Monthly Archives: October 2009

SF Shout Out!

I zipped into San Francisco early Saturday morning to pick up my new Canon G11 from Calumet.  Have you guys been there?  It’s a great professional photography store with really just about everything… cameras (of course), studio & lighting equipment, seamless supplies, printers with a wide assortment of papers, a fantastic equipment rental department, and an art gallery upstairs.

The G11 is the first camera I’ve bought in over three years since buying my 5D (except for my Holga), and I am very excited! Nearly all of the photos I’ve posted on this blog were taken either with a 8 year old camera (which isn’t particularly pocket-sized) or with my iPhone, because I am too lazy to carry my big camera everywhere. With this new smaller camera, I plan to take my photo-documentarianism to the next level! (And yes, I do believe I made up that word.)

While waiting for the camera store to open, I spotted CELLspace across the street. I haven’t been there in a few years (sadly), and I definitely don’t remember it being quite this amazingly cool outside…

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Recognize the hand above? The same stencil exists in Oakland… have you seen it? Check back for the Oaktown version, and hopefully a bit more info about the artist who created it.

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The one above reminds me of a cool poster slapped up in multiple parts by Ashby and Telegraph. It’s Berkeley, not Oakland, but peeps keep mentioning it to me so I think I’ll throw that up later this week too. Please visit again. We’ll be headed to the cemetery at the end of the week for a properly spooky Halloween!

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The Heart of Our City

So I want to wrap up my focus on Lake Merritt… we’ve talked about the stunning architecture of the two catholic churches poised at each end of the lake… and we’ve explored the lovely gardens tucked into Lakeside Park. I would be remiss if I failed to mention some other fantastic developments happening around the lake.

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In 2002, Oakland voters overwhelmingly passed Measure DD, a $198 million bond measure designated to “improve water quality; provide educational and recreational facilities for children; clean up Lake Merritt; restore Oakland’s creeks, waterfront and estuary; preserve and acquire open space; renovate parks;” and more. And it’s all happening now…

Here’s a summary of the projects around the lake:

1) Lakeside Drive – improvements to Lakeside Drive including installation of bike lane (yes!), new trees & landscaping (yes!), and conversion of the old defunct boathouse office facility into a new lakeside restaurant (yes!) It’s all done folks, and it looks awesome!  Here are a few pics of the restaurant, which I haven’t had the chance to check out yet, but it looks like great spot to meet for a bite and a drink after work.

It was opened in August with a ribbon cutting ceremony officiated by Mayor Ron Dellums, celebrating its 100th anniversary. He said, “What a tremendous pleasure to stand here 100 years later and celebrate not only the renovation of these architectural gems, but the restoration of our parks and waterways that our children and grandchildren may enjoy for the next 100 years.”

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2) Lakeshore Avenue – improvements to Lakeshore Avenue including installation of bike lanes (yes!), improvements to the recreational trail including a new planting strip designed to buffer it from the roadway (yes!), over 8 acres of renovated planting and irrigation with over 100 new trees installed (yes!), pier reconstruction, and plenty of new seating areas. This too is done, and it looks fantastic!

3) 12th Street -redesign of the current 12-lane expressway at this end of the lake to a slower, scenic boulevard more congruous with the adjacent park setting.  To this end, the expressway will be reduced to 6-lane tree-lined boulevard, allowing for construction of a shoreline park, and installation of bike lanes (yes, yes, and yes!)  Additionally, the Lake Merritt Channel (waterway that feeds the lake) is going to be improved allowing for greater tidal circulation into the lake. (This project slated to be finished in 2011).

Which reminds me… did you know that Lake Merritt is not a lake at all?  It’s actually a tidal lagoon that is fed by the bay.  It’s salty!  And it’s teeming with life…everything from mussels to 4-inch fish to even small sharks, plenty of delicious food for the large population of birds… all kinds of ducks, geese (watch out for the poop!), coots, gulls, night herons, egrets, pelicans, and more.

And did you know that Lake Merritt is the oldest wildlife refuge in the United States (established in 1870)?  It’s true! And it’s smack in the middle of our city… amazing!

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The Gardens continued…

Here’s my wrap up on The Gardens… I just had to inject a little punk energy following the serenity of the Asian gardens. Hope you don’t mind.

There are several more gardens that comprise “The Gardens at Lake Merritt”: Bay Friendly, Edible, Sensory, Mediterranean, Palm, Rhododendron, and more. It’s really quite impressive.

There are a few different entrance gates into the gardens from Bellevue Avenue; I used the gate nearest the Boathouse which takes you right into the Edible Garden (aka Lakeside Kitchen Garden) on your left and the Sensory Garden on your right.

The Edible Garden focuses on food….duh. Through the Community Gardening program, these plots of land are open to all members of the community for stewardship, and master gardeners are available to teach organic gardening methods, composting, best practices for water conservation, how to attract bees & butterflies (the all-important pollinators), and much much more. The program also works in partnership with local schools and youth service programs to teach kids about nutrition, sustainability, and community involvement in the midst of a beautiful natural setting.

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The Sensory Garden, previously called the Herb & Fragrance Garden, was recently renovated and redesigned, incorporating new seating areas, tactile oriented pathways, and more drought tolerant plants.  Volunteers meet every Tuesday evening from 5:00 – 7:00 pm to maintain the garden.

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And here are a couple of shots of the Palm Garden, or palmetum, which was established in the park nearly 30 years ago and includes over 80 varieties of cool weather Mediterranean and high altitude tropical species and hybrids. It’s the largest collection of its kind in the United States. Woo hoo!!

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stay punk

So I’ve been wed to my bike these last few days because it just so happens that someone made off with my car in the wee hours of the night Sunday night (yes, Oakland does have some problems… but I prefer to focus on the positive).  It hasn’t yet turned up, and may not (sorry Mom!) so in the meantime, I continue to ride.  Which to be honest, when appropriate, is a far superior way to travel.  It’s healthy, non-polluting, low-cost, and helps connect residents with their communities by getting them out of the cars that separate them from the world around them.  Remember Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? I do.

It’s kind of ironic because I was just blathering on and on about all the bicyclists and cycle commuting in Amsterdam and how fantastic it is, and then I come home and someone makes off with my car.  Hmmm.  I said that the universe provides (see Magic Bus post)… what I forgot to say, is be careful what you ask for.

In any case, the City of Oakland is taking great strides to make our city more bicycle friendly, and it is all happening now.  In the past ten years the city has added over 900 bike racks and 87 miles of bicycle lanes and routes.  What’s the difference between a lane and a route you ask? Or a bicycle “path” for that matter (which is another unique designation).  Check out Oakland Public Works’ website where you can read all about them.

And there’s a great little newsletter that comes out quarterly called “I [bicycle] Oakland” which provides the latest information about all things bike related, and how the city is doing with respect to implementing the objectives of its Bicycle Master Plan (2007), which include more than doubling the total current mileage of bicycle friendly byways within the city.

According to this document, 85% of all Oakland residents live within two miles of downtown or a major transit station… which basically equates to a relatively short trip on the bike.  The thing that holds most people back is the lack of safe bikeways…. so that’s where Oakland is putting most of its focus.

As I was riding yesterday, I spotted this piece…  I never would have seen it if I was in my car.

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I recognized the work because this artist had done a similar piece on a building in my neighborhood. The owner promptly painted over it, but not before I got the pic below…
Kind of creepy, but kind of cool. And definitely punk.

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