Empyrean Towers - Oakland

Empyrean Towers ¹

The Empyrean Towers are located at 344 - 13th Street, in Downtown Oakland, California. The target customers are 'professionals, students and travelers.' Not to be confused with the Hotel Oakland which is in the next block down.

The Empyrean Towers Apartments were originally the Hotel Menlo, a residence hotel, until about 2011 when its owner, Richard Singer, was convicted of an arson plot to burn it down³ and sentenced to a $60,000 fine and 27 months in prison.⁸ Ironically, "empyrean" means "the highest heaven, supposed by the ancients to contain the pure element of fire."

The apartments feature a mural on the front by Chuck Light.

After complaints from residents and repeated code violations ⁴, the building was finally red-tagged by the city in May 7, 2015 because of contaminated water. ⁵

Oakland Housing Authority worked with a developer to convert 99 SRO units into 66 affordable studio and 1-bedroom apartments,⁶ and this work was completed in 2020.⁷

Hotel Menlo

The Hotel Menlo opened June 1, 1914, with J.R. Points as the manager. ⁹ It was built for Myers and White.

NB: There was also a short-lived Hotel Menlo on the northwest corner of Washington and 13th Streets, c.1901. The address most often used was 1155 1/2 Washington (1309 after renumbering). That had previously been known as The Lillard or Lillard House.

Hotel Menlo, Oakland, California ²1914 ¹⁰