It was a thriving socially and ethnically mixed neighborhood from the late 19th century through the 1930s.
Starting about the time of World War II and up to the present, the area became predominantly African American.
During World War II, thousands of African Americans move into the Bay Area from the southern U.S. to work in the many local war industries, and many of them moved into the established community of African American railroad workers in West Oakland.
It has been adopted by a community group called the Prescott-Oakland Point Neighborhood Association.
Part of the redevelopment of the area includes, appropriately, partial restoration of the historic 16th Street Station.