{"id":467081,"date":"2026-09-17T19:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T19:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/467081\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T19:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T19:24:10","slug":"arts-oriented-buyer-eyes-historic-jewel-box-building-in-oakland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/467081\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts-oriented buyer eyes historic “jewel box” building in Oakland"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND \u2014 A performing arts religious group is close to acquiring the historic Scottish Rite Center in downtown Oakland in a deal that could breathe new life into the nearly century-old building.<\/p>\n

Currently in escrow, according to Colliers commercial real estate executive Sid Ewing, the Oakland Scottish Rite Center<\/a> at 1547 Lakeside Dr. has been on the market since 2025. The terms of the purchase, including the name of the buyer, weren\u2019t disclosed.<\/p>\n

Near the Lake Merritt shoreline, the four-story building<\/a> totals 85,000 square feet on a 1.5-acre parcel.<\/p>\n

When first built in 1927, it featured a Greek neoclassical facade<\/a>. Around 1936, the building was redesigned in a Greek-influenced Art Deco style, according to the Oakland Scottish Rite Historical Foundation. A $1.2 million renovation<\/a> was completed in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a jewel box of a building,\u201d said Ewing, a senior vice president for Colliers. \u201cIt\u2019s an iconic property.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe auditorium of of the Scottish Rite Temple glows in patriotic colors in Oakland, Calif. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once finalized, the purchase would include the building and a large surface parking lot behind it that could be redeveloped, Ewing said.<\/p>\n

The building features a ground-floor grand ballroom and an auditorium on the fourth floor. The ballroom seats 800 and includes a small stage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe auditorium was designed for presenting the ceremonies of the Scottish Rite in grand form,\u201d according to the Oakland Wiki website. \u201cIt has a full-sized stage with hundreds of backdrops and a pipe organ.\u201d<\/p>\n

The third floor includes a banquet hall, billiards room, library and lounge. The building also contains a second-level mezzanine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more of a meeting and a performance arts center,\u201d Ewing said.<\/p>\n

An array of organizations emerged as potential buyers since the Scottish Rite Center went up for sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have talked to everyone,\u201d Ewing said. \u201cSymphony organizations, religious groups, performing arts groups. This building is a generational opportunity for an investor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The main auditorium is seen at the Scottish Rite Temple on Lakeside Drive in Oakland, Calif. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

\"Grand<\/p>\n

Grand ballroom on the first floor of the Scottish Rite Center at 1547 Lakeside Drive in downtown Oakland. (Colliers)<\/p>\n

\"Stairway<\/p>\n

Stairway and second-level mezzanine area of Scottish Rite Center at 1547 Lakeside Drive in downtown Oakland. (Colliers)<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

The main auditorium is seen at the Scottish Rite Temple on Lakeside Drive in Oakland, Calif. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND \u2014 A performing arts religious group is close to acquiring the historic Scottish Rite Center in downtown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,184,387,7,8,3010,1335,8520,332,383,9356,181,95189,100,143,145,144,33494,2239,388],"class_list":["post-467081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-alameda-county","tag-bay-area","tag-business","tag-california","tag-california-news","tag-commercial-real-estate","tag-development","tag-downtown-oakland","tag-east-bay","tag-economy","tag-lake-merritt","tag-latest-headlines","tag-matters-historical","tag-news","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-oakland-real-estate","tag-performing-arts","tag-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}