[anigbrowl]

If Uber really wants to earn goodwill in Oakland (which is worth thinking about because the local anarchists are probably planning their protests already), it would be worth renovating the exterior of the building too. A lot of buildings in downtown Oakland have beautiful art deco facades that were covered up with ugly concrete facings in the 1950s in a misguided attempt to look more modern. Bringing out some of Oakland's original business history would garner a ton of long-term community goodwill.

[rdl]

I suspect Art Deco is already popular with Uber's leadership for other reasons :)

[nailer]

What are those reasons?

[rdl]

Ayn Rand liked it, her book covers, etc. Uber is known for liking Rand.

[redwood]

He's referring to the German connection. A leap but also undeniable that many Americans do not have positive associations with the word "uber. Still the era was not Germany's worst... But the worst was born in it (the Weimar Republic) where reactionaries took root and exploded.

[Kalium]

Honestly, I'm not sure it's worth the effort for them. They're already attracting a lot of hate for being a VC-fueled company that undercut an established business and employing mostly white dudes. What value can they expect to gain from showering money on a community already hellbent on hating them?