West Oakland afternoon

Sunday afternoon K and I went to the open studio of Oakland-based artist Anthony Holdsworth. You'd likely recognize his work, as it's hung in numerous cafes and galleries around Oakland. He started painting urban landscapes in the 1970s when he lived in North Oakland and his pickup truck wasn't in good enough shape to drive him out to the countryside. I ended up buying a couple of limited edition prints (originals aren't in my budget), one of Lake Merritt and one of Esther's Orbit Room, a jazz and blues club in West Oakland that has disappeared like all the rest.

We stopped by the Shorey house, where William Shorey, "the Black Ahab" lived with his family when he wasn't leading a whaling trip. A couple of guys asked what I was taking a picture of, so I told them a bit about William Shorey, and the warehouse down the street where Green Day crashed for a while early in their career. Then it was a late lunch at 10th and Wood a short distance away.

The weather was warm and beautiful, and it was still early, so we headed out to Middle Harbor Shoreline Park after lunch. The park is tucked away amongst different parts of the Port of Oakland. The land is all fill, but it didn't happen at all at once. The Western Pacific Railway had a 'mole' which extended the railroad tracks out to a ferry slip. Just beyond that was the Oakland Harbor Light. The lighthouse building was later sold for $1, moved up the estuary, and is now Quinn's Lighthouse, a bar and restaurant. We strolled around the point and saw lots of birds, including a flock of California brown pelicans that flew past us. We wrapped up the afternoon with a beer at The Beer Shed. A lovely way to spend the afternoon.

More pictures from the afternoon:

Old Oakland + West Oakland with OHA and Ruben Llamas

Saturday was the 2nd to last Oakland Heritage Alliance walking tour of the summer, "Stepping Into the Past" led by author Ruben Llamas.

While these days people think of Old Oakland and West Oakland as distinctly different places, before the freeways came through they were all one continuous neighborhood. Ruben grew up in the area, and through his stories brought Oakland from pre-WWII to the 1970s back to life. His father ran a music store (and barbershop), La Ideal Music, which was at the corner of 7th and Castro, where the 880-980 connector now runs.

The walk started in front of La Borinqueña Mex-icatessen, where Tina Tamale was busy preparing for a catering job. La Borinquña is one of the oldest stores in the area, although they were forced by eminent domain to move twice for new freeways. Tina is the 3rd generation running the business; her mama still comes in on Saturdays to offer tamale and other advice, and reminisce about the old days.

Our walk took us past Jefferson Square Park, where Ruben and other area youths spent countless hours playing baseball. Ruben told us about getting his first baseball glove, playing on police-sponsored teams, and at least one broken window story. We meandered past the site of La Ideal Music and heard about the once thriving music scene in the area, as well as further down 7th Street.

A nice walk, full of people stories, which is what history is all about. If you're interested in Oakland history, I recommend Ruben's book, Eye from the Edge. He sold and signed copies after the walk, but you can also find it at local bookstores.

More pictures from the walk:

Oakland Urban Paths: West Oakland

Saturday about 40 people and half a dozen dogs joined Oakland Urban Paths for walk starting at the former 16th Street Train Station. Two common threads through the walk were "parks, places and people", and earthquakes, railroads and freeways. Many forces have shaped Oakland over the years, but the latter are three of the big ones. It didn't take long into our walk to see evidence of all them.

For many years, Oakland was the terminus of the first transcontinental railroad, and that opened up the way to more immigration from the rest of the U.S., and opened new markets for California products to be shipped elsewhere. The 16th Street station replaced the earlier train station on 7th Street in 1912. But the 16th Street station was badly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, and Amtrak service moved to Jack London Sqaure and Emeryville in 1994. The 1906 earthquake brought more than 100,000 refugees from San Francisco, many who stayed in Oakland even after San Francisco rebuilt.

