Saturday, July 30, 2011

16th Street station

16th St. Station

Thursday evening was a celebration of the 16th Street train station in West Oakland. It was put on by RAILS, Restoration Association for Improving the Landmark 16th St. Station, which is sponsored in part by the Central Station building group, BRIDGE Housing.

It's all part of a larger effort to save the 16th Street Station, which was closed to regular use after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It was built back in 1912, and at the time, the waters of the bay came right up next to the tracks. The station is also notable because of its history with the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. It's also a reminder of how transit can be -- trains arrived at ground level, then passengers went upstairs and boarded Key Route trains to the rest of the East Bay or to San Francisco.

16th St. Station

For the event, they had various food trucks including Fist of Flour, Guerrilla Grub, and El Taco Bike, and performers from Trapeze Arts. East Bay Bike Coalition provided free bike parking. CM Nadel and Mayor Quan spoke (though that was before K and I got there; we saw Mayor Quan headed to her Prius as we were walking towards the station.)

To me, one of the big draws was being able to go inside the station. I saw the station while HBO was filming there (apparently a biopic about Ernest Hemingway), and had seen it many times before, but I'd never been inside. It's a gorgeous building, with high ceilings, wonderful Beaux Arts details, and marble floors.

More coverage on Oakland North, OakSnap and ABC 7.



Lots more photos:
16th St. Station

Friday, July 29, 2011

neighborhood videos

Afun set of videos for downtown and some of the north Oakland neighborhoods. They're done by Red Oak Realty, which had a booth at the Temescal Street Fair the other week. It'd be nice to see videos like this for all the neighborhoods of Oakland.

Downtown Oakland from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.


Montclair from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.


Rockridge from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.


Temescal from Red Oak Realty on Vimeo.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

OBUGS garden and art tour

Lafayette School Garden

Saturday I took a break from work and went on the OBUGS annual garden bike tour. OBUGS is Oakland Based Urban Gardens, and works to build healthier communities by educating kids about nutrition and food, and about gardening in the process. It was the fourth annual tour, but I hadn't been on one before. There was a great turnout. I don't know the exact numbers, but I saw a lot of bikes. Mayor Quan and her husband were there, too.

The tour started at the OBUGS community garden at Lafayette Elementary School, where OBUGS was founded in 1998. This was also the best place to look at one of the gardens, as there were students and volunteers on hand to guide people around and answer questions. After that, people were organized into groups of about 10, with two guides, one to lead and one to be the 'sweeper'.

at Bruce Beasley's studio

The bike tour itself was very pleasant. (Compared with riding in the hills, it was super easy, too. I switched off the electric assist, but still found myself wanting to go faster than the group.) It was about 4 miles total, but with frequent stops to see historic houses, various community gardens, and other sites of interest (like the Cypress Memorial Park) around West Oakland. One of the stops was at City Slicker Farms, which I've blogged about before. It looks like they're doing well, and it was nice to see the chicken coop (which I did a little work on) in use. One of the main art stops was Bruce Beasley's studio.

The tour ended at Lowell Park, and it was time to party! There was yummy food provided by Picante, cold drinks, and a raffle with some cool prizes. People hung out and chatted and then it was time to watch Turf Feinz dance. If you're not familiar with them, check out my Oakland-y goodness post from last year. They are simply amazing to watch.



See more pictures here:
OBUGS garden tour

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

upcoming Oakland events

Another week, more great weather and more great events in Oakland. I've been busier with work recently, but even without that there are more great things to do in Oakland than I have time for. I list upcoming events that catch my eye, but there's tons more going in Oakland besides this. As I usually mention, check the Visit Oakland events calendar for even more.

Celebrate 16th Street Station - Thursday, July 28, 5:30pm-8pm. A community celebration of the revitalizing of the 16th Street station. Tour the station, dine from local food trucks, drink East Bay wines. Plus live music, activities for kids, and more.

La Borinqueña's 67th Birthday - Saturday, July 30, 12pm-6pm. The famous Mex-icatessen celebrates 67 years! Food specials by the staff of La Borinqueña & Tina Tamale, Beverage Bar with Local Beer, Fresh Fruit Sangria, Farmers' Market Fresa Agua Fresca and more!

rain barrel program - Sunday, July 31. Order a rain barrel online, then pick it up at the Temescal Farmers market on Sunday. We've got some of the 65 gallon barrels featured, and they're great -- especially at $48.50 that the city program sells them at. I reviewed them (and other options) on my home improvement blog last year.

