Oakland Urban Paths: Buffers and Boundaries

The other Saturday urban planner Ruth Miller led about 50 people (and one dog!) on an Oakland Urban Paths walk exploring some buffers and boundaries in Oakland. We started the walk at MacArthur BART with option return by AC Transit bus, making it easily the most transit-friendly walk we've done.

At MacArthur BART we looked at the transit village that's in progress; the BART parking and housing on BART property is completed. From there we meandered above and along 40th Street, talking about transit past (Sacramento Northern Railway, Key System) and present (AC Transit, bike super-sharrow).

Some of the other points of interest and people we saw and talked about:

• Story of Yu Kwan Soon Mural (former)
• King's Daughters Home
• Julia Morgan
• Egbert Sousé's
• Oscar's Alley
• 629 Oakland Avenue
• Morcom Rose Garden
• Fred Morcom
• The Alley
• Rod Dibble
• Jim Copes

It was a great walk. Thanks to Ruth for leading us, Charlie for doing his best to keep us safe, and special shout-out for everyone who climbed the hill on Jean Street just so we could go down the stairs on Bonham Way.

The December walk will be a Rockridge ramble, with lots of stairs. Hope to see you on the paths!

Oakland Urban Paths: Lakeshore to Piedmont Ave.

Saturday was our monthly Oakland Urban Paths walk, this time going from Lakeshore to Piedmont Avenue and back again. It's a walk we've done before, but there were a few changes. About 35 people and 5 dogs joined us some perfect weather to explore Oakland.

From our start in Mandana Plaza, we climbed over the hill behind the Grand Lake Theatre, and around past the former Lakeview Elementary School. From the unusual pedestrian bridge over I-580, it's easy to see what an impact the freeway (completed in 1966) had on the school (built in 1913). The school is now closed, and OUSD uses the space for offices. Over the bridge took us into Adams Point, named for Edson Adams, one of the 'founding scoundrels' of Oakland. For those that were wondering, Jayne Avenue is named for his wife, Hannah Jayne, who was Oakland's first school teacher.

Several sets of stairs took us through the Harrison-Oakland / Harri-Oak neighborhood, down to Glen Echo Creek. The creek is also known as Cemetery Creek where it begins up in Mountain View Cemetery. It winds its way (sometimes in a culvert) all the way down to Lake Merritt, where it feeds in near the Veterans' Memorial Building.

We walked over to Piedmont Avenue, and planned to meet up in Key Route Plaza after a short break. There we were disappointed to find that the wonderful Key Route Plaza mural by Rocky Rische-Baird had been destroyed. A new tennant, KronnerBurger, is moving into the space that used to be J's Mexican American Diner. They said later on Twitter that the wall wasn't properly supported (true, but fixable) and covered with black mold (possibly true, but also fixable). However, they made no effort to preserve the mural, and the artist and neighborhood residents are understandably upset.

We walked back towards our start along a different route, visiting some different sections of Glen Echo Creek. We eventually came to the Morcom Rose Garden, named for former mayor Fred Morcom. Up the hill on Jean Street took us to the top of some nice stairs, which led us down to Grand Avenue. From there, the Davidson Way steps took us back up the hill, then it was a short walk back to our starting point on Lakeshore.

Another great walk. Thanks to everyone who came out. The January walk is still being planned, but may be a walk around the former town of Brooklyn just east of Lake Merritt. Hope to see you then!

Lots more pictures from the walk:

more about the Key Route Plaza mural

So, not only did people in the neighborhood around the Key Route Plaza mural not know the mural was going to be destroyed, the artist who spent more than 6 months painting the mural wasn't told. Below is a statement from Erica Rische-Baird on behalf of herself and Rocky, and they are understandably upset. The news that the zoning commission had already told them to protect the mural from the outdoor seating changes things—that means they knew the mural was valued by the community.

Ethan Fletcher of Inside Scoop on SFGate.com has a good article about it. It doesn't make me any happier about what Kronnerburger did, though. (Kronnerburger and Oakland neighborhood association at odds over mural). Ironically, borax kills black mold, so with a bit of time and a little work, the mural including "Borax" Smith could have been saved by borax.

