Albert H. DeWitt Officers’ Club

We hosted my daughter’s wedding here in November 2015. The pluses are that it is a facility that holds a lot of people and there is ample free parking nearby. Minuses are the surrounding area is quite run-​down– maybe that will be rectified in the near future as the former base is developed.
The facility itself is a somewhat faded but elegant venue with a huge kitchen that unfortunately is not possible to cook in. Warming ovens and refrigerators are available. A major minus was that we could not get a to-​scale floor plan so we had to go measure it ourselves, to determine table arrangements etc. The ARPD staff that rents the facility are very nice and helpful, but have a standard table arrangement model. that wasn’t really right for what we wanted. Fortunately, our caterer met with us at the venue prior to the event and helped us with the table arrangement.
One of the main pluses is that you can BYO caterer and wine, and we were very successful using Asena Restaurant catering. My suggestion is to only use a caterer who has experience catering at this facility as they know the limitations. The main ballroom is where we held our reception; the lobby and the hallway from the lobby to the hall are also spacious and available to you free with the hall rental. We had our two bars in the hallway, and the lobby was available for the receiving line. There is also a coat check room that you can staff, with hangars. There are two other rooms available that can be rented also, the Trident Room and the Squadron Room, but we did not need those rooms.
The main ballroom looked quite beautiful once decorated with white tablecloths, flowers, and the nice battery operated candles that you can get now (no real candles allowed). The chandeliers are outstanding!
All in all it was a nice event and everyone had a great time dancing on the spacious dance floor!

I attended a girl’s bridal shower here in April of 2015 that I was invited to by my friend. The neighborhood was terrible and boring, but the venue wasn’t anything fancy. Although the family of the bride made the venue look exquisite. The party was fun and great. Lots of dancing, Arabic food, and friends I haven’t seen in a while. Personally wouldn’t throw a party here myself but this place is pretty decent.

We recently had a memorial for my mother in law at this club it had mediocre out dated décor. The only thing supplied were the tables and chairs everything else had to be brought in. There was a lot to clean up afterwards and we were running a bit late. Instead of the person in charge of the facility coming over and reminding us that we were running late he stood at the entrance of the hall shouted on top of his voice in front of the guests that he was going to keep more of the deposit if we did not hurry up. I thought it very tacky and distasteful. There are much nicer venues that supply much more and treat their clients in a classier manner. I would not recommend this place at all.

We recently held our wedding at the O’Club and found that it was a fun, yet affordable, location. We were able to bring our own caterer & alcohol, which was a big bonus, and the tables & chairs come with the rental if you’re on a budget. (We ended up renting chaivari chairs at the very last minute, but the ballroom chairs that they own will do in a pinch.) It was quite difficult to find a large enough venue on a smaller budget in the Bay Area, but we found that the O’ Club fit our needs beautifully.
Some of these pros & cons might be similar to other posts:
Pros:
— Reasonable fees
— On-​site staff is very helpful but communication with the Parks & Recs department was a bit difficult at times, i.e. they showed up late to our appointment showing & there was no number to reach them at so we weren’t sure if/​when they were actually going to show up.
— BYOB, which saved a ton of money
— Free & ample parking
— Huge kitchen access
— Multiple areas to use/​rent (we used the Trident Room for the ceremony & Ballroom for the reception, Garden for family photos, etc.)
Cons:
— Pretty old & run down on the outside.
— Communication with parks & recs department was difficult at times

This was a nice venue to have a party. We attended the Alameda Reading Program party here. It looks like it would be a good place for all kinds of events.

I may be not exactly partial here because I got married here a few weeks ago! But I really think this is an undiscovered gem in Alameda. If you’re a bride on a budget with a guestlist on the 100 – 150 side, I HIGHLY recommend giving the officer’s club a look!
Pros:
–Tons of parking
–beautiful areas for pictures (see both my photos of the distressed buildings and gorgeous trees
–reasonable prices, as it is owned by the city
–huge kitchen-​easy access for vendors
–coat room, lobby, and big dressing room with wall-​to-​wall mirrors for brides & maids
–LOVELY original 1940s calfskin banquettes and chairs,
–great dance floor and staging area
–built-​in AV screen
–to echo another reviewer, this place OOZES history
–and of course, the reason my fiancé & I fell in LOVE with the place with the huge crystal chandeliers and wall sconces
Cons:
–decorating rules are very strict here– no tacks, confetti, or sparklers
–staff at Parks Dept changed quite a bit and was a little hard to get in touch with (government office hours!)
–Facilities are a little run-​down, which for some may add to its charm, but others may be looking for a more updated venue!
–I said reasonable fees, not CHEAP. If you are not military or a resident of Alameda, there are some extra fees!
–Pretty specific color scheme– worked GREAT for me but not for everybody: curtains and stage fabrics are a light blue/​grey, carpet is a deep gray with blue roses. My colors were deep teal and eggplant purple, it worked great.
–Facilities manager. Inappropriately dressed (jeans/​sweater to a formal event) which would NOT have been an issue had she not insisted on being front & center the entire night. RUDE to my DJ, RUDE to my bridesmaids, chatted to wedding party and guests??? I understand they needed someone there to supervise, but she could easily have stayed in the lobby or walked around. She did NOT need to speak with vendors or guests, and her whole attitude made me wonder why this crabby stranger was invading my wedding?!?