National Night Out - Tuesday, August 2, 7pm-9pm. Part of a nation-wide event, there will be events all over Oakland. The city is sponsoring an event at Lakeside Park. Come out and show your Oakland love, either at Lakeside Park or at a block party in your neighborhood!

Dishcrawl - Friday, August 5, 6pm. A new (to Oakland) food event, this one in Uptown. This is the inaugural event, starting at Uptown Place. ($26, limited tix)

Secret Stairs book signing, Friday, August 5, 7:30pm at Pegasus Books on Solano, in Berkeley. Author Charles Fleming will be in town for a discussion and book signing of Secret Stairs: East Bay that I reviewed recently. There has also been discussion of him leading one of the walks on Saturday.

Urban Wine Xperience - Saturday, August 6. Put on by the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance that sponsored the event featuring Oakland wineries back in April. The Urban Wine Xperience pairs East Bay vintners with local restaurants and food sellers to put their creations together. Instead of traveling to the different wineries, this event is all at the Jack London Pavilion. ($40-$60)

Throw Down for the Town - Saturday, August 13, 10am-6pm. The Ella Baker Center is organizing service projects all over Oakland, followed by a party at Mosswood Park. Come out and help make Oakland a better place!

Plus the usual events that I haven't listed this time. Remember that Bites on Broadway is now Bites off Broadway -- they're a little further down 45th, in front of Studio One.

Bites off Broadway (Fridays)
Dancing under the Stars (Fridays)
Downtown walking tours (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
OHA walking tours (Saturdays and Sundays)
Art Murmur (Friday, August 5)
Saturday Art Stroll (Saturdays)

For even more, check the Visit Oakland event calendar.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Piedmont Avenue Art Walk

fiftyseven-thirtythree

Thursday evening I headed from Uptown to Piedmont Avenue. I forget where I'd heard about it (I think from cool Oakland clothing designers fiftyseven-thirtythree), but Piedmont Avenue merchants have started their own regular event to draw crowds. The Piedmont Avenue Art Walk is the 3rd Thursday of each month. When I got there at 6:30 or so, regular favorites like Fenton's, Dopo, and Cesar were already hopping, but the rest was relatively quiet. By the time I left, things were busy the length of Piedmont, from The Rare Bird up to Amy Perl Photography.

I couldn't stay as long as I'd like to check out everything (and enjoy all the snacks and drinks provided), but I checked out a lot of the 20+ places taking part, and it seemed like people were having a lot of fun. Much lighter on the art the Art Murmur, but still a lot to see and a fun event. A lot of families with kids were out enjoying it, too.

Lots of pictures here:
Piedmont Ave Art Walk

Update: Things were less fun late Friday night.

Friday, July 22, 2011

signs: Luka's

Luka's Taproom

Thursday I was Uptown to meet with Clay Graham of We Locally. His office is nearby, so afterwards we headed over to Luka's for a pint. I didn't get any food this time, but Luka's has some very tasty food, as well as a nice beer selection. And of course, a cool sign.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

food: Rising Loafer Cafe

Rising Loafer Cafe

I'm not downtown very often for breakfast or lunch, so it was a while before I was able to final try the Rising Loafer Cafe and Bakery. I first heard about it at the Oakland Indie Awards back in May, when they won a Greenie Award, and briefly met the owner, Maria Gastelumendil, at an Oakland Grown event.

Wednesday I took another downtown Oakland walking tour, which ended in Frank Ogawa Plaza right at lunch time, so I had my chance.

Greek Crepe

Since it was a beautiful day, after I ordered I sat at one the outside tables in the shade of the plaza trees. From my seat, I could see the B shuttle running over on Broadway, people out enjoying the open space of the plaza, and hear the free Summer Sounds concert at City Center in the distance. Lovely.

I had a Greek Crepe for lunch, and it was delicious. It came with choice of a green salad or soup. I chose salad, which was nothing special but was tasty. I'm looking forward to trying some of their baked goods when I'm downtown some morning. Next time you're looking for a spot for breakfast or lunch downtown, give the Rising Loafer a try.



Wednesday, July 20, 2011

upcoming Oakland events

We've got our sunshine back, and lots of events with which to go enjoy the warmer weather.