Rocky and I found out yesterday that his incredible Key Route Mural off of Piedmont Avenue in Oakland (that had won the award for Best of the Bay for art and best mural by the SF Bay Guardian, and had been featured in Sunset Magazine as a must-see thing on Piedmont Avenue – something not to be missed when visiting Oakland, and that had been featured in many other publications beyond being beloved by the community) has been destroyed and demolished by developers converting the historic Key Route building, which the mural had been painted upon, into a high-end hamburger restaurant. We knew nothing of any of this happening until after the fact – after it had already been destroyed - when a concerned citizen wrote to ask if we knew the Key Route mural had been torn down. Rocky and I had not known.

Rocky had only found out last week that they were renovating the building at all when he was asked (not by the developers or building owner who never contacted him but by a member of the Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Association), the best way to preserve some cracks in the mural. We thought it was going to be a matter of sealing those, and perhaps better reinforcing an area behind the mural wall that was weakening by replacing it with a proper support. Worst case scenario, we thought last week, was that a relatively small square of the mural where an old vent used to be and was patched up before the mural existed - would have to be taken out, which Rocky could have then re-plastered and repainted again to preserve the whole after it was reinforced from behind.

We were told last week by another concerned citizen that the burger place was highly in debt and highly behind schedule for their opening and that they were pissed that citizens had expressed concern about the restaurants’ outdoor seating plans, which they felt could mar the mural with the tables and chairs scratching it. They had told the planning commission about those concerns and the planning commission sided with the citizens and told the restaurant they had to redesign their outdoor seating plan to protect the mural. Last we heard, a tarp had gone up to supposedly protect the mural from the big rainstorm, but really, they used the time with that tarp under cover, to completely demolish the mural, sight unseen, without any community outreach or without contacting the artist. They gave no one any choice in any of this. They did not let the community give their feedback or give the artist a chance to address it or work to save it or fix it. The community had self-funded the mural and many had donated their own money to help have it created.

What took over six MONTHS of Rocky painting every day – all day – over eight hours a day - they destroyed just like that. Something that was beautiful and amazing and so incredibly full of details and history, beyond being so incredibly painted. Something that cannot be replaced. Something TRULY irreplaceable. Something special. Their claim is that there was mold in the wall behind the plaster, but the reality is that if they wanted to save the mural, mold or no mold – and there is no proof there was mold – it is just the burger places’s word and a very easy out) they could have. They simply did not want to deal - they would have simply had to take their time in the problem area - carefully from the inside, to reinforce the mural and preserve it. It would have taken a bit of time, but it could have been done. But they never wanted the mural. They wanted a window in the wall where the mural is, so that their customers, paying top dollar for over-priced, fancy-pants burgers with sides like rabbit sausage, could have better light to take selfies of themselves with their edible yuppster status symbols in this new world of foodie culture/cult consumption. And they wanted their outdoor seating plan the way they had it before being told they had to modify it to protect the mural.

I feel so sad and angry about all of this. It simply is not fair. They stole the mural from the community that loved it and had paid for it, and they stole it from the artist and all those who loved it, such as myself. And they are using the mold as an easy out to do whatever they wanted and make it seem like they had no other choice, when that is not true – there WAS a choice. And they made the choice, without letting the community or artist have a say. A choice to save it would have taken a bit of effort and time, which the mural was WORTH. Where was the protection of this piece of art? How can something that incredible and wonderful and amazing just be destroyed without any conversation or contact or community feedback or artist feedback? There was absolutely no effort to protect or preserve this mural. The action feels a definite reflection of the values of these times. And I feel so very angry and sad and grieving. I really like something that Rocky said: “It seems like this mural about communal loss because of blind consumptive greed has fallen to the same enemy. Interesting.”

Key Route Plaza mural is gone

One of my favorite murals was on the back of building adjacent to the Key Route Plaza just off Piedmont Avenue. J's Mexican American closed some time back, and the building has been sitting empty. The good news is that the building is being worked on, and a new tenant will be moving in. The bad news is that the lovely mural on the back is now gone. We discovered it during the Oakland Urban Paths walk on Saturday, while a construction crew was working on the building. Several neighborhood residents were visibly upset when they learned the mural was gone.

