Oakland’s Forgotten Rooftop Heliport: Alco Park History
Posted by Bruce Wagg on
Updated October 1, 2026
Thousands of people have driven past the unusual circular parking garage at 165 13th Street in Downtown Oakland without realizing that its roof was once one of the most unusual transportation hubs in the Bay Area.
It's called Alco Park, and in the 1960s passengers could take an elevator to the top of the garage, board a helicopter and fly across the Bay Area.
Scheduled helicopter service from the rooftop began on March 1, 1965. The operation was so unusual that San Francisco & Oakland Helicopter Airlines president Mike Bagan later described Alco Park in testimony before a U.S. Senate aviation subcommittee as the first scheduled rooftop helicopter passenger service in the world.
Today, Alco Park is once again an Alameda…
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