Montclair Village
photo from Our OaklandMontclair Village is a charming and vibrant commercial district nestled in the beautiful, tree-covered Oakland Hills. It somewhat resembles a European ski village. Montclair Village has over 200 retailers, service providers, restaurants, and financial institutions. Many business owners validate parking in the Montclair garage at the top of La Salle. Grocery stores include a Lucky's and a very small Safeway. There's a farmers market on Sundays. Montclair Park and Recreation Center lie on the north side of the village. Other long-time institutions include Montclair Elementary School and Montclair Library, also on the north end of the village.
The last several years have seen the loss of several distinctive shops, including long-time (50+ years) merchant Sarber's Cameras, the Montclair Malt Shop (33 years), Montclair Village Hardware (which moved to about a mile to the Woodminster neighborhood), Movie Express and others. Long-time residents worry about the loss of character, as there are now an overabundance of dry cleaners, realtors and banks. And probably too many sushi restaurants, with three as of March 2013.
Life in the village was captured by Montclair resident (and former village merchant) Reenie Raschke in a photobook called "My Town Montclair".
June, 2012 saw the election of Montclair's first cat mayor, Stomper. [source]
Photos
Photos from Our Oakland
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