The City of Piedmont became its' own city in 1907 and was known as the "City of Millionaires" in the 1920's when many of the mansions were built that remain in their glory on Sea View Avenue and Sotelo Avenue/Glen Alpine Road in the "Alta" neighborhood. The city was named after a region in Italy perhaps because Piedmont literally means "foothill" as it is located in the quiet, tree-lined, Oakland Hills surrounded by the city of Oakland in Alameda County. Mostly a small, residential semi-suburban city of single family homes and a few multi-family homes, the population was 11,082 (2013) people living within 3,755 houses, in an area of nearly 1.7 miles.
Highland and Grand Avenue's feature small local shopping districts with most of the shopping in the city center, across from Piedmont Park. Mulberry's is a popular general store for students and residents. For further shopping and wonderful dining visit the surrounding communities of Rockridge to the Northeast, Montclair to the East; and Crocker Highlands and Glenview to the Southwest.
No major highways run through Piedmont, though CA HWY 13 and I-580 access is near. AC Transit provides bus service on routes 11 and 12, to connect to Oakland's BART stations, with express Transbay bus routes to downtown San Francisco during the peak commute.
Piedmonts' many city parks and landscaped areas offer plenty of outdoor recreation with wooded paths for walking and running, tennis courts, children's playgrounds and picnic areas, and places for your dog to play.