After crossing Mandela Parkway, where the Cypress Structure stood until the 1989 earthquake, we stopped at de Fremery House to hear from architects Philip Banta and Norman Hooks. They've envisioned a West Oakland Walk (W.O.W.) as as a network of "Parks, Places and People". It’s an urban design concept to leverage central city assets into a "green social circuit" for walking, biking, organic gardening, exercising and meeting friends, activities that build sustainable communities. We followed about 3.5 miles of their 4.5 mile loop.

A short walk took us past numerous beautiful homes, including the historic Hume-Willcutt House, where Joseph Willcutt, director and secretary of the Southern Pacific Railroad lived. Keeping with the earthquake part of the thread, the house lost an ornate brick chimney in the 1989 earthquake. Then it was to the I-980 freeway. It divides West Oakland from downtown, even though they are a short distance from each other. Historically there was much more interaction between the two because they're adjacent, but now a large, physical and psychological barrier limits the interaction to a few noisy overpasses.

Looping through Frank Ogawa Plaza downtown, we saw what appeared to be a small press conference. I ran into some of the participants later, and it turns out they were shooting a small scene from an independent movie about the Occupy movement. After stops at the African American Museum and Library of Oakland and the First Unitarian Church (badly damaged in both the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes), we crossed back over the freeway.

On our way along 14th Street, we stopped at the Cypress Freeway Memorial Park, which remembers the victims of and first responders to the freeway collapse during the Loma Prieta quake. After the remains of the double-decker freeway were removed, the neighborhood fought to have the new freeway routed elsewhere. Now the parkway is a lovely open space, and the adjacent neighborhoods were rejoined.

A great walk. Thanks to everyone and everywoof who came out for it, and special thanks to Phil Banta and Norman Hooks for sharing information about the West Oakland Walk, and some of Oakland's parks, places and people. Next month's walk will be Saturday, July 12, in the Golden Gate district in north Oakland.

To learn more about some of the parks, places and people we talked about, see this list of pages on the Oakland Wiki.

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If you enjoyed the walk and want to learn more, or if you missed the walk, the Oakland Heritage Alliance will be covering some of the same route in August. They won't be doing the full 4.5 mile loop either, but will start at Lake Merritt and end at the 16th Street Station. Besides Oakland Urban Paths and the Oakland Heritage Alliance, the city of Oakland also does downtown walking tours. See a more complete list of Oakland walking tours on the OaklandWiki.

After the walk, if you noticed a couple of people working the soil in front of the train station, they were doing prep work for the WOW Farm. It's part of an youth entrepreneur program with the Game Theory Academy, whose mission is "to improve the economic decision-making skills and provide opportunities to low-income youth who have experience with juvenile justice, foster care and homelessness." They'll be using some of the space in front of the train station to grow cut flowers.

Lots more pictures from the walk:


Here is a map of our (approximate) route (we cut down San Pablo instead of Telegraph.)

HellaWeen Fun Run 2013 was hella fun

Saturday in Old Oakland was the 2nd annual HellaWeen Fun Run. Hundreds of people turned out to run, most of them in costume. Most people were just out for fun, but a few took the running a little more seriously. The top finishers for the 5K race were Daveon Sadusky (18:21), Connor Waterloo (20:06) and Ashley Clayborne (20:12).

As with last year, the most popular "water" stop was at Linden Street Brewery. Adam and his crew were serving up water, Old Brick Bitter, and Campovida had glasses of wine, too.

The best costume winner was a group dressed as Pacman and five ghosts, but there were lots of great, creative costumes. The winner of the most popular costume (relying in no small part on the cuteness factor) was a little girl dressed as Bat Kid and her mom dressed as Robin.

Congrats to all the racers, whether you ran, walked, skipped, or were in a stroller! I hope you all had lots of fun, and hope to see you out next spring for the Oakland Running Festival in March, whether you run or just cheer the racers on.



Lots more pictures from Saturday:

Oakland Urban Paths: Old Oakland and West Oakland

A special thank-you to Robert Perricone and Fran Estrada for the use of their photos. For a variety of reasons, OUP was short-handed for Saturday's walk, and I've found it difficult to lead a walk and take pictures of it at the same time, so I'm very grateful to them for the use of some of their photos.