Waterfront Flicks - Thursday, July 21, sundown at Jack London Square. Continuing with the food theme, this week's flick is Big Night. There will be food from Miss Pearl's Jam House, beer from New Belgium via East Bay Bike Coalition, and cooking demos. Despite the return of warmer weather, it can still get cool by the water, particularly after sundown, so take layers!

OBUGS Annual Art and Garden Tour - Saturday, July 23, 2pm. A garden and art tour by Oakland Based Urban Gardens. Discover West Oakland by bicycle (or van-pool) through a tour of lovely streets and edible gardens, with art at every stop. Wrap up with a block party, with food by Picante, entertainment by Turf Feinz, and a raffle with great prizes.

East Bay Food Fight - Saturday, July 23, 4:30pm-7:30pm. A benefit for St. Vincent de Paul's Kitchen of Champions traning program, the East Bay Food Fight features food and drink from over 40 local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Watch local chefs duke it out in the kitchen. ($35-$100)

Bike Ride 4 Peace - Saturday, July 23, 7pm. A bike ride and movie festival put on by West Oakland's Bikes 4 Life. The ride goes from Lakeside Park to Bikes 4 Life, and features food, fun, movies and prizes. (free?)

Celebrate 16th Street Station - Thursday, July 28, 5:30pm-8pm. A community celebration of the revitalizing of the 16th Street station. Tour the station, dine from local food trucks, drink East Bay wines. Plus live music, activities for kids, and more.

La Borinqueña's 67th Birthday - Saturday, July 30, 12pm-6pm. The famous Mex-icatessen celebrates 67 years! Food specials by the staff of La Borinqueña & Tina Tamale, Beverage Bar with Local Beer, Fresh Fruit Sangria, Farmers' Market Fresa Agua Fresca and more!

National Night Out - Tuesday, August 2, 7pm-9pm. Part of a nation-wide event, There will be events all over Oakland. The city is sponsoring an event at Lakeside Park. Come out and show your Oakland love, either at Lakeside Park or at a block party in your neighborhood!

Dishcrawl - Friday, August 5, 6pm. A new (to Oakland) food event, this one in Uptown. This is the inaugural event, starting at Uptown Place. ($26, limited tix)

Secret Stairs book signing, Friday, August 5, 7:30pm at Pegasus Books on Solano, in Berkeley. Author Charles Fleming will be in town for a discussion and book signing of Secret Stairs: East Bay that I reviewed recently. There has also been discussion of him leading one of the walks on Saturday.

Urban Wine Xperience - Saturday, August 6. Put on by the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance that sponsored the event featuring Oakland wineries back in April. The Urban Wine Xperience pairs East Bay vintners with local restaurants and food sellers to put their creations together. Instead of traveling to the different wineries, this event is all at the Jack London Pavilion. ($40-$60)

Plus the usual events that I haven't listed this time:

Bites on Broadway (Fridays)
Dancing under the Stars (Fridays)
Downtown walking tours (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
OHA walking tours (Saturdays and Sundays)
Art Murmur (Friday, August 5)
Saturday Art Stroll (Saturdays)

For even more, check the Visit Oakland event calendar.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

signs: Pat's Renewing (historical)

Key Route

The other week at the Temescal Street Fair, one booth that caught my eye was selling historical photos. The guy said he buys old negatives off eBay and prints them to sell. Of course my attention went straight to the Oakland ones.

Being a fan of the Key Route, I ended up choosing a picture showing a Key Route train running along Piedmont Avenue. It wasn't until after I'd purchased it that K pointed out that in the background was a familiar sign, the Shoe Renewing sign. In the picture it's Pat's Renewing, with "Pat's" in neon, and the same distinctive shoe shape. The date on the photo is 1940, which fits with the Key Route being active. In any event, nice to see an old sign still around!

Pat's Renewing


Shoe Renewing

Monday, July 18, 2011

books: Secret Stairs East Bay

I'm excited to be reviewing a new book, Secret Stairs East Bay: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Berkeley and Oakland. I first heard about it through Oakland Urban Paths. The author, Charles Fleming, wrote a book about walks on historic staircases in Los Angeles, and was looking for people to test his walks in Oakland and Berkeley for a similar book on the East Bay. I happily tested a couple of walks, and K gamely joined me. But I only got to read the rough drafts of those walks, so I was happy when the completed book arrived.

The book isn't just a bunch of maps showing where to walk, it's got bits of history, architecture and local color as well. It was inspired by "pub walk" books in England and Ireland, where each tour begins and ends with a meal or drink. True to form, Fleming points out places to eat or drink on many of the walks.

