How Quirky is Berkeley? Anachronisms, part 2
Berkeley is full of relics that harken back to an earlier time — such as a police telephone box, community bulletin boards, and storefronts that once held neighborhood grocery stores.
Tom Dalzell has lived in Berkeley since 1984. After working for Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers for 10 years as a legal worker and then lawyer, he went to work for another labor union in 1981 and has been there since, first as an attorney, and, since 2006, as its elected leader. In his free time he walks the streets of Berkeley, street by street and block by block, recording and photographing the quirky material culture that he finds. Dalzell, who is an expert on slang, writes the Quirky Berkeley blog and contributes to Berkeleyside about his finds, both in the present tense and with an occasional foray into Berkeley’s non-conformist past.
From garden to fenced-in lot to shots fired in Berkeley: People’s Park on May 15, 1969
One bystander was killed, one was permanently blinded, and many others were hurt when police forces used lethal buckshot to corral demonstrators in at the park, newly created on UC Berkeley land, 50 years ago today.
11 years of radical thought and action in Berkeley led to creation of People’s Park
Dozens of protests in support of civil rights, the student movement in France, the Black Panther movement and against the UC Regents set the stage for the creation of the Southside Berkeley park.
Berkeley’s People’s Park was born 50 years ago today
The creation and destruction of People's Park took 25 days in 1969. April 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the building of the park.
How Quirky is Berkeley? General Wastemoreland
In 1969, Tom Dunphy moved to Berkeley. His nickname and alternative persona was “General Wastemoreland,” alluding to and mocking General William Westmoreland who commanded United States Army forces in South Vietnam.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Elephants!
Join us on a brief exploration of the elephants of Berkeley, both three- and two-dimensional.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Anachronisms
Let us linger on objects in Berkeley belonging, or appropriate to, a period other than today, especially an object that is conspicuously old-fashioned. Know of others? Give us a shout.
How Quirky Is Berkeley? Second time around quirk at 2819 Prince
The family had created a quirky house on Russell Street. Fortunately, when they moved to Prince Street, they added some quirk to their new surroundings.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Susan Brooks and her objects of desire and mirth
To visit the Berkeley studio of Susan Brooks is to step into a world of whim and quirk.
Julia Vinograd, the Berkeley poet known as ‘The Bubble Lady’ dies at 75
Telegraph Avenue was her stomping ground, her nation. She spent her days at the Caffe Med, drinking coffee, watching the world pass by and writing poetry. The City Council gave her a lifetime achievement award.
Barbara Garson’s 7 years in Berkeley: From Cuba to ‘MacBird’
Tom Dalzell talks to the activist and writer who lived in Berkeley at an extraordinary time and was fully engaged in a series of history-changing movements.
How Quirky is Berkeley? The rising star of muralist Angel Jesus Perez
Angel Jesus Perez, whose latest work, “Displacement of Beauty and Migration of Gentrification,” is on Alcatraz, is a bright addition to our city's cadre of muralists.
How Quirky is Berkeley? Fairyland on Amador Avenue
A charming "small village" in a front yard turns out to be the tip of the iceberg of a creative wonderland, created with the help of children, in North Berkeley.
May 30, 1969: The final scene in the powerful first act of Berkeley’s People’s Park
On the 49th anniversary of the largest protest marches Berkeley has likely ever seen, Tom Dalzell recalls a day when Berkeley demonstrated "moral outrage" in abundance.
How Quirky is Berkeley? The Federation Trading Post reunion
On Saturday, the owners of a long-closed 'Star Trek' oriented store on Telegraph Avenue hosted a reunion. This is a story with many layers of quirk that shows Berkeley at its best.
How Quirky is Berkeley? A time capsule bulletin board
The careful unpicking of a Berkeley bulletin board plastered with years and years worth of flyers from the early 1980s through the 1990s proves to be a fascinating time capsule.