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These days it's easy to think of Old Oakland and West Oakland as separate areas of Oakland because of the freeways, but in the past they were connected into one continuous neighborhood. Saturday about 35 people and two dogs joined Oakland Urban Paths for a walk exploring these areas.

Tina Tamale
photo by Robert Perricone

We started the walk in front of La Borinqueña Mex-icatessen, where Tina "Tamale" Ramos told us about some of the changes in the area. Tina is a 3rd generation Oaklander and 3rd generation running a business in Oakland, so she and her family have seen a lot of the changes over the years. Her mom, "Mama Tamale", is retired from running the business, but still comes in on Saturdays and for special events, to give tamale advice and talk about the old days.

In front of Tina's tamale shop is a marker for the 10,000 Steps Project. It's an art project highlighting the historic parks of downtown Oakland. We passed by a number of other markers on the walk, including ones at Lafayette Square Park, the Pardee Home, and Jefferson Square Park. There are 37 markers total, and more than half of them have an associated audio segment, including interview clips with Tina and her mother.

We headed up to Lafayette Square Park, which was the original location of the Chabot Observatory. It was a gift of Anthony Chabot, who is probably best known as the founder of the water company that eventually became EBMUD. The observatory was in downtown Oakland from 1883 until 1915, when increasing light pollution from the growing city required a move to the hills.

A short walk from the park took us to the Pardee Home Museum. It was the home of Enoch Pardee, who was mayor of Oakland from 1876–1878, and later the home of his son, George Pardee, who was mayor of Oakland and later governor of California. Besides preserving the historic house, it also serves as a museum. George and Helen Pardee's daughters, Madeline and Helen, lived in the house their entire lives, changing very little over the years, so it is well-preserved. George Pardee was also involved in the creation of EBMUD and somewhat indirectly the creation of the East Bay Regional Park District.

Across the street is Preservation Park. There are 16 historic buildings there, but 11 were moved from elsewhere to save them from the wrecking ball when the freeways were built. The park is now run by a private company and houses offices for different non-profits as well as a small restaurant. Unfortunately there was an event so the park was closed, preventing us from getting a closer look at the homes and at the Latham-Ducel fountain in the middle of the park.

First Unitarian Church
photo by Fran Estrada

Around the corner from Preservation Park is the First Unitarian Church. The lovely brick structure was damaged in the 1906 earthquake and again in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The church was started when Presbyterian pastor Laurentine Hamilton was charged with heresy for his teachings. He left the Presbyterian church, and much of the congregation went with him.

Our next stop was further away, on the other side of I-980. Blocks and blocks of homes and businesses were destroyed for the construction of the freeway, but some of the homes were saved and moved to Preservation Park. A block or so south of our route was the original location of Oakland High School, but it was gone long before the freeways came through.

We eventually came to de Fremery Park. The park is a hub of West Oakland, with a recreation center, picnic tables, tennis courts, and a skateboard park. It hosts a variety of events, including the annual Black Cowboy Parade, which has been around almost 40 years. Even more years ago than that, the Black Panther Party held rallies and food giveaways at the park. But originally it was the grounds of the de Fremery family house known as "The Grove". James and Virginie de Fremery were a wealthy couple and had numerous descendants in Oakland. But what is less well-known is that Viginie was the child of a Dutch merchant and a former slave he purchased then later married.

We discussed gentrification and the broader sweep of West Oakland's history. Although there were exceptions like William Shorey, the largest number of African Americans came to Oakland during WWI and WWII. Some had found work as Pullman Porters, and Oakland was the end of the line for the transcontinental railroad. Many settled in West Oakland, not necessarily because they wanted to, but housing covenants as well as unspoken rules made it so West Oakland was the only place they could live.

From there, we walked past the former site of the Miller home. Keeping with our earlier utilities theme, Albert Miller and his son C.O.G. Miller were involved in the creation of Pacific Gas & Electric. There were questions about the food mill across the street. Although there are no signs, it's still an active business. It began back in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Shredded Wheat Company; now it produces organic rice flour, crisp rice, and corn flakes, most of which goes to Japan.

