Berkeley was a crucible for New Left politics in the 1960s and 1970s. Often forgotten when we speak of the Free Speech Movement, the Vietnam Day Committee, People’s Park, and anti-war/anti-imperialism movements, are the several New Left ventures into electoral politics, three of which introduced an element of theater not typically seen in political campaigns. […]
Tom Dalzell
Freelancer 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.
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How Quirky was Berkeley? Religion on Telegraph Avenue
“Holy Hubert” Lindsey at Sproul Plaza. Photo (1968) courtesy Bible Truth Berkeley, especially Berkeley of the 1960s, enjoys a reputation as a predominantly secular city. We may be less religious than the United States as a whole, but religion plays a strong and important role in Berkeley today. More relevantly for our purposes here, religious […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley: Bowling balls as garden art
Bowling balls at 1722 Beverly Place. Photo: John Storey I find the use of bowling balls as lawn art to be undeniably quirky. For me, that starts with the premise that bowling itself is whimsical — an antithesis for the social isolation of our era. Today, Berkeley has only one bowling venue, one which must be […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley? Science and art on Cedar Street
Art at 2375 Cedar St. Photo: John Storey Two smart scientists live at the northeast corner of Scenic and Cedar. Dan Werthimer is an astrophysicist who conducts research for several SETI (Search for Extra-Terresetrial Intelligence) programs. Mary Kate Morris is a virologist who has researched HIV since a Peace Corps tour in Africa in the […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley? It is Helly Welly quirky
Helly Welly art. Photo: John Storey Helen Holt has lived and worked and raised two daughters at 1649 Dwight Way since 1979. Her parents moved to Berkeley from London, via Rhode Island, in 1960, and her father, the late Maurice Holt, was a highly respected and beloved professor at UC Berkeley. She attended the San […]
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How Quirky was Berkeley: The social justice posters of the Red Sun Rising collective
The Red Sun Rising collective was a commune in Berkeley in the 1960s and 1970s. It was located at 2239 Parker St., although not all of the members lived in the house. This painting of the collective was made in 1972. To the Berkeley of 2015, the Berkeley of the 1960s and early 1970s seems […]
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Quirky Berkeley: The small world of Grace Munakata
The small world of Grace Munakata at 1230 Monterey Avenue. Photo: John Storey Grace Munakata paints, makes collages, and teaches painting at California State University, East Bay. She also gives to the street a small world on the gently sloping hill in front of her house at 1230 Monterey Ave., just above Hopkins Street and […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley? The former Rivoli Theatre
Former Rivoli Theatre, 1941 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley. Photo: John Storey I venture to say that most people who have driven by the 99¢ Only Stores on San Pablo Avenue just north of University Avenue have never stopped and gone inside. I further venture to say that most people who have shopped at the […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley? From Lucky’s to Amoeba at 2455 Telegraph Avenue
Lucky’s Store No. 18. Photo: Donogh files, BAHA archives Lucky’s Store No. 18. Photo: Donogh files, BAHA archives The quirky-looking building on the southeast corner of Telegraph and Haste, now Amoeba Music, has a colorful history that illustrates several chapters in Berkeley’s proud, independent history. The building at 2455 Telegraph started life as Lucky’s Store […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley? Gardens that define the term
Vertical garden at 3109 King St. Photo: Tom Dalzell “Quirky” has one thing in common with “obscene.” When Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart was presented with what the State of Ohio had deemed an obscene movie, he famously wrote: I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley? The city’s hidden murals
“Winds of Change” mural at 1450 University Ave. Photo: John Storey Murals are usually front and center, loud and clear, impossible to miss. In my systematic wandering of Berkeley, I have come across several hidden murals. Murals in and of themselves are quirky, and the fact that a mural is not easily seen makes it […]
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How Quirky is Berkeley? The story behind hex signs
Postcard from the collection of Tom Dalzell Hex signs are a form of folk art indigenous to southeastern Pennsylvania. German immigrants to Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. They delineated themselves as the “fancy Dutch” (mostly Lutherans) and the “plain Dutch” (mostly Old Order Amish). Hex signs are […]