Secret Stairs includes walks in Oakland and Berkeley, and a few in Albany, El Cerrito and Kensington. Each walk is designed to be between 30 and 90 minutes, is rated for difficulty from 1 (casual) to 5 (rigorous) and includes a stair count.

lovely stairs

And a feature I love, it also includes bus and BART info, so you can do walking tours outside your neighborhood without driving to them. There are tons of paved paths and stairways (over 400 in Oakland and Berkeley), so the book isn't meant to be an exhaustive guide. Besides some history and architecture, the walks also includes detailed directions and a map. The directions are very useful -- some of the stairways can be hard to find without them.

Walking urban paths and staircases can be a great way to explore an area. Although I know our area fairly well, walk #32 (Montclair) showed me a couple of new stairways, and #33 (Merriewood) was almost all new to me, and caused me to notice some interesting houses I hadn't seen before.

To review the finished book, I took one of the walks I didn't know. I selected #30 (Upper Rockridge West) because I had some errands to run in Rockridge. Secret Stairs lists it as 1 hour, 30 minutes, 3.2 miles, 593 steps, and a difficulty of 4, so I knew I had a pretty good hike ahead of me.

gate to Upper Rockridge

The walk starts near Rockridge BART, then heads east towards Upper Rockridge. All along the way, the book points out things to notice: a Craftsman home here, an interesting concrete stamp there. Interspersed with the sights, Fleming gives some history of the area. In the case of Upper Rockridge, it's known for losing a lot of houses in the 1991 Oakland hills firestorm. The architecture reflects that, as some of the houses are old, while others are very clearly newer.

The walk winds its way around the streets and stairways in Upper Rockridge. It makes no attempt to be efficient, but does its best to explore the area. As a result, it includes such gems as:
Then climb a sharp 48 steps, under a giant palm tree, to land on Margarido again. Did we walk down just to walk up? Yes, we did. This a stair book! That's why we're here!
I faithfully followed the directions, and stopped and took lots of pictures along the way. And to test the complete experience, I stopped and Ben 'n Nicks along College at the end of my walk for a cold pint.

I love the book, but it's not perfect. The area map in the introduction has some of the numbered marks in the wrong place, for example. #30 (Upper Rockridge West) is shown near #29 (Upper Piedmont Park), when it should over by highway 24 and #31 (Upper Rockridge East). And this is matter of choice, but how could walk #20 (Broadway and Oak Glen Park) not start and end at Commonwealth Cafe and Pub? Since the book is inspired by pub walks, what better place to start and end than an English-style pub? It would add less than a half mile of level walking.

But the flaws are minor; the detailed directions are accurate and the descriptions are fun to read, and overall it's a wonderful book. It would make a great gift for a friend or neighbor who's into walking, or into Oakland or Berkeley history.

Lots more photos from the walk:
secret stairs: upper Rockridge west



Although Charles Fleming is based in LA, he'll be in town for a book launch party, Friday, August 5, at Pegasus Books on Solano, in Berkeley. If you want to buy the book ahead of time, get it from your local independent book seller.


I received no compensation for this review (other than the review copy.) If you purchase the book through the above link, I get an affiliate fee. Regardless of whether you use the link or not, buy your copy from a local, independent bookstore. Shop local!


Update:
The book event at Pegasus Books was a lot of fun, and there was a huge turnout. This morning Charles led us on walk #1, Claremont: the Uplands, in Berkeley. Some pictures here:
secret stairs

Sunday, July 17, 2011

food: Leaning Tower of Pizza

Leaning Tower of Pizza

It's nothing too fancy, but a good basic pizza can be had from Leaning Tower of Pizza. It's a small place next to Homespun Bikes (formerly Wesley Cleaners), and has a quiet, neighborhood vibe even though they're close to Lakeshore. They have the standard pizza toppings, plus some good combos. They serve beer (a selection of New Belgium beers on tap) and wine, as well as soft drinks.

I went there today after church to watch the Women's World Cup final. (That was an amazing game, even if the U.S. did lose. And I ran into a guy I worked with 15-20 years ago and hadn't seen since then. Which wasn't surprising, since he lives in Munich now.) It wasn't very busy, but there were probably 10 people there, most to watch the game. Some of the reviews on Yelp suggest it's a great spot to bring kids.