Cypress Freeway Memorial Park

To the west we came to the Cypress Freeway Memorial Park. More recent arrivals to Oakland may not know that where Mandela Parkway is now was originally the location of the Cypress Structure which collapsed in the 1989 earthquake. The park is a memorial to those who died, and features a sculpture recalling the twisted wreckage of the freeway, the dust rising from the debris, and the ladders that people in the neighborhood brought to help reach the victims. There is also a mural called "15 seconds" which is a trace of the seismograph of the main temblor of the earthquake. Unfortunately part of it has been damaged and painted over.

We headed down Mandela to 7th Street. We didn't have time to walk there, but I pointed out where Esther's Orbit Room and other music clubs in West Oakland made up what was once known as the "Harlem of the West". Noted jazz and blues musicians from all the U.S. came to Oakland to perform, and some even got their start here.

We walked past The Crucible and talked about its art programs, as well as the Oakland Running Festival that passes through the area. Then it was down to Linden Street Brewery. The brewery itself is in a building that was originally cable manufacturing plant. But we were there to see the former location of the nearby Moore Dry Dock Company, which built ships including ferryboats for the Key System, as well as structural steel for projects like The Paramount Theatre, the High Street Bridge, and caissons for the Bay Bridge.

Our return journey took us past Urban Legend Cellars, one of Oakland's wineries. Turns out one of the people on the walk works for a winery in Alameda [ sorry, don't remember name ]. Both of them are members of the East Bay Vinter's Alliance, which holds a number of fun wine events in Oakland and Alameda. Then it was through Jefferson Square Park and back to La Borinqueña. A number of us stayed for lunch and for a sneak peek of the new garden space behind the restaurant. It was featured the next day at the Viva Tamales! fundraising event.

Thanks to Tina for her hospitality, special thanks to Robert Perricone and Fran Estrada for the photos, and thanks to everyone and everywoof that came out for the walk.

October's walk will be on the second Saturday, October 12th, and will feature the new Bay Bridge Trail and pathway.

Lots more photos from the walk:

First Friday Fun

Friday night there was way too much fun and interesting stuff to do, but that didn't stop me from trying to do most of it anyway.


I started at Bikes 4 Life in West Oakland to join people in a ride over to Uptown. The ride was sponsored by Bikes 4 Life, East Bay Bicycle Coalition and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland. About 15 people rode from there to the new sculpture garden in Uptown.


At the sculpture garden there were hundreds of people out for the opening. Valet bike was parking provided by Richmond Spokes. Rebecca Saltzman was one of the community activists who had prevented the empty lot from just becoming yet another ugly surface parking lot. She spoke, as did Mayor Jean Quan, CM Libby Schaaf, and CM Lynette Gibson McElhaney, and the jazz band from the nearby Oakland School for the Arts played some music.


Then it was a quick trip down Telegraph to Sole Space, the combination shoe store and art gallery. There I ate a tasty Angel Cakes cupcake and checked out artwork by Favianna Rodriguez. She wasn't there, as she was at another event (out of town, I think), but it was great to be able to check out some of her work up close.


A quick ride (and longer search for bike parking) took me to Loring Cafe to drop in on a tweetup. @zennie62, @tdlove5 and @guelo were there, and we talked about Art Murmur and how it's changed, and then chatted with one of the owners of Loring Cafe.

With no time to spare, I then headed over to Telegraph and Grand and took a quick look at Art Murmur in person. It's definitely changed since I was first there in 2011. If nothing else, it's a whole lot bigger.


I rode up Broadway to 40th, to my final stop of the night, the opening of second part of an exhibition of artist Robert Akeley's work at the Rise Above Gallery in Temescal. There I spotted my third CM of the night (try to collect them all!), CM Dan Kalb. With no other destinations in mind (except home), I spent a while there talking to people including Robert, Annalee Allen, Sue Mark (of the 10,000 Steps project) and drinking some tasty beer served up by Sue's young son.

