Downtown Berkeley BART Plaza was empty in the middle of the afternoon on March 17. Photo: Pete Rosos
Berkeleyside contributing photographer Pete Rosos ventured out in Berkeley on Tuesday, the day after the Bay Area shelter-in-place order came down, to document what a city on lockdown looks like. The provision of news, like the provision of food, is classified as an essential service while the order in in effect, so Rosos was within his rights to be out and about. But, of course, he practiced social distancing as he came upon empty streets and shuttered “non-essential” businesses, as well as people working and volunteering to help the community in these difficult times.
Social distancing on Lower Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley. Photo: Pete RososAC Transit buses are among the few vehicles that can be seen on Shattuck during the day. Photo: Pete RososAn empty Telegraph Avenue. Photo: Pete RososGoorin Bros. Hat shop with its closure announcement posted on the door March 17. Photo Pete RososTraffic was sparse in the streets of Berkeley on March 17. Photo: Pete RososA customer emerges from La Farine bakery on College Avenue which is open for limited hours and under strict guidelines, such as no outside seating. Photo: Pete RososInside the very closed Rouge Mark Studios on Ashby Avenue in Berkeley on March 17. Photo: Pete RososThe line outside Berkeley Bowl East shortly before 9 a.m. on March 17. The store’s new hours are 10 a.m to 7 p.m. Photo: Pete RososSigns and tape let people know that the seating area at Whole Foods on Telegraph Avenue is closed off. Photo: Pete RososAll branches of the Berkeley Public Library are closed. Photo: Pete RososNo one in sight at the Downtown Berkeley BART entrance. Photo: Pete RososJeff of Smoke Berkeley sits and waits for takeout customers in Spats. Photo: Pete RososPlenty of parking on Harold Way in downtown Berkeley. Photo: Pete RososMaryam Bloori and Parsa Elahi of Emilia Flowers trying to survive through the shelter-in-place order. Photo: Pete RososAn empty Peet’s Coffee on Vine Street in North Berkeley. Photo: Pete RososAnna and Edward of Seoul Hotdog waiting for takeout customers. Photo: Pete RososAn almost deserted Hearst food court in North Berkeley. Photo: Pete RososA medical mask placed over the nose of the smilodon statue in front of McCone Hall at UC Berkeley. Photo: Pete RososMike, a homeless man who lives on the corner of Shattuck and Dwight, said he was staying put on March 17. Photo: Pete RososThe Basic Needs Food Pantry at Cal helps students get food on an almost empty Lower Sproul Plaza. Photo: Pete RososA lone student sits and eats lunch on the steps of Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus. Photo: Pete RososA Kiwibot “delivery doctor” gets stuck in a store’s gate. Photo: Pete RososThe Durant food court during lunch hour. Photo: Pete RososMoe’s Books is closed for at least the next two and a half weeks. Photo: Pete RososDaiki Saito of Kiraku is frantically shifting the restaurant’s business model to takeout as a way of keeping the money flowing. Photo: Pete RososCustomers wait for their takeout orders at Gypsy’s Trattoria. Photo: Pete RososRasputin records on Telegraph Avenue, like most businesses, is closed. Photo: Pete Rosos