The mural was painted in 2005, and showed a Key System train, and Francis Marion "Borax" Smith, who created the Key System by buying up and merging smaller streetcar lines. Various figures and symbols from history were represented. The train shown is #159, which last left the station at 6:45 pm on April 20th, 1958. Artist Rocky Rische-Baird raised additional funds for the creation of the mural by depicting the donors as passengers on the Key System train.

According to Kronner Burger, the new tenant, the wall was full of black mold, and the middle had been a window and wasn't properly supported. They're looking for a space for a new mural. Regardless, it's sad to see the mural go

Chapel of the Chimes

If you know how I've spent some of my days off and how much time I've spent learning about Oakland history in local cemeteries, you can probably guess my reaction when I was asked if I wanted a tour of Chapel of the Chimes. I knew a little about it: legendary Oakland architect Julia Morgan worked on it (but what parts?), some notable Oaklanders are interred there (but who?) and it had the first electric crematorium in the world (wait, what?). So I jumped at a chance to learn more.

It turns out Julia Morgan did a lot of work on the Chapel, even incorporating some items that had been at Hearst Castle. It's difficult to see what she worked on from outside, but if you're familiar with her style, you can quickly spot it while wandering the inside. Her work includes retractable skylights in several areas, though not all of them still function. (Note that the Julia Morgan Chapel within Chapel of the Chimes was not designed by her, but was renamed in her memory in 1995.)

I also learned more about some of the notable Oaklanders who are interred at Chapel of the Chimes:

• Al Davis
• Bebe Patten
• Forrest C. Shaklee
• H. C. Capwell
• John Lee Hooker
• Lawrence F. Moore

What struck me this time through Chapel of the Chimes is how beautiful and peaceful it is. It's not so peaceful during some of their events like Jazz at the Chimes, but it's quite remarkable. And various spaces within Chapel of the Chimes are available for events other than funerals, too. Weddings have been held in the main chapel (which has a Wurlitzer organ), and of course you're free to wander around Chapel of the Chimes any time it's open.

All of this information will be more useful some time next year, as I'm planning a "Dead Tour" for Oakland Urban Paths. I'm still figuring out the details, but we'll probably start at the Chapel of Memories (which is owned and operated by Chapel of the Chimes), into part of St. Mary's Cemetery, down through Chapel of the Chimes, through the Home of Eternity, and around part of Mountain View Cemetery. And of course there are several historic and some still extant related businesses.

Lots more pictures from Chapel of the Chimes:

Oakland Urban Paths: Julia Morgan

Saturday was a different kind of Oakland Urban Paths walk. Instead of focusing on a single area, we focused on a single person, noted architect Julia Morgan. She's best known for designing Hearst Castle, but she designed over 700 buildings in California, including some noted examples here in Oakland. OUP co-founder Dan Schulman had his work cut out for him in planning the walk, as Morgan's works are spread all over Oakland. About 50 people and quite a few dogs joined us for a longer than normal walk.

We started at the corner of Harrison and Bay Place in Adams Point. Although the building that now houses Whole Foods wasn't designed by Julia Morgan, it has an interesting history, too. It was built as a powerhouse and car barn for the short-lived Consolidated Piedmont Cable Co.'s cable car line (yep, Oakland had cable cars for a time.) Next door the Piedmont Baths used the excess heat from the boilers to heat water for their pools. The building was later redesigned into a car dealership. Dan told us about Julia Morgan's education at Oakland High School, UC Berkeley, and the prestigious École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where Morgan became the first woman to receive a certificate in architecture.

Our route took us past a number of Julia Morgan-designed houses, including several with ties to Oakland history. The McElroy House belonged to city attorney John McElroy, who is remembered with a fountain in Lakeside Park. The Joe & Rose Shoong House belonged to National Dollar Store founder Joe Shoong. Shoong and his son were generous with their fortune, and donated to a variety of causes including support for several attractions at Children's Fairyland.