Not that I was able to give enough time to any of the events, but it was a lot of fun. The one event I didn't make was an event for Back to the Roots, but I found out about that too late to even think about including in my planning.

More pictures from Friday:

Tour de Bière 2013

Saturday was the third annual Tour de Bière, a fundraiser put on by The Grand Cru to benefit the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. We had perfect weather for the ride, and as in past years, the tickets for it sold out quickly. I'm not the only one who enjoys beer and bikes, particularly in support of a good cause.

We started in San Leandro at Drake's Brewery. They were kind enough to open early and offer tours. While we were checking in, we started with coffee from Bicycle Coffee Co. and breakfast snacks. The location was new to the Tour de Biere, but Drake's has been around since 1989. It was founded by Roger Lind and originally known as Lind Brewing Company. With 50 people on the ride, we had to split into smaller groups to go on the tour, so it took a while for everyone to go on it. On the tour we heard about the brewing process at Drake's, but also about one of their specialties, barrel-aged beers. Normally after brewing, fermenting and filtering, a beer is pretty much ready to drink. Barrel-aged beers put the beer into oak barrels for further aging. The origin of the barrel, whether from wine-making or some other alcohol production affects the taste, as does charring the inside of the barrel. The beer is aged for varying periods, and the result is something unique. The one we sampled was darker, a bit smokey, and slightly sour. I loved it, but it's not to everyone's taste.

After Drake's, we headed past the Oakland airport and into Alameda. After a brief rest stop on Bay Farm Island, we rode along the estuary and onto the island of Alameda (which wasn't always an island.) There we were greeted by one the mom of one of the riders who had made us fresh cookies! The ride along the estuary was particularly beautiful, as there were numerous shorebirds and other waterfowl.

From Alameda we headed through Jingletown up along the estuary towards Jack London Square to Linden Street Brewery in West Oakland. There we were greeted by Andrew, head brewer and co-founder (Adam was busy in back watching a test batch being brewed.) Linden Street is partnering with James Sybahout of Commis and Hawker Fare to open a restaurant adjacent to the brewery in Linden Street (I reported on this back in December.) As a result, things were a bit chaotic in the tasting room, and much of the furniture had been moved outside. Andrew told us about the story of Linden Street (the first production brewery in Oakland since the 1950s) and kept us well-supplied with tastes of LSB's four beers. They brew "session beers", which are lower in alcohol than many beers today. The lower alcohol (generally 4% to 5%) allows you to drink more beer over a session without getting too drunk too fast. At Linden Street we were joined by El Taco Bike, which gave people the opportunity for a tasty snack.

Then it was up through West Oakland and Emeryville to Aquatic Park in Berkeley, and on to the Trumer Brewery. We again broke into smaller groups for a tour of the brewery. Trumer is unusual in a number of ways. First, they make only one beer, Trumer Pils. The first Trumer brewery started in Salzburg, Austria, in 1601, and is still family owned. They pride themselves on making a pure, bright pilsner, so when they OK'd making Trumer in the U.S., the quality of the water was a big consideration. EBMUD water from the Sierra Nevada was perfect for their needs, but they still had to do a lot of back-and-forth to satisfy the exacting standards of the main brewers in Austria. At the brewery they have a quality assurance lab that tests the beer to make sure it's up to their standards. Trumer then opened their tasting room to us, where people enthusiastically drank some Trumer Pils.

Our final stop was Pyramid Brewery, which is also in Berkeley not far from Trumer. There we took over the patio and sampled a few of Pyramid's beers. Some people ordered food, while some went on a tour of the brewery. They don't allow photos inside the brewhouse, but there was interesting stuff to learn. We heard about Pyramid's history, from their founding in the Pacific Northwest to their expansion to Berkeley and several subsequent mergers. After the tour, the rest of us got food and some more beer, and sat and reflected on the day.