In any event, if you're in the neighborhood and looking for a good, basic pizza, check out Leaning Tower. It's on Wesley, just off Lakeshore, and is a quieter alternative to the bustle of Grand Avenue and the upper part of Lakeshore.

Friday, July 15, 2011

bits and pieces 3

This edition of bits and pieces is more bits and less pieces. Or more pieces and fewer bits. Or something. But as always, it has its own twist -- you know the drill :-)

You may have noticed a bit of a site redesign. The big change is moving the navigation links to the right side, so that search synopses show the current post instead of some of the navigation text. The other changes are mostly less obvious, but are to try to make Our Oakland work better on different screen sizes, including smart phones. If you see any problems, let me know what browser and device you're seeing them on.



Let's see...a poem about Oakland I stumbled across somewhere, called One Oakland is definitely worth checking out. The author, Kenya Hall, won a scholarship for it, and plans to attend Northwestern in the fall. Go Kenya!

In recent news, former interim San Francisco police chief Jeff Godown will be heading up the Oakland police department's criminal investigations division.

As noted in upcoming events, the Oakland Municipal Band is celebrating its 100th season. Read about it in the Tribune.



talking social media

The other week the city put on a social media gathering at Era in Uptown. I expected to see some familiar faces there and did, but I also met a number of new folks, too. And I chatted with Dr. Floyd Huen (better known as Mayor Quan's husband), Amy Gahran, Mayor Quan, and others. As Angela Woodall (Tribune) noted, the mayor draws attention where ever she goes in Oakland. One thing I've noticed is that I see the mayor a lot more than I ever saw Ron Dellums when he was mayor.

One of the things talked about was Oakland's new foray into social media. Part of that is a photo and video contest called I Choose Oakland. There are some good photos and videos, and some not so good. Voting ends tonight (Friday). I'd say vote for me (my entry is a panorama of Lake Merritt I shot a while back), but I loved this video called Oakland B Mine.

Oaklandish!

After the social media meetup, most everyone headed down to the opening of the new Oaklandish store. They've been selling gear full of Oakland love for over a decade, but before it's always been at event stands or out of their Oaklandish truck. Now they have an actual brick-and-mortar store front, and celebrated with a whole lot of Oakland love coming back to them. Linden Street Brewery had beer there, and the new store front was packed. Part of why they've been able to expand to a store is that they've spread the love to other cities, via the awesomely named there there store. That features cool gear for cities like Detroit, Buffalo, and more.



A blog I've followed for a long time is called The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. I contributed a photo from Oakland to the book, and more recently a sign from Happy Burrito on Webster. What's with the quotes? "World Famous" I could understand, since most people have never heard of it.

Speaking of books, a step before the site redesign was getting rid of the ads at the bottom. Despite thousands of page views a month, I'd gotten precisely zero (0) hits on them. Which is understandable, because (a) they were all the way at the bottom and (b) they were 99.9% of the time useless. Instead, I have links (still all the way at the bottom) to Shop Indie Bookstores and to Oakland Grown. The former will lead you to the likes of Diesel Books, A Good Great Place for Books, Walden Pond Books, and other local bookstores. Why? You should shop local. That and Amazon is threatening to cancel their affiliate program in California because the state wants to have them charge sales tax to in-state sales. Did I mention you should shop local?



Many people in Oakland have been waiting on efforts to re-open the Parkway Theater, either at the original location or somewhere else but with a similar vibe. Despite lots of effort by J. Moses Ceaser, they still haven't been able to reach a deal. The owners of the original location keep saying they're interested, but no lease has been forthcoming. Let's hope they can figure something out.



Last, and certainly not least, some updates on the food scene in Oakland.

Bites on Broadway has moved down 45th a little ways. It's no longer next to Oakland Tech High School, but near Studio One at 365 45th St.

One new place I haven't been yet is Hawker Fare. Part of the reason I haven't been there is that I've heard there are fewer vegetarian options. And in part because I still have a long list of other places to try in Oakland. In any event, John Birdsall (East Bay Express) liked it a lot. For more complete coverage, check out the SF Eater blog.

And another new place I'm looking forward to trying is Cosecha, in the Swan Marketplace in Old Oakland. Sounds like good stuff! (Even if they do have an annoying Flash-only web site.)



More random photos here:
bits and pieces 3

Thursday, July 14, 2011

upcoming Oakland events

Don't let the foggy, cool weather get you down. There's lots of fun things to do in Oakland. So many that last week's are on the verge of making me late putting out a new post about this week's.

