the Lake

In Oakland, Lake Merritt. People say the Lake the way SF says the Haight — one landmark standing in for a whole side of town.

In simple English: Lake Merritt in Oakland.

• Meet at the Lake by the columns.

• We walked the Lake and grabbed food on Grand.

In Oakland this almost always means Lake Merritt. Other towns have lakes; the grammar still works locally.

Track

Places

Region

NorCal

Part of speech

noun

• the Town
• Oaktown
• East Bay