It was another great Tour de Biere. There was about 20 miles of cycling on the tour, and I had another 17 or so to and from BART and home at the start and end of the tour, so it was a lot of riding. But the tour part was very flat, with the biggest hills being over the bridges to and from Alameda. Thanks to The Grand Cru for organizing it, to Drake's, Linden Street, Trumer and Pyramid for hosting it, Bicycle Coffee Co. for the coffee Clif Bar for the snacks, and to everyone else who made the day possible.

Lots more pictures from the tour:


There's a great write up by Jenny Oh at Bay Area Bites with more pictures.

Read about the Tour de Biere 2012.

signs: Peralta Junction

Anew sign with a lovely retro style. Alas, it's probably just temporary, since it's for the Peralta Junction popup market and carnival in West Oakland. Note that they're closed tomorrow (Saturday), and open Sunday, weather permitting.

Peralta Junction: art pop-up + carnival = lots of fun

West Oakland has joined in with the pop-up market fun that has appeared elsewhere in Oakland. There are art and clothing vendors, home-made carnival games, a stage for live music, and a rotating series of food trucks. Stop by and check out Peralta Junction. They're open weekends through December 15th, with Thursday movie nights, a variety of special events, and lots of fun for all ages.

More pictures from Peralta Junction:

HellaWeen Fun Run

Saturday was the first ever HellaWeen Fun Run put on by the organizers of the Oakland Marathon. The 5 mile run started and finished in Old Oakland, and most of the runners were in costume. It looked like people had a lot of fun, before, during and after the run. Besides water stations, there was a beer stop at Linden Street Brewery. And after finishing, the runners and their fans were treated to a street party with live music. All in all, it was hella fun!

Lots of pictures from the HellaWeen Fun Run:

installing solar with GRID Alternatives

Yesterday I took a day off working and volunteered with Oakland-based GRID Alternatives. The core of GRID Alternatives is the Solar Affordable Housing Program, where they train and lead community volunteers (like me!) and job trainees from all walks of life to install solar electric systems with low-income homeowners. As part of their mission, they also install the solar panels on Habitat for Humanity houses, which is where my previous experience with GRID has been.

This install was on an existing house, and the technology has changed a bit since I last volunteered (use of microinverters, for example), so I had some new things to learn. That's part of why I enjoy volunteering with GRID is the chance to learn new things. I worked on the ground crew in the morning, assembling pieces and passing things up to the roof. Then after lunch I worked on the roof for a while, helping run conduit from the main panel up to the start of the solar array. It was a fun day. Thanks to installation supervisor Dave Lee and the crew leaders for making things run smoothly and safely.

If you're interested in volunteering with GRID, donating, or want to see if you qualify for an install, check the Grid Alternatives website.

Oakland Artist Creates Glass That Dazzles

The other week I had the opportunity to visit Slow Burn Glass, the West Oakland studio of artist Bryan Goldenberg. He's been blowing glass since 1995, and after graduating from the California College of the Arts in 2002 and with experience around the country and the world, he created the Slow Burn studio in 2006.

I've seen a glass-blowing demonstration before, but it was fairly simple, creating a simple rounded shape from a single color of glass. Byran's unique creations are quite a bit more complicated, and require thoroughly planning things out in advance. Creating them is also a two-person job, with his assistant Dave (who is a glassblower in his own right) deftly holding or blowing the glass while Bryan shapes it.

The process starts with clear glass that's kept molten in a 2000°F furnace, 24 hours a day. After a blob of molten glass (a 'gather') is spooled onto the blowpipe, and ensuring it's free of bubbles, Bryan begins mixing on the color layer. Despite the high heat, the glass is only workable for a couple minutes at a time, then it's back into the 'glory hole' for reheating. Besides planning out things in advance, Bryan is always thinking several moves ahead so Dave can prepare the proper tools for him.

Amazingly, besides computer-controlled furnaces that regulate the temperature, the technology of glass blowing hasn't changed much in 2,000 years. The blowpipes are metal instead of clay, but the tools for shaping the glass are simple metal shears and tweezers, wooden shapes and cork paddles.

