakland's first parking garage to use an elevator for cars. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1991. In 1999, the Art Deco Society of California recognized it with a Historic Preservation Award. Its well-preserved Art Deco lobby features multi-colored tile floors and bronze elevator doors adorned with squirrel and acorn panels. The Bellevue-Staten is a significant example of architect Herman C. Baumann's work and represents the development of apartment buildings along Lake Merritt in the 1920s.