Some people elected to take a shorter route back to our start, while the rest of us headed towards Piedmont Avenue. There we saw a rare example of Julia Morgan's commercial building designs, the Fred C. Turner Shopping Center. From there it was a short walk to the King's Daughters Home. It was designed as a home for incurables, which in those days included people with the infirmities of old age or strokes, as well as those with diseases like tuberculosis that they had no cure for. Julia Morgan donated her work for the design, and after her brother Sam died, Morgan's mother Eliza Morgan donated money for the special front gateway on Broadway.

The official end of our walk was in front of Chapel of the Chimes which Morgan did some design work on, and Mountain View Cemetery, where Julia Morgan and the rest of her family are buried below a modest marker. But a few diehards wanted to see the Morgan grave, so we continued on into the cemetery. We passed by the Ayer and Hockenbeamer graves, which Morgan is said to have designed the markers for, and I pointed out some other notable graves along the way, as well as told people about the Mountain View Cemetery tours given by docents.

Thanks to Dan for leading the walk and doing the needed research, and thanks everyone and everywoof who came on the walk, whether you turned back early or went all the way to the Morgan grave. Next month's walk will be in Butters Canyon, led by local historian and author Dennis Evanosky. More details as they become available.

Some notable Julia Morgan designed buildings in Oakland that we didn't visit (or we'd probably still be walking) include:

• College Avenue Presbyterian Church
• First Baptist Church
• First Swedish Baptist Church
• El Campanil
• Margaret Carnegie Library
• a cottage at Mary Smith Home for Friendless Girls (her mentor Bernard Maybeck also designed one of the cottages)
• Oakland YWCA

Lots more pictures from the walk:


Google map of our route.

Mt. View Cemetery Tulip Festival

Friday K and I went to Mountain View Cemetery to check out the annual tulip festival. The outdoor displays this year weren't very good. I don't know if they planted too early or too late or what, but the outdoor beds were fairly sparse. The indoor displays are gorgeous and worth the trip, but only run through today (Sunday) at 4pm, so you better hurry!

More pictures from the tulip festival:

painting en plein air

Painting "en plein air" is the fancy French way of saying "painting outdoors". But whatever you call it, I've seen people painting near Lake Merritt, in Joaquin Miller Park, and in Mountain View Cemetery, but this was the first artist I've seen painting outside nearby Chapel of the Chimes.

Speaking of Mountain View Cemetery, they're holding their annual tulip festival this weekend. Whether you check out the special displays in the chapel or just admire the flowers outside on the cemetery grounds, it's well worth a trip to see. Read about last year's tulip festival.

photo of the week: waiting

Spotted along Piedmont Avenue the other day. I wonder what's going to become J's Mexican American Food, aka the Key Route Plaza building that has a great mural on the back.

signs: Egbert Souse's

Neither sign for Egbert Sousé's at the corner of Piedmont Avenue and MacArthur is that great, but they're definitely distinctive. The bar is named for the W. C. Fields character in a movie called The Bank Dick. But that's probably the least interesting part of the Oakland Wiki entry for Egbert Sousé's. Apparently the bar has attracted more than its share of trouble, or at least more than the neighbors would like.

Speaking of the Oakland Wiki, we've won an award! The Oakland Heritage Alliance gives out its Partners in Preservation Awards each year, and the Oakland Wiki won in the education category. But there's always more to add to the wiki, about Oakland's past, present and future. You can edit it, too!

Oakland Urban Paths: Walk and Shop IV

Saturday several dozen people and 1 dog joined us for the fourth annual "Walk and Shop" walk with Oakland Urban Paths. We took the same basic route as previous years, except that we reversed the path. Even if you're not into holiday shopping, it's a great walk.

As before, we started at Mandana Plaza along Lakeshore Avenue. We headed behind the Grand Lake Theatre, across Grand Avenue and over I-580 and up some stairs into Adams Point. From there we walked on more stairs down past Harrison and Oakland Avenues to Glen Echo Creek.

We paralleled the creek under I-580 to MacArthur Blvd., where we then headed up to Piedmont Avenue. People were given the option of starting their shopping explorations, or a brief jaunt back over to Glen Echo Creek to see where it is above ground again. Most people opted for the latter, then returned to Piedmont Avenue. After a brief pause for shopping, food, or whatever people wanted to do, the group re-gathered at the Key Route Plaza for our return walk.