Saturday Stroll - Saturdays, 1pm-5pm. Like the idea of the Art Murmur, but don't like the crowds? Now there's a Saturday Stroll, which runs every Saturday. (free)

Jazz by the Lake - Sunday, July 17, noon at Camron-Stanford House. A live jazz concert featuring Nicolas Bearde, with a brunch and beautiful views of Lake Merritt. Call 510.874.7802 for reservations ($35-$50)

Oakland Municipal Band concert - Sunday, July 17, 1pm-3pm. The next concert in the 100th season of the Oakland Municipal Band, at the bandstand in beautiful Lakeside Park. (free)

OBUGS Annual Art and Garden Tour - Saturday, July 23, 2pm. A garden and art tour by Oakland Based Urban Gardens. Discover West Oakland by bicycle (or van-pool) through a tour of lovely streets and edible gardens, with art at every stop. Wrap up with a block party, with food by Picante, entertainment by Turf Feinz, and a raffle with great prizes.

East Bay Food Fight - Saturday, July 23, 4:30pm-7:30pm. A benefit for St. Vincent de Paul's Kitchen of Champions traning program, the East Bay Food Fight features food and drink from over 40 local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Watch local chefs duke it out in the kitchen. ($35-$100)

Bike Ride 4 Peace - Saturday, July 23, 7pm. A bike ride and movie festival put on by West Oakland's Bikes 4 Life. The ride goes from Lakeside Park to Bikes 4 Life, and features food, fun, movies and prizes. (free?)

Celebrate 16th Street Station - Thursday, July 28, 5:30pm-8pm. A community celebration of the revitalizing of the 16th Street station. Tour the station, dine from local food trucks, drink East Bay wines. Plus live music, activities for kids, and more.

La Borinqueña's 67th Birthday - Saturday, July 30, 12pm-6pm. The famous Mex-icatessen celebrates 67 years! Food specials by the staff of La Borinqueña & Tina Tamale, Beverage Bar with Local Beer, Fresh Fruit Sangria, Farmers' Market Fresa Agua Fresca and more!

Dishcrawl - Friday, August 5, 6pm. A new (to Oakland) food event, this one in Uptown. This is the inaugural event, starting at Uptown Place. ($26, limited tix)

Urban Wine Xperience - Saturday, August 6. Put on by the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance that sponsored the event featuring Oakland wineries back in April. The Urban Wine Xperience pairs East Bay vintners with local restaurants and food sellers to put their creations together. Instead of traveling to the different wineries, this event is all at the Jack London Pavilion. ($40-$60)

Plus the usual events that I haven't listed this time:
Waterfront Flicks (Thursday, July 21)
Bites on Broadway (Fridays)
Dancing under the Stars (Fridays)
Downtown walking tours (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
OHA walking tours (Saturdays and Sundays)
Art Murmur (Friday, August 5)

For even more, check the Visit Oakland event calendar, Oakland Local and Oakland North.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Temescal Street Fair

Guerrilla Grub

This year's Temescal Street Fair was originally scheduled for June, but unusually late storms forced rescheduling it to July. It didn't seem to suffer for the delay -- there was a huge turnout.

There were lots of food vendors, art booths, and activities for kids. There were two music stages, Capoeira dancers, a climbing rock, and rides for kids at the south end. Local shops were taking advantage of the extra foot traffic. Bakesale Betty's is normally closed on Sundays, but had all their signature ironing board tables out. The alleyway off 49th was getting some extra love. Crimson was open, and sneak peeks were available of soon-to-open Temescal Alley Barbershop.

Lots more photos:
Temescal Street Fair

Also check out coverage from:
Cooking with the Single Guy
Oakland North

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

walking tour of the Laurel

Dennis Evanosky

Sunday morning was a special walking tour of the Laurel. It was organized by district 4 council member Libby Schaaf, and led by local historian and OHA member Dennis Evanosky. There ended up being a large group, including Libby Schaaf, BART board member Robert Raburn, a few folks from AC Transit, and 40-50 other people interested in Oakland history. (Plus a couple of dogs, who were indifferent about the history but enjoyed the people.)

Donut Time

One of the first stops on the tour was a familiar building, home to Donut Corner, with its awesome Donut Time clock. The building is notable because that's where much of the planning for the native American occupation of Alcatraz (1969-1971) was done. That became a major precedent for native American activism.