I have had the privilege of attending several Vintage Fashion Faires here put on by the lovely Sandra Michaan and have been nothing but blown away at the building! It has a history and richness with all the hardwood details as well as the the way the ballroom is lighted with Chandeliers. These older buildings hold a history of a bygone era in our Bay Area’s history. Therefore they should be taken care of as well as preserved!
Sasha K. I must respectfully disagree with your statement of ‘sell it off and let somebody make some decent condos/​houses/​mall/​etc? Really? More MALLS? More urban sprawl on a land that held so much history? And just what you have happen to the battleships I suppose that you would choose to scrap those as well. Have YOU ever attend an event here. I think not.
And I also have to disagree with your assessment of the way the building smells. There are no fowl odors. And believe me I am a thrift store junkie so I KNOW fowl smells! I bet that you were unaware that John F Kennedy attended a gala held in his honor. Also other stars such as Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, as well as Van Jonson were wined and dined here.
My tax dollars are spent for far worse causes so I feel the Albert H. DeWitt Officers’ Club should be preserved for future generations. I am attending the next Vintage Fashion Faire on March the 23^rd of 2013. It is a fun event and many people like myself attend in their vintage finery. Which only adds both to the character and charm of this one of a kind venue. I hope this building will not only survive but THRIVE!
I for one can admire and appreciate these pieces of history. If anyone who can enjoy these older pieces of history please go and take a visit of this Bay Area gem.

I will admit I am a tad bias seeing as though I would give a post office five stars if that was where I married my wife. That being said, I believe that this rating is legit. The club is beautiful. It made a great spot for our wedding and reception both. There was also a nice area outside and across the street for pictures. From what I understand, this club hosted some parties with the likes of JFK among others. Tons of history behind the hall, the staff, the huge reception hall, and classic decore made this a much better solution for a wedding site. It was also a great alternative due to wanting to have our wedding in a place other than a church or one of the many many «wedding factory» type establishments that span the entire greater Bay Area.

I was married here a few weeks ago. I spent countless hours trying to find an affordable place in the Bay Area to get married that didn’t look like a wedding factory.
The building is old and a bit run down in some ares, but it is beautiful and full of history. The flaws add to its charm. It was very inexpensive to rent and my deposit was refunded 2 days after the wedding. The woman who was there the day of was very nice and helpful. Their staff set all the tables and chairs up exactly as I wanted them, they even added some couches in the areas where the wall wasn’t in the best shape and took down some paintings, so that I could hang my own. The parking lot is huge.
The chandeliers are incredible. The whole ball room looked amazing as soon as the linens were on the tables. It did get a little hot inside But, there are large doors to let the air in and as soon as they were opened it was fine. The venue was perfect for what I was looking for. I was able to use my own caterer and bar staff and play music until midnight.

Was married here about 4 years ago. Staff was friendly and supportive. Tons of parking. Depending on the time of year — it can be hot, humid, sweltering — even in the patio area. But then again, its a great place as no one is near you. You have the place to yourself and its near a local favorite winery. and a garden shop too boot.

If I had one word to describe this venue it would be «gaaaaaaah» because the whole experience was so frustrating!
My fiancé and I were trying to book this place for our reception for a couple of reasons. 1) He lived on the navy base when it was in its prime and still an active base, 2) During that time his mom was the person in charge of the events and 3) we were lead to believe it was one of the more affordable venues.
The person who does the planning now is named Marsha I believe, and is rude and unhelpful. We currently live in So Cal and are relying on our family in Alameda to help us out with taking pictures and sending paper work. We made an appointment for Marsha to show his Aunt the facilities so she could take pictures for us but when she got there Marsha wasn’t even there and members of the staff had to stop what they were doing (it wasn’t they’re job) and show her around.
Having the experience working there, my mother in law called and asked about everything and discovered that there was a great deal they weren’t including when telling us about fees. We were first told that we’d get the $ 500 deposit back, but this was untrue. We were told we’d have to pay $ 600 just to bring in food, which is bull crap because they don’t even offer their own catering. They were going to charge us even more for linens and table settings, NONE of which they told us about in the original quote. All in all, they’re stealing money.
The décor is awful. Brownish and just, it looks like a place where they’d show snuff films. I was willing to forget about that because some twinkle lights, lanterns, and sheer fabric can do a lot for a room, but they won’t allow tacks or anything (not even removable hooks you use for Christmas stockings).
Really, really, not worth it. I think they should re-​think they’re prices and fire the event planner, because she really seemed to not want our business, so in return, we won’t give it to her.

I was super disappointed with this venue. The whole area is just soooo rundown. They need to sell it off and let somebody make some decent condos/​houses/​mall/​etc out of it if they aren’t going to upkeep and maintain the area/​buildings.
Plenty of parking, but that’s about it. Oh it’s cheap too. But it smells like Goodwill/​Salvation Army inside, and the carpets are badly in need of a steam clean. The wallpaper is a bit faded with nails sticking out with no pictures. The tables are made out of plywood, and the chairs are silver metal and pewter colored leather. SUPER HEAVY chairs. The ballroom is ok, but the sound system is crap and the lights above the dance floor don’t move. The chandeliers are cool though. All the other rooms are just as dingy and rundown.
It makes me sad that they let such a cool venue crap out so badly. Don’t my tax dollars go to the Naval base? I want my portion do go into fixin’ up public owned buildings! Kthxbai.

This is a very nice venue for all sorts of event gatherings! This building used to be an officers club for the old Alameda Naval Base.
I’ve been here three times before and have seen three different rooms (they have four). Both times the rooms were very big and looked very well maintained. The inside walls are made of hard wood, so it has a kind of old time feeling. On each occasion the staff working there has been very nice and helpful.
It can get very hot in here, however, if you plan on having people dancing. Each time I’ve been here, it always gets ridiculously hot lol. I’m not sure if they have an air conditioner or not… Also the location is a little out of the way and hard to find, but a simple google map and you’ll be fine…
If you’re looking to hold a big gathering I’d recommend you try this place out!