We crossed back over Harrison and Oakland Avenue, and into the Morcom Rose Garden. Then we walked up Jean Street (and that's a long way up) so that we could walk down some newly paved stairs on Bonham Way then cross Grand Avenue. We stopped for a bit outside the office of Ruth Stroup. She owns the building adjacent to the bottom of the Davidson stairs, and had it fixed up, and stepped out to say hello.

Then we had a special OUP treat. One of the Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (OUP's parent organization) board members invited us to his home nearby. We climbed part of the Davidson steps, walked a few blocks, and were welcomed into a sunny back yard and a table spread with tasty treats for us. After lounging about for a while, we returned to our starting point by climbing the rest of the Davidson stairs. They've been recently repaired by the city of Oakland, so after many years of hazardous stepping, they're in great shape.

Thanks to Wade and Lisa for hosting us, and thanks to everyone who came out for the walk. Hope to see you on the next walk, Saturday, January 11th!

Lots more pictures from the walk:

Saint Mary's Cemetery 150th Anniversary

The other week, Saint Mary's Cemetery marked its 150th anniversary with a special ceremony and the unveiling of several new features. The day began with a mass led by Bishop Michael Barber of the Oakland diocese, who re-consecrated the cemetery grounds.

Following the mass, a beautiful new statue of the Virgin Mary was unveiled. Currently it's near the chapel in the center of the cemetery, but will be moved to near the front gate. Also unveiled was a new grave marker for the last governor of Alta California, Juan Bautista Valentin Alvarado, and his wife, Maria Martina Castro de Alvarado. Some of the most famous of St. Mary's residents, their grave was unmarked until local historian Alfred Janske re-discovered their burial location. He worked with St. Mary's Cemetery, the San Pablo Historical Society, and other groups to have a marker added.

Afterwards I talked with Janske, and learned that the first burial in St. Mary's was Mary Riley, who died December 13, 1863. Her grave is currently unmarked, but he's hoping to get a marker added. Given how far back in local history that is, and her relatively common name, finding out more about Mary's story has been difficult.

More pictures from the 150th anniversary:

Piedmont Avenue Dishcrawl

The other week I joined the folks from Dishcrawl East Bay for a 'crawl' of Piedmont Avenue. As with the Old Oakland Dishcrawl, we didn't know ahead of time where we'd be eating, just the general location. There are a ton of restaurants along Piedmont Avenue, so it wasn't easy to guess which ones we'd be visiting.

There were a number of familiar faces for this Dishcrawl, including Christina Mitchell of East Bay Dish and Leigh Costain of Eat Oakland. The large, enthusiastic group was led by Kealoha Pomerantz of Dishcrawl East Bay, and helped out by J.P. Fernandez who led the Old Oakland Dishcrawl.

We met at Vegan and Tikka Masala which features Indian and Pakistani Cuisine. From the street, it's a hole-in-the-wall place (which previously was home to a Caribbean restaurant). But it's bigger on the inside than on the outside, with a lovely patio area in back. We tried a variety of vegetarian dishes. I liked everything I tasted, and had to remember to pace myself because we had three more stops.

Our next stop was Baja Famous Fish Tacos. Unlike our first stop, Baja has been around for a long time (in restaurant terms), since 1992. While they're famous for their fish tacos (which were great the last time I tried them), we got some other tastes. Though I had to wait a bit, my vegi flautas were great—well worth the wait.

Then it was across the street to Bar César. You may recall that K and I ate there last year. As before, I liked everything except the empanadas. People had high praise for some of the drinks, and the servers brought out generous portions of food.

Our final stop was for something sweet at Sparky's. While they're best known for their burgers, we were were there to sample their milkshakes. We got tastes of blueberry, vanilla and coffee, and all were great. Like our first stop, Sparky's also has a nice patio area behind it.

The Dishcrawl concept is a great way to sample four restaurants in an area. Clearly a lot of people think so, because this month's Dishcrawl at Jack London Square is already sold out. It's also a very social experience, with a chance to talk with different people at each stop as well as the walks between stops.

