EB PREC Breaks Rocks: A Celebration to Preserve and Restore Esther’s Orbit Room in West Oakland
By Leeann Wallett, Ambitio US Program Officer
In early December 2025, funders, organizations, creatives, and long-time community members from West Oakland gathered at Esther’s Orbit Room, EB PREC’s pilot mixed-use project to view the space before construction begins in January 2026.
The breaking “ground” gathering invited community members to talk about the past, present, and future and included Noni Session of EB PREC, Sasha Werblin ( LISC Bay Area ), Paul Cobb (longtime resident that was born within walking distance of Esther’s and owner of the Oakland Post, a local newspaper ), Michauxnée Olier ( chef and owner of Willows and Pine , a restaurant in Fruitvale, that catered the event and whose grandparents ran the original restaurant in The Barn which is located next to Esther’s), and another longtime resident, Mechelle LaChaux, jazz and blues singer and actress, that sang a hymnal. All reflected on the history of the 7th Street corridor and the history of Esther’s and The Barn , even as the BART train interrupted them every couple of minutes (the original proposal was for an underground train, but that was scrapped in favor of an above ground train that now splits the city of Oakland).
The event ended in a ceremonial rock breaking to commemorate the beginning of a revived Esther’s space. With help from professional masons, volunteers we started removing the building’s original fabricated stones from the exterior so they can be reconstructed when the restoration is complete.
In other good news, EB PREC has secured site control over the vacant lot adjacent to The Barn with plans to purchase it by 2027. This is a huge accomplishment as they now have complete control over the end of the block and are able to truly envision a community-owned Black arts and business ecosystem along West Oakland’s 7th Street corridor. EB PREC has plans to make this a multi-purpose space with an orchard, garden, art/creative spaces, a community stage, and eventually, two more community-owned & controlled residential properties that will house dozens more East Bay residents — permanently.
Here’s a recent KQED article about the history of Esther’s Orbit Room. And EB PREC’s December newsletter .
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →
