Kaiser Center Events

This review is for the roof garden only. Which btw is a hidden gem! I love to come here and walk on my work breaks. There are a couple of ways to get to the roof garden.
1) get into the main building (tower) go up the second floor via escalator and then take the foot bridge over to the parking garage. From there either take stairs up or elevator to roof.
2) there are a couple of garage entrances behind the main tower as well as adjacent to the 24 hr fitness.
3) go to the ordway building go up one floor and take the foot bridge.
It’s beautifully done. The story goes that Henry kaiser didn’t want to see parked cars on the roof top from his view so he told the designers to make it a garden. So that’s what they did. Interestingly the trees are strategically placed where the columns are and all the rocks are super light pumice to reduce load on the structure.
Fun tidbit: During the summers the building management hosts free live music at the garden on Friday’s from noon to 1pm. If you work or live close by its totally worth checking out.

Went to the post modern jukebox with the California symphony fundraiser, The «speakeasy symphony.» It was a lovely night, a little chilly but full of great music and fun. The set up with hors d’oeuvres and champagne, and drink tokens for a stronger stuff, was nice. There was multiple stations and easy to get to a bartender or food with little wait. Staff was uniformly helpful and pleasant. I didn’t eat anything but the drinks were good. I tried to have a cup of coffee but it tasted like warm pool water. The venue itself is pretty. The wooden bridge isn’t good for people wearing heels, it’s easy to get a heel stuck in it. The bathrooms are a little small and ugly. Overall it’s a nice place to listen to music or have an event. Parking was super easy.

This post is long overdue. My wife and I had our wedding here in July. From start to finish everything was seamless. When searching for venues we didn’t consider an all inclusive venue until we came upon Kaiser Center Events. Although all inclusive’s are a little more pricey, it was well worth it. We were stress-​free throughout the entire process. Tamiko and her staff were very productive and on top of everything from the first initial meeting until the last minute of our wedding. The company has all of their own vendors, we just had to meet with everyone to make our selected choices.
I can say I felt like a princess the day of my wedding because I didn’t have to lift a finger or do anything but get ready and look beautiful! The day before our wedding we meet Tamiko and dropped all of our items off to her and they took it from there. Our wedding was beautiful. The food was great, the flowers and decorations we amazing, our cake was delicious, the drinks were great and the DJ kept our guest dancing all night.
Tamiko was also our Day of Coordinator (they recommend you have one) which worked out great because she was very familiar with the venue and all of the vendors. She was very helpful with any questions or concerns we had leading up to our big day!
All of our guest have continuously raved about our wedding up till this day. My wife and I were so wrapped in the wedding that we always say to one another «we wish we would have been guest at our wedding». Everyone said they had so much fun and it was the best wedding they’ve been too. I would definitely recommend Kaiser Center Events to any couple looking for a stress-​free venue that is amazingly gorgeous!

Make sure your contract included AIR CONDITIONING AFTER HOURS. I’m there right now, yesterday it was 80 degrees in Oakland, and they turned off the air conditioner to the whole building. It was so friggen hot inside, that I couldn’t even listen to the talks. I’m talking, sweat dripping off my hair — HOT. HELLO Kaiser – when one rents your space, they assume they are also paying for Heat and/​or AIR! They told the organizers that if they wanted air turned on they would have to pay for the entire building. WTf? Isn’t that included in the price? If you do pick this place, be sure to read your contract.

This review is for the garden on top only! I work in the Ordway building and the skybridge takes me to this lovely place. I feel lucky that I have several green spaces to enjoy while I’m at work. During the lunch hour, KP was sponsoring some fitness event and others were enjoying the sun and the scenery.

Who knew a whole park existed on top of a Kaiser building? Well… not I.
We attended a fundraiser for Alameda County Meals on Wheels and the weather was nearly perfect. The wind picked up a bit just before dusk so bring a second layer if you’ve never been there. We overheard Contra Costa folks complaining about the «cold.»