More pictures from the Piedmont Avenue Dishcrawl:


Also check out the coverage on the Dishcrawl website.

signs: Xyclo

Here's a three-fer on signs. Xyclo has three interesting signs: a nice metal sign, a better-than-average plastic sign that lights up, and a neon sign that plays on the 'ycl' as part of 'bicycle' in the name.

They also have very tasty food, that's beautifully presented.

photo of the week: Chapel of the Chimes

Yesterday after the rains stopped, I rode into Mountain View Cemetery to visit a family mausoleum space, and stopped to take this picture of the Chapel of the Chimes against the beautiful sky. I was also doing some scouting for an upcoming "Jack and Julia" bicycle history tour, along the lines of the 5 Historic Houses Bike Tour we did last year. Julia Morgan of course, was one of the architects who worked on Chapel of the Chimes over the years.

food: Bar César

beets, grapefruit and avocado salad

Last weekend K and I wanted to go out for dinner, and we looked through a short list of places we'd been and places we still wanted to try. We finally decided on trying Bar César on Piedmont. The place is almost always busy, so that seemed a good sign.

The food is described as "bar food and tapas", which we took to mean small plates, not necessarily Spanish food. We got there fairly early on Saturday, and while it was busy, we were able to get a table right away. Although the website says "bar césar has the most extensive wine list [...] in the East Bay", it looked pretty sparse to us. Maybe there's a separate wine list with more than is on the regular menu, but in any case, we decided to go with some choices from their better looking beer list.

We ordered a variety of dishes, starting with a couple of salads: a pear salad (which I don't see on the menu on the website) for me, and a purple beets with grapefruit and avocado salad for K. Both were beautifully presented and delicious.

We also ordered plantains with black beans, which is a favorite of ours when visiting my parents in Miami. It was nicely presented and quite good, though not up to Little Havana standards. The only disappointment were the empanadas, which seemed bland and a bit soggy. K and I ate a lot of empanadas when we were Argentina, and locally we can get El Porteño empanadas at farmers markets and other events, so we know what we like in that department.

Overall, it was very good. Better than pub grub, good beer selection, good service. I'll go again, but there are a lot of good restaurants in Oakland to choose from.

signs: Bar César

Not an amazing sign, but serious points for not being just a bunch of plastic with lights behind it like so many modern signs are these days.

Overall, it makes for a nice look with the rest of the building.

Oakland Urban Paths: Rock and Walk

Saturday morning there was a great turnout for the Oakland Urban Paths "Rock and Walk", led by Oakland geologist and blogger Andrew Alden. Forty people (and two dogs) gathered to learn about four former quarries in Oakland and Piedmont over the course of a 5 mile walk.

To begin the walk we met at the first quarry, which is now the Rockridge Shopping Center. It was the former Bilger quarry, which produced crushed stone for use in construction. One interesting thing is that the neighboring Treadwell estate didn't sell their land to the quarry, but later sold it to the California College of the Arts, which explains why there's an unusually steep hill between the campus at one level and the shopping center below. Another nearby estate became the Claremont Country Club. The Rockridge branch of Glen Echo Creek traverses the country club, and brings most of the water that fills the quarry pit. Read more about the quarry in Andrew's post from a couple years ago.

From there, we walked around the end of Mountain View Cemetery into Piedmont for quarry #2. It's now Dracena Quarry Park, which is tucked away in a man-made canyon between Moraga Avenue and Oakland Avenue. It also was used to produce crushed stone and aggregate for construction. It's a beautiful little park, surrounded with large redwoods and with play structures for kids. But the hillsides have been left in a somewhat unstable condition—fences around the edge keep park users away from the fallen rock at the base of hills. Read more about Dracena Park in Andrew's post.

Then it was a winding walk over to quarry #3, Davie Tennis Stadium. Unfortunately the park was closed because of a furlough day, but Andrew told us some of the history and geology. The Davie Recreation Stadium was a "gift of the Davie family to the children of Oakland and the East Bay" in 1931. John Davie was a five term mayor of Oakland, first in 1895 then again from 1915-1931. William Davie was a treasurer, and Fred Davie a secretary to the mayor. The quarry provided aggregate for the Alameda Macadam Company and later the Piedmont Paving Company for road paving. You can see an aerial photo of the tennis courts at the park in Google maps.