Once the basic shape is achieved, the glass is transferred to a solid pole (a 'punty') which allows shaping the top opening of the piece. That done, the completed piece is snapped off the punty and transferred with heavy gloves to the annealing furnace, where the glass is slowly cooled to prevent breaking.

Bryan's work is on view in various galleries around the country, but there's a chance to see it up close and purchase it coming up. It's the 2012 American Craft Council Show at Fort Mason in San Francisco, August 3rd through 5th. With hundreds of the top contemporary jewelry, clothing, furniture and home décor artists from across the country, it's the largest juried craft show west of the Rockies.

More pictures:


Read more about glassblowing on Wikipedia.

New Bay Bridge Progress

Idon't think about the Bay Bridge very often; I don't drive much anymore, when I do it's very rarely into San Francisco so it's generally only when I see the bridge from West Oakland or the hills that I think about it at all. But on Wednesday I took part in a special tour of the bridge with the local chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology. A very knowledgeable CalTrans PIO named Vic showed us a short video and answered questions, then took about 25 of us out on a boat to see the old and new east spans up close and personal.

It may seem like ancient history to recent Oakland residents, but it was almost 25 years ago that the Loma Prieta Earthquake destroyed the Cypress structure in West Oakland and damaged the Bay Bridge. A 50-foot section of the upper deck collapsed, leaving the vital link in Bay Area transportation impassable for a month and half.

Part of why it's taken so long for the project to be completed is that it's actually several projects. Besides building the new east span, they also needed to retrofit the west span, rebuild the San Francisco approach to the bridge, and temporarily retrofit the existing east span so that the bridge could remain open while the new span is being built. The new east span is made up of an approach in Oakland, the skyway, the signature suspension span, as well as the transition on Yerba Buena to the existing two-layer tunnel.

And part of why it's taken so long is that as vital as the bridge is, CalTrans and various contractors have done a lot of work to try to ensure the updated bridge won't fail again, and that has required inventing some new ways of building bridges. For example, the skyway has a number of large joints connected by hinge-pipe beams. They look like huge dowels, and each can make small moves with temperature changes and large moves in an earthquake. In the event of a really large earthquake, the center of each 'dowel' is designed to break to keep the structure of the bridge intact. The joint can then be replaced. Similarly, the tower of the Self-Anchored Suspension (SAS) span has shear link beams between the four legs. The beams are designed to flex in the event of an earthquake, and can be replaced if damaged.

It was a fascinating tour, and a nice chance to see the old east span as well as the progress on the new. Unlike a lot of people, I actually like the old span. If I had the money, I'd get the Oaklandish t-shirt of it in a flash. (Well, and a half dozen others like Typehoods, Train Tracks, Silver Skull, Sugar Skull, Cranes Reflection, and East Oakland signs, if somebody is feeling generous.) But seeing it first-hand, I'm impressed with the design of the new span. It's got clean, elegant lines, though those are harder to see with all the falsework (temporary supports), a unique asymmetrical design, and features for everyone from pedestrians to nesting cormorants.

Lots more pictures from the tour:


For the latest updates on the Bay Bridge project, and more pictures and video, check out the Bay Bridge Info website. They've also got some great photos and other items from the construction of the bridge and the celebrations for the opening in 1936.

The slideshow includes a picture of the "Bay Bridge Troll" on the existing east span that was installed by ironworkers repairing the collapsed section of the upper deck. For a closeup picture of it and more info about it, see the Wikipedia page.

walking tour: New Era, New Politics

Saturday was a specially scheduled walking tour as part of the celebration of Black History Month in Oakland. It's the "New Era, New Politics" tour, and focuses on the more recent history of Oakland.

There was a great turnout, 23 people plus our guide, Renate. As when I took the tour last summer, it starts a little slow, with a lot of names and facts in front of the African American Museum and Library of Oakland (AAMLO). But I did learn some new things, such as the identity of the young boy pictured on one of the banners at the museum.

