Cafe Sahara - Oakland

sketchfab

The Cafe Sahara building sits precariously on the edge of Oakland's Chinatown. According to parcel information from the City of Oakland, this structure was built in 1913. A glance at the 1917 phone book reveals that Wanto Gakuyen Japanese School called 601 Jackson home at that time. By 1941, however, the site had been transformed into Wanto Hall, a staple of Oakland's Japantown. Unfortunately, Wanto Hall has since met its demise. One solitary Yelp review hints at Cafe Sahara's intriguing past. Apparently, it was a nightclub by night and a daytime restaurant during early evenings. The rooftop sign is said to be a relic from the area's infamous red light district, where females would offer their companionship for $18 an hour. This may be a nod to its time as a taxi dance club. A fire ravaged the building in 2004, exposing a shocking secret: tenants had been cultivating a whopping $200,000 worth of marijuana plants. The owner maintained that before the inferno, the space was used by bands as a practice area.