Oakland, the third most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the U.S. state of California, is home to 40 buildings taller than 200 feet (61 m) as of 2026. Eighteen buildings in Oakland reach a height of 300 feet (91 m) or more, the fourth most of any city in California, after San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Oakland has the second largest skyline in Northern California and the Bay Area. The tallest building in Oakland is the 28-story Ordway Building, built in 1970 at a height of 404 feet (123.1 m).[1] Atlas, a residential tower that is the city's second tallest, is less than a foot shorter at a height of 403 feet (122.9 m).[2]
Oakland rose as a major city alongside San Francisco in the late 19th century. The city's earliest high-rises, the Gothic Revival style Cathedral Building and the Beaux-ArtsOakland City Hall, the first high-rise city hall, both rose in 1914. At 319 ft (97 m), the city hall was among the tallest buildings in the United States west of the Mississippi River at the time, second to Seattle's Smith Tower. A minor construction boom occurred during the 1920s, including the completion of the Tribune Tower, home to the Oakland Tribune newspaper. Following the Great Depression, few tall buildings were added to the city until the 1960s.
A larger building boom took place in Oakland from the 1960s to 1990s, shaping the city's current skyline. Several office towers were completed in part due to companies founded by American Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, including Ordway Tower, headquarters of Kaiser Permanente; the Kaiser Center, former headquarters of Kaiser Industries; and the Kaiser Engineering Building. Commercial high-rise development fell in the 1990s, during which two major governmental buildings were constructed instead: the two-towered Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building. A residential apartment boom began in the late 2010s,[3][4] with Oakland adding more housing units than San Francisco in 2019.[5] New buildings in the skyline include Atlas, 1900 Broadway, and 17th and Broadway, Oakland's second, third, and fifth tallest buildings respectively. The boom has dwindled by 2024 in part due to financial constraints and other factors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7][8]
Oakland's tallest buildings are concentrated in Downtown Oakland, which is north of the Oakland Estuary and Interstate 880, east of Interstate 980, and west of Lake Merritt; a few high-rises sit on the shores of Lake Merritt. The Skylyne, completed in 2020 in Temescal, is the tallest building in the neighborhood and outside downtown. Downtown Oakland and its skyline is located across the San Francisco Bay from nearby San Francisco. From some angles, such as from the Oakland Hills, the two skylines are visible together.
History
Number of buildings by height in Oakland by the end of each year, based on the list below. Click on the legend to toggle a specific height on or off. View chart definition.
The history of high-rises in Oakland began with the completion of the nine-story Bank of America Building in 1907. A nine-story section was later added to the same building.[9] It remained the tallest building in the city until 1914, when the Oakland City Hall, at 320 feet (98m), became the tallest.[10] At the time it was built, the City Hall was the first high-rise government building in the United States and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.[11][12] The 390 feet (119m)Kaiser Center surpassed the height of the City Hall in 1960, and was the tallest building for a decade.[13] In 1970, Ordway Building became the tallest building in the city.
Cityscape
Panorama of Oakland's skyline in 2008 (Click or hover over image to identify buildings)
Map of tallest buildings
The map below show the location of buildings taller than 200 ft (61 m) in Downtown Oakland and around Lake Merritt, where the majority of such buildings are. Each marker is numbered by the building's height rank, and colored by the decade of its completion. There are two buildings in Oakland taller than 200 ft (61 m) that are located outside of the map: The Skylyne at Temescal, and the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center.
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Buildings taller than 200 m (61 ft) in Downtown Oakland. An asterisk (*) next to the building's name indicates it is located outside the map.
This list ranks completed buildings in Oakland that stand at least 200 ft (61 m) tall as of 2026, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The “Year” column indicates the year of completion. Buildings tied in height are sorted by year of completion with earlier buildings ranked first, and then alphabetically.
Was the tallest building in Oakland upon completion
Tallest building in both Oakland and in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco. Tallest building completed in Oakland in the 1970s. Headquarters of integrated managed care company Kaiser Permanente, which also has offices nearby at the Kaiser Permanente Building. Only 1 foot (0.2 m) taller than the second-tallest building in Oakland, Atlas.[1][14][15]
Also called the Kaiser Building. Tallest building in Oakland from 1960 to 1970. Tallest building completed in Oakland in the 1960s.[13][19][20] Was built as the headquarters of Kaiser Industries, a conglomerate (not to be confused with Kaiser Permanente)
Joint-tallest government building in Oakland. Named after former mayor and Congressman Ronald V. Dellums, who was Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011.[35][36]
Since the completion of 1900 Broadway in 2024, there have been no buildings taller than 200 ft (61 m) under construction in Oakland.
Approved
The following table includes approved buildings in Oakland that are expected to be at least 200 ft (61 m) tall as of 2026, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building’s height, floor count, or year of completion is unknown or has not been released.
12345678910Sources do not state the exact height of this building. This figure was determined using Google Earth by subtracting the altitude of the building's lowest main pedestrian open-air entrance from its highest architectural point.
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