The banner shows Royal Townes, who became the first African American firefighter in Oakland, and was instrumental in helping desegregate the fire department. Royal was born in Oakland in 1899, and when denied union membership in his factory job because of his race, went to work as a railroad porter. He took the fire department application test and easily passed (he was an intelligent young man, and spoke three languages), but because of his race, his application needed a nudge from his former employer. He helped train many other black applicants to pass the test, and was scoutmaster for a Boy Scout troop that included Sam Golden, who went on to become the first African American fire chief in Oakland. There's an interesting paper at UC Berkeley about the desegregation of the Oakland Fire Department (.doc)

There was lots more we heard about, including people that should be familiar to Oaklanders, including: Delilah Beasley, C.L. Dellums, Lionel Wilson, Elihu Harris, Henry Gardner, Morrie Turner, Byron Rumford, and judge Donald McCullum. To read more about some of these names, click the links, and see my post from last year's New Era, New Politics walking tour.

more pictures:


some of the books referenced:

Oakland Fire Department

The Pullman Porters and West Oakland

Special shoutout to @kenyaw who was there with lots of friends celebrating his birthday. Happy Birthday, Kenya! And a reminder to support the Oakland walking tours program—it's one of the things possibly on the budget chopping block.

bits and pieces 7

The big news that has everyone atwitter is that Oakland was #5 in the New York Time's "45 places to go in 2012". Even @JerryBrownGov tweeted about it. Those of us who live here already know it, but it's nice to see a mainstream publication giving some positive press, too. With restaurants like Plum, Bocanova, Boot and Shoe Service, and more opening all the time, plus great music, amazing weather, and a diverse, wonderful population, what's not to love? Check out Monteskewed's Top 10 Reasons Why He Loves Oakland. For a nuanced response to the NYT article, check out 38th Notes. Late addition: also check out the response on examiner.com

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Also in the great-to-see-its-about-time category is a report in the Tribune that West Oakland's 7th Street district is going to get a blues walk of fame. The area was once home to music locales like Esther's Orbit Room, which hosted legends like Billie Holiday, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and BB King. So it's nice to see the area getting some recognition.

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There are a variety of restaurant openings and and one closing. Oakland North reports the Silver Dragon in Chinatown is going to close, and it will become an Asian health services clinic.

I still haven't been, but apparently Arbor Cafe in the Temescal is now open. Always glad to see another bike-friendly place.

According to Diablo Magazine, Faz has opened in downtown Oakland. It features Mediterranean food, and sounds good. Anyone been yet?

Haven opened in Jack London Square. Another restaurant by Daniel Patterson (of Plum fame), it sounds quite promising.

Rumbo al Sur opened in the long-vacant spot on Park Blvd. in the Glenview. It was Compadres for a number of years, but sat empty for the last several. Rumbo al Sur features Mexican and pan-Latin American food, from the folks who brought us À Côté.

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The lack of rain (and snow in the mountains) has been bad for air quality and terrible for skiing and our water supply, but it's made for some beautiful sunsets.

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And last but not least, some photos that didn't get used elsewhere.

Black Cowboy Parade

Saturday was the annual Black Cowboy Parade. This event has been around a long time -- this was the 37th annual. It's intended to educate people about the role of black cowboys in the building and settling of the old west.

Although I've known about it for some time, this was the first year I went. Besides educating people, it's also a chance for Oakland residents to come together for a fun event. And it's a chance for a lot of kids who've never seen a horse before to see one first-hand.Along with area residents, mayor Jean Quan, assemblyman Sandre Swanson, and country singer Miko Marks were on hand.

Many of the people I talked with were long-time attendees. A fair number of those have been coming "since the beginning" back in 1975. It's easy to see why -- it's a lot of fun. In addition to the cowboys, there were school groups marching, classic Corvettes driving, food vendors with delectables, and the Oakland Fire Department with an engine on hand for tours. A local motorcycle club provided traffic direction for the parade, along with the Oakland Police Department escort.









Lots more pictures:

Black Cowboy Parade