As we walked, we heard about different time periods in the Laurel's history, from hauling redwood logs down what is now 35th Avenue, to the heyday of the theaters (including a movie premiere delivered by the Goodyear blimp), to the major impact the building of the MacArthur freeway (I-580) had. We walked past the amazing gas station (c.1939) that I photographed back in May.

plot map

One question people had and the tour promised to answer: how did the Laurel get its name? It goes back to an early real estate development. The land had been part of the Peralta Grant, and then given to one of Peralta's sons. The land was then sold to developers, and the new development named for a grove of laurels near Peralta Creek: Laurel Grove Park. It took a while for the development to actually take off, but with the help of a streetcar line up 38th to the sales office, it eventually did.

Unfortunately, there were enough people on the tour that as a group we moved slowly. Which meant we didn't cover everything planned, so Dennis is hoping to do the second half of the tour in September. Stay tuned!

More photos here:
Laurel walking tour

Monday, July 11, 2011

F.M. "Borax" Smith

Saturday was the first Oakland Heritage Alliance tour of the season, and was focused on Francis Marion "Borax" Smith. If you know anything about Oakland history, you've probably heard the name "Borax" Smith. After making a fortune in mining, Frank (as he was known to friends) switched his attention to real estate, and developed the Key System as a way to help develop and sell that real estate.

I have to admit I went in to the tour kind of wondering what we'd see. After all, the Smith Estate was long gone, so what was there to look at? While the house itself is gone, there are still remnants of the Smith's legacy. We couldn't have asked for a more knowledgeable tour guide than Phil Bellman, a long-time OHA member who has been leading these tours since the 80s. We met just off Park Blvd. across from where the mansion was.

Arbor Villa

The estate, known as Arbor Villa, was impressive. The grounds covered 50 acres. The house had 42 rooms, including 15 bedrooms, a bowling alley, and a miniature borax mine. While the house was on top of Ivy Hill, they also built an observation tower for what must have been stunning views.

While all that is gone, buildings that were around the estate and that were built after the estate was sold remain. There are some remarkable buildings, designed by the likes of Julia Morgan, Bernard Maybeck, and Clarence Dakin.

Frank and his first wife, Mary (Mollie) R. Smith were also known because of Mary's philanthropic work. Inspired by Benjamin Farjeon's Blade O'Grass, she started a home for "friendless" (i.e., orphaned) girls. Frank built a total of 13 cottages for the girls, plus the Home Club, which served as a community center, and turned over 34 acres to the Mary R. Smith Trust. A number of the cottages are still standing and are private residences now.

Along with amazing architecture and history about Smith, there were various interesting tidbits of Oakland history on the tour. One was an old sidewalk stamp at the corner of East 24th St. and 9th Ave, dating back to 1902. Our guide mentioned it was the oldest sidewalk stamp he knew of in Oakland. I immediately thought of the Oakland Sidewalk Stamps blog, and quickly found one as old. (With a little more searching on the site, I found ones dating to 1901). But what's remarkable is how little else was there in 1902, so having a sidewalk out in the boondocks was a big deal.

Evelyn Cottage
designed by Julia Morgan

After the tour was over, I walked and biked more around the neighborhood. I checked out F.M. Smith Park further down Park Blvd., which includes a plaque about Smith, statues of mules, and a grave marker for Smokey - a good mule. The park was built on land donated by the Smiths.

After getting some lunch and running some errands, I also stopped by a plaque in Trestle Glen that tells about the trestle built by Smith's Oakland Traction Company (a predecessor of the Key System). In 1893, they extended a streetcar line from downtown Oakland, up Park Boulevard, and built a large trestle across what was then Indian Gulch to carry picnickers to Sather Park. Mark Twain was one of the inaugural riders. The trestle lasted until 1906, when the streetcar was rerouted.

"Borax" Smith died in 1931, and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, along "Millionaires Row".

Some other Smith-related Oakland sites:
Claremont Hotel - Built as a "destination" on the Key System by Smith's Realty Syndicate.
El Campanil - The clock tower at Mills College, donated by the Smiths, designed by Julia Morgan. One of the earliest structures built west of the Mississippi of reinforced concrete, it survived the 1906 earthquake unscathed, and furthered Morgan's career both as an architect and an engineer. (Various sources say it was the earliest, but see Phil's comment about earlier structures.)

See lots more photos here: