Various Guides to the Bay
Warning. These are highly biased and perhaps even snarky.
This is a semi-random assortment of things to do with a heavy bias towards Oakland.
The Basics
You can maneuver around the immediate area on foot, but as a streetcar city, it behooves you to take transit or a bicycle.
The bus: www.actransit.org. Great for getting around Oakland.
The train: www.bart.gov. Great for some places in Oakland, and your ticket to San Francisco and the suburbs of the East Bay. Also goes to SFO and OAK.
The bike: You can rent a bike in Jack London Square, a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Recommended by actual existing city planners. http://bayareabikes.com/page.cfm?pageid=195
Oakland Neighborhoods
The authors of this guide have put together a handy googlemap of Oakland neighborhoods, available here. When possible, transit directions are included.
The conference is in downtown Oakland, an interesting blend of new and old. New residential and commercial development has added many restaurants, bars, and nightlife spots. You are adjacent to Old Oakland, and just north of Jack London Square, an area of live-work lofts, shopping, and restaurant/entertainment. Yoshi's jazz club long a draw here, City-sponsored empty retail have given way to new shops and bars as old warehouses recycled as condos and lofts. Chinatown is to the east, and the heart of historic West Oakland, the longtime center of African American Oakland and the site of much famous (and infamous) planning history, is to the west.
The Uptown neighborhood is to the north, along the Telegraph Avenue corridor, one of the most rapidly changing areas of the city. This is a significant area of transition, where city-sponsored condo development sits alongside landmark revitalization, including the Paramount and Fox theatres, in what the city hopes will blossom into a full-fledged arts district. Further north at the intersection of 23rd and Telegraph is the epicenter of the city's new art gallery scene, site of the monthly Art Murmur. It is also the beginning of the new Koreatown and the pathway to Temescal, Oakland's fusion of the Gourmet Ghetto, Park Slope and the Mission, with a touch of Alberta Street thrown in. It goes without saying that these transformations are viewed through many different sets of eyes. The #1 and #1R buses run from downtown along the length of Telegraph.
In the foothills to the east of Telegraph lie Piedmont Avenue (#12 or #51) and Rockridge (#51 or BART), two of Oakland's most quaint bourgeois shopping and dining streets. More diverse and funky Lakeshore/Grand Avenue/Adams Point (#12) sits next to Lake Merritt, Oakland's crown jewel, and is certainly worth a stroll at sunset. The new cathedral is fascinating.
To the south, the San Antonio district and Fruitvale (#1R or BART) are the Queens of Oakland, offering incredible ethnic diversity and great food. Those with their own wheels should also consider exploring Montclair and the East Bay hills, in particular the East Bay Regional Parks District.
Outside.
Outdoor activity is a religion in the Bay Area, and October is usually brilliant weather-wise. The East Bay Regional Parks district has an incredible array of parks, some of which are accessible by transit. Favorites include Redwood Regional in the Oakland hills and Point Pinole in Richmond. The Bay Trail is also spectacular (and great for those who rent bikes), as is Mount Diablo on a clear day.
Professional Travel Writing about Oakland.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/travel/03hours.html
Eating
If sport is religion, then eating is sport. (Although in a post-Michael Pollan world, they are quickly fusing). There are two categories of food in the bay area - grad student friendly, and tenured-professor friendly. The list below aims to provide a bit of both. In both instances, true foodies are encourage to visit chowhound or other online sources for true information. Temescal, Rockridge, Piedmont Avenue and the Grand Lake area are also very dinner-friendly - just walk around and read the menus.
The Stipends not Salaries Guide.
The true budget specials generally involve tacos (San Francisco's Mission Street is Burrito central, although some decent versions can be found on this side of the Bay) and Vietnamese food. The taco truck is now wonderfully hegemonic in California (where sadly LA is still king). Try Tacos Mi Rancho Taco Truck near Lake Merritt, this guide, or the article "La Vida Taco."
The best budget food by far in the area around the hotel is Cam Huong, a hole in the wall Vietnamese deli at 920 Webster St between 9th and 10th. Its Bahn Mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) and Vietnamese coffee are wicked cheap and incredibly good, and the pho ain't bad. Pho 84 (Vietnamese) - 354 17th Street - (510) 832-1338 is pricier and better for dinner, and the pho is brilliant. There are also some old-school Italian deli's still lurking around, including Ratto's, right near the hotel, and Genova up in Temescal. East Coast deli snobs are advised not to eat there, as they will complain. It is also generally not safe to eat the pizza, although Lanesplitter's in Temescal isn't bad.
We also tend to eat at Farmer's Markets, of which there are tons. Sunday boasts one in Jack London Square (for those who want to walk), and one in Temescal (for those who want to take the bus to Brooklyn). They are great places for brunch. Try the Blue Bottle coffee if you want a true taste of the bourgeois Bay Area life. Grand/Lakeshore in Saturday. There is also a great one at the Ferry Building in San Francisco on Sunday mornings, but attendance means loss of all Oakland street cred.
The Salaries not Stipends Guide.
Near the hotelish….
Luka's: An Oakland favorite. Bar and grill type establishment, but the food is better than the average bar and grill. Friendly atmosphere; good space for an informal meeting, but maybe a little loud. Brunch on weekends. Medium priced.
Tamarindo: Excellent high-end Mexican food. Good for small meetings. Pricey.
Le Cheval: Another Oakland Legend. Vietnamese. Medium to high priced. Good for larger meetings.
New World Vegetarian: Popular vegetarian spot, mostly Asian menu. Medium to low priced.
Everett and Jones: Amazing Texas and Louisiana-style barbeque. If you are looking for vinegar, try North Carolina.
Flora - Very expensive and very good restaurant in the heart of the newly posh Uptown district. Owned by the same people who run Temescal's Doña Tomas, another posh favorite (although considered wildly overrated by this author). The area also now boast Ozumo, a high end sushi restaurant, and Pican, a neo-soul restaurant that has gotten good reviews.
Grand/Lakeshore area:
Coach Sushi: Popular sushi spot on Grand Ave. Medium to low priced.
Zza Trattoria: Mid-range Italian. Another Oakland institution.
Camino: New destination restaurant for the whole Bay Area. Rustic, northern Italian style. (Chef is a Chez Panisse alum.) Excellent food, excellent cocktails. Good for a formal meeting. Pricey.
Sitting in a coffee shop.
Mama Buzz. Grungy and cool. 23rd and telegraph.
It's a Grind. 11th and Clay. Very chill, and very close.
Awake Café - 14th Street @ Broadway. Small and cute and artsy green.
There are plenty of chain coffeeshops with wifi around the hotel.
Drinking. Dancing. Late Night.
Cheap drinking is hard to find downtown. Better dive bars are available around the lake and in uptown/Koreantown, where the Karaoke is also brilliant.
The Trappist: is great for Belgian style beer. Luka's is great for dancing, and is generally free before 10pm. Bench and Bar is one of two local gay bars, (along with the Vibe Lounge) and has dancing. Air Lounge is nice for a classy drink in a diverse crowd, the Stork Club for loud rock music and white kids in skinny jeans. You can generally dig up a drink or two in Jack London Square, which is also home to the legendary Jazz club Yoshi's.
Late night eating can be bleak downtown, but one option is ¼ Pound Giant Burger on Telegraph and Grand. The burgers are wonderfully mediocre and go best with multiple drinks beforehand.
The Bay Area has great dancing and live music. Check out one of the weeklies for more details.
The East Bay Express: www.eastbayexpress.com/
The Guardian: http://www.sfbg.com/
The SF Weekly: www.sfweekly.com
More Oakland, East Bay:
http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/AAMLO/AAMLOexhibits.html
Jack London
http://www.jacklondonsquare.com/history.html
along Estuary where London (and others) used to be able to get oysters
1st Unitarian Church of Oakland 685—14th Street
http://www.uuoakland.org/about/our_historic_building/
Where United Nations’ formation meetings were held, where Isadora Duncan danced as a girl. Fabulous worker-based carvings.
California Museum, in Oakland: where redwood trees grow on the roof
http://museumca.org/our-building
Oakland used to be an intense jazz center. Musicians can be found:
Workers’ Food Coop, newly founded:
http://www.mandelafoods.com/ opposite West Oakland BART station
Mostly Un-sung Sights Unique to California: Redwoods, missions, gold rush towns, people’s park, Yosemite, workers art, nike missiles
Berkeley:
Peoples’ Park and its Mural on Haste
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Park
International, inter-generational Music and Dance Center:
http://www.ashkenaz.com/index.htm
Founded by a brave man who UC harassed for his support of peoples’ park
In San Francisco:
Land’s End Hike in NorthWest San Francisco, west of Golden Gate Bridge: See ruins of old baths, gun battery sites, ship wrecks, views
http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/environmentnature/ss/landsendphotos.htm
Alcatraz Island has Native American rebellion history but see Angel Island for pervasive effect on immigrants via Ellis Island West via Chinese Emigration Act.
“Ellis Island” West: the Immigration Holding Facility for Asian Immigrants and a beautiful trip on bay and on land:
http://angelisland.org/visitor-information/
http://angelisland.org/history/united-states-immigration-station-usis/
Conference on such history follows our conference:
http://www.nps.gov/.../June%20Institute%20Flyer%204.3%202010.pdf
Workers’ and Immigrants’ Murals: former Post Office now Rincon Center near Ferry Building at Mission, Spear, Howard, Steuart streets, 29 panels
http://www.noehill.com/sf/landmarks/nat1979000537.asp
partly immortalizes SF West Coast Strike, still closing ports 7/5 every year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_West_Coast_Longshore_Strike
http://sun.menloschool.org/~mbrody/ushistory/angel/exclusion_act/
Women’s Building nearish to Mission Cultural Center:
http://womensbuilding.org/content/index.php/about-us/history
Mission in SF of Mission System in California, each a day’s walk apart.
In SF, 5,000 natives at least died here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Francisco_de_As%C3%ADs
Workers’ Food Cooperative, huge, open to all:
http://www.rainbowgrocery.org/thecoop/hourslocation.html
Marin County, north of Golden Gate Bridge:
SF Bay Model, Giant 3-D working model of the Bay and delta, unique and visitable
http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/bmvc/bmjourney/visit_model/guidelines/hours.html
Mission of San Rafael is fairly intact and open to visitors:
http://www.californiamissions.com/cahistory/sanrafael.html
In Golden Gate National Recreation Area northwest of Golden Gate Bridge:
Nike Missile Launch Site, only restored site. Soldiers had to be under 22 yrs old because would be less thoughtful, so said volunteer docent who had been such.
http://www.nps.gov/goga/nike-missile-site.htm Sometimes raise the thing.
Marine Mammal Rescue Center, in old missile site:
http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/visiting-us/
Point Bonita Lighthouse: fabulous views back to GG Bridge
http://www.nps.gov/goga/pobo.htm
Muir Woods: of Redwood Trees and understory where UN charter signed
http://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
California at large: Preserved Gold Rush Town, Columbia, near north entrance to Yosemite
http://www.columbiacalifornia.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_State_Historic_Park
Follow Highway 49, named for Gold Rush’s 49ers
Yosemite: don’t miss the upper alpine valleys
http://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm
Hike to WaterWheel falls, a day hike and even day trip : 5 am-10pm
Old Sacramento near confluence of great rivers Sacramento and San Joaquin
http://www.oldsacramento.com/history.php preserved Old Buildings has also incredible railway museum with insufficient explanation of laborers who constructed the railway nor the Pullman Porters who struck for their rights: http://www.csrmf.org/events-exhibits/whats-new/redesigned-galleries-highlight-railroadings-human-face
Wine Country:
Sonoma and Napa Counties, here are redwood trees
http://www.parks.sonoma.net/armstrng.html
Arcata Marshes that clean sewer water and restore marsh: 200 miles north
http://www.cityofarcata.org/departments/environmental-services/water-wastewater/wildlife-sanctuary
and
http://www.humboldt.edu/arcatamarsh/index.htm
Local Planning and History Resources
Events and Exhibits
SPUR: San Fransisco Planning and Urban Research Association
Current Exhibit: "Agents of Change; Civic Idealism and the Making of San Fransisco"
Through compelling content spanning a variety of media--historical maps, photographs, recorded interviews and an interactive multimedia installation--this major exhibition examines the history of city-making in San Francisco, and challenges visitors to consider today's urban issues in light of their own values. The story is told through the lens of history, and organized into six overlapping generations: The City Builders, The Progressives & Classicists, The Regionalists, The Moderns, The Contextualists and The Eco-Urbanists. Curated by Benjamin Grant, with exhibition design by Studio Terpeluk, graphics by Leon Yu and multimedia installation by Taco Lab.
Oakland
Brief overview of Oakland's history
Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project
Redevelopment of Park Space at Lake Merritt. Lake Merritt is sometimes called the "Jewel of Oakland." The City of Oakland is redeveloping the park space surrounding the lake.
The Cathedral of Christ the Light, a new Catholic cathedral by Skidmore Owings Merril, at Lake Merritt.
San Francisco.
The Fillmore KQED website - companion website to historical documentary on the Fillmore (Western Addition). Neighborhood was the "Harlem of the West," but was targeted for a textbook "negro removal" urban renewal plan. Site contains historical videos, audio, and timelines.
San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection - excellent searchable database of historical photographs; includes some images illustrating plans of Redevelopment Agency and Planning Department.
Citywide Cultural and Historical Resource Survey - San Francisco Planning Department
Historic Context Statement for the Mission District - San Francisco Planning Department
Blogs.