Can you believe there is a whole new world above the Kaiser Garage? I’m not kidding. We went to a non-​profit gala event for Meals on Wheels. This was our first time visiting this place. Heck I never knew it existed until now.
Since this was our first time we had no clue where to go. We ended up parking on 21^st, but then later found out if you take 21^st street down and on your left after Kaiser Plz is the parking garage. From the parking garage, you will take an elevator to the top floor.
Once we stepped onto the roof top. I was in AWWW on how beautiful the place was. I would never guess I was in Oakland.
There were trees, colorful flowers, real green grass, bushes and the most amazing thing was a bridge over water and a fountain. Whomever was the architect for this design, I have to give them mad props. It was absolutely breath taking. I can see why people have parties (i.e. weddings) here. They also provide an indoor banquet hall.
Lake Merritt is just across the street from the garage, in case you want to take a stroll later or take pictures.
In a nut shell… you can have your wedding here for $ 99 or $ 119 per person (which includes floral, linen colors, menus and cake designs). To throw an event (no wedding) will range from $ 79 or $ 99 per guest.
The staff here were on top of it! Dressed professionally in black and they made sure you were taken care of.
Even if you’re not getting married or having a party, you should check this place out. It’s a place that will take you away from all the hustle and bustle of your work life.

Hidden gem in the heart of Uptown. I had no idea it was here and still wouldn’t if I had not attended the 8^th annual Oakland indie awards. Great place for a private event. Fabulous skyline views, plenty of parking and an abundant space with a great indoor to outdoor flow. Highly recommend RSVPing yes to any event located here.

this review is solely as a potential wedding venue –
a beautiful rooftop garden! the indoor reception option was a little disappointing but had big windows that looked out into the garden. there was one area right outside where it was very urban with steel pillars all around where you could also have your reception, if you wanted that look. very nice if you had everything outdoors though. except you do hear police sirens going off now and then, and we were worried about sirens sounding during our wedding, so we ultimately decided not to have our wedding here :3

Very good place for taking after lunch walks! Sometimes they have live bands playing!

Best place to come during lunch! Who would’ve imagined that the top of a parking lot can be so pretty!
Landscape is perfect. I come up here at least 3 out of the 5 workdays. If you work around the area, this is a must.
Its a great time to get away from the hustle & bustle of work!

Definitely worth seeing. Very unique and enjoyable. If I worked in the area I would consider having lunch in the gardens daily versus down below with the beautiful scenery versus the tons of people below!

Wow! A pretty park that you can reserve for a private party. Nice water feature through the middle. Definitely bring a picnic lunch and check it out!

wow!!! i never even knew about this place, thank you Unilocal!!!It’s in downtown so it’s hard to find parking but i found street parking up the street and walked over. The garden isn’t very big but it is very serene and i really wished i had a book and could just sit there for a while. I took a bunch of pics, talked to a couple from Alabama who were visiting and were told to check this place out by someone from their hotel.
Mp’s take, check this place out, it’s a hidden gem and a great place to come and just chill.

This place is gem in the heart of Oakland!
Being married at the Roof Garden was a beautiful experience. All of our guest rave at the loveliness of the place, most even said that it was the most beautiful wedding they’ve ever been to! We made a great choice; from the vendors, the Dj, the planner and most especially, the venue!
Thank you so much!

This place is a diamond in the rough.
Going about your business to and from work you might not ever know this place existed. The rooftop garden sits atop a dingy garage at 300 Lakeside Drive. Once you walk up to the top of the garage to the roof its like you’re transported to another world. The surrounding buildings actually provide an interesting backdrop to the garden.
I recently went up there for a lunch date and it felt kind of secluded and romantic. There were some people doing maintenance on the empty pond but I’m sure it’s very lovely when it is filled!
There were two other couples in the area and a few people reading books, but that’s about it. The rooftop garden is an excellent place to have lunch or a picnic in downtown Oakland. I look forward to visiting again very soon.

So, I came here with no expectations. I was shooting some pics for the Natasha Miller lunchtime concert (part of a whole summer series of free lunchtime concerts).
Getting off the elevator made for a real «wow» moment. A huge park on a rooftop… not a concrete park, mind you, but trees, a pond, a walking path and real grass!
Then throw in free music, and this is something that every East Bay person should take in sooner rather than later.

Such a beautiful place. Huge 3.5 acres of green in the middle of the urban steel and concrete jungle. Love love love it. Complete with pond and mature trees — it’s been here since 1963, people!!! We should make these gardens a requirement for every empty rooftop in the land.
I had no problem getting up there. Just walk into the garage and take the elevator to the «RG» level :-)

A peaceful respite hidden among skyscraping buildings. A place where you can be oblivious to the chaos of the city.
Would be better with less paved surface area for a garden.

When I used to work around here I brought my lunch up here almost every day. My boss and co-​workers would ask where I was during lunch and I’d tell them «At the roof garden.» Most of them didn’t know what I was talking about even though we were only two blocks away.
When I took a coworker up there, he just said «Wow! This is amazing, I never knew this was here.» That’s pretty much what I said when I first went up there. It really is a surprisingly large and nice garden but it’s even more surprising how few people know about it.