The Oakland 16th Street Station (also known as the Oakland Central Station) was one of three train stations in Oakland, California, United States at the start of the 20th century. The building was designed by architect Jarvis Hunt, a preeminent train station architect, and opened in 1912. For decades the 16th Street Station was the main Oakland station for Southern Pacific (SP) through trains, with East Bay Electric Lines on the elevated platforms. It was a companion (or "city station") for Oakland Pier, two miles away, which was demolished in 1960. Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) used this station as its main Oakland stop for nearly two decades. The station was severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Several years later it closed, having been replaced by the station in nearby Emeryville. The last Amtrak train serviced the station on August 5, 1994
The former station is located at 16th and Wood Streets in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, with the official address being 1701 Wood Street. It is next to and visible from the Interstate 880 connector ramps of the MacArthur Maze. The station buildings are largely intact, including the interlocking tower and ironwork elevated platforms that carried commuter trains of SP's East Bay Electric Lines until 1941.
The station was used in films such as Funny Lady, RENT and Hemingway & Gellhorn. Mumford & Sons also filmed their music video for "Babel" here.
The original 16th Street depot was a smaller wood structure, built when the tracks were on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. Later the shoreline was filled and now lies nearly a mile west.
While this area is fine during the day, you might want to avoid this area at night.