Morcom Rose Garden

From there we walked across Grand Avenue over to quarry #4, the Morcom Rose Garden. Unlike the other three, Andrew hasn't yet found a record of its history as a quarry, but the geological / topographical features strongly indicate that it was. The land was acquired by the city around 1911-1915, but the first rose wasn't planted until 1933, by then former Mayor Frank Morcom.

We cut back across part of Piedmont, crossed Piedmont Avenue, and returned to our starting point. By this point a few people had dropped out (5 miles is a long walk if you're not used to it), but a few of the remaining folks joined Andrew for a brief walk around the shipping center to view the rocks of quarry #1. Another great urban paths walk, with some stairways that were new to me, and some interesting history and geology to learn about along the way.

Lots more pictures:


For more about Saturday's walk, check out Andrew's post about the walk.

more links:

• Oakland Urban Paths website
• Google map of our route
• Oakland Geology blog
• Oakland Sidewalk Stamps blog
• About.com Geology website

• Dracena Quarry Park
• Davie Tennis Stadium
• Morcom Rose Garden
• Morcom Dedicated Dead Headers

Oakland Urban Paths: walk and shop

Davidson Stairs

Saturday was the 2nd annual Oakland Urban Paths (OUP) walk and shop. Ten people (to say nothing of the dog) explored urban walkways between Lakeshore and Piedmont Avenue and back again.

We met at Mandana Plaza, a small park across from Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church. From there we headed up and over the hill to Grand Avenue, using some stairways that had been created to get people to and from the Key System trains. There are tons of urban paths and stairways around Oakland, but only some of them have signs. OUP is working with the city to make sure urban paths are signed, and stairs have proper handrails, but it's a long, slow process. OUP is also working with the city and neighborhoods to have people "adopt a spot" with different urban stairs and paths around Oakland.

After crossing Grand Avenue and up the hill, we walked to the Morcom Rose Garden. This Oakland gem, named after then Oakland mayor Frank Morcom, has been around since the 1930s, and has a dedicated group of volunteers that tends it along with city gardeners.

We then cut over to the end of Piedmont Avenue, across from the Chapel of the Chimes. Here we took a planned break for people to shop or get a snack. We reconvened and worked our way down to Oak Glen Park in the Glen Echo neighborhood. This little park is tucked away beneath I-580 between MacArthur and Piedmont Avenue. Across Harrison, up some stairs, across Oakland Avenue, and up more stairs took us into Adams Point. From there we crossed I-580 on a pedestrian overpass behind Lakeview Elementary, walked past the Grand Lake Theater, then up Lakeshore to return to our starting point.

Lots more pictures:


Google Map of our route.

Random Acts at Fentons

November is Oakland Firefighters Random Acts month at Fentons Creamery. All month long, 25% of the proceeds from each firefighter sundae (a yummy concoction made with vanilla and rocky road ice cream) goes to support Random Acts' mission of "firefighters creating a positive difference in the lives of individuals." This past weekend, firefighters, fire cadets and volunteers showed up to help serve and celebrate.

Random Acts brought the parade rig for people to climb on, toy fire hats for kids, and had lively music playing. But people come to Fentons for the ice cream, and there was plenty of that, some served up by firefighters and cadets. A few were drafted for the hazardous duty of the annual sundae building contest. This year pitted a crew of cadets versus seasoned firefighters, but none came through unscathed. Whipped cream ended up everywhere, including some on the crowd and photographers.



Lots more pictures:


Also of note is that Fentons is working on opening Myrtle's Lodge, a retail space across Piedmont Avenue. There was a sneak peek available on Sunday, so I took a look at the work in progress. It will have ice cream of course, but served from an antique soda fountain and rung up at an antique cash register. There will reproduction toys (plus plush Myrtle the cow dolls) for sale, art and a bit of history, too. I'll report more as info becomes available.