The estate sale of the artist and collector Eli Leon this weekend offers the chance to view and buy from the collection of a driven and passionate artist.
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.
Posted inCommunity
How Quirky is Berkeley? Jacquet ‘magique’ on Monterey
The Jacquet family is an only-in-Berkeley family, a Frenchman running a popular restaurant and the daughter of Quirky Berkeley royalty, and their home is the proof.
Posted inCommunity
How Quirky is Berkeley? Weathervanes as quirky material culture
Weathervanes served a purpose in agricultural or sailing communities. Today they are largely decorative, earning a place in our universe of Berkeley quirk.
Posted inCommunity
How Quirky is Berkeley? Rogue little free libraries
Little Free Library is an international organization that started in 2009 and there are dozens of its little libraries in Berkeley. There are also quite a few unofficial ones.
Posted inCommunity
How Quirky is Berkeley? New murals, 2017 edition
Murals are a fixture of Berkeley, but they come and go. Here is a selection that appeared last year and thus far in 2017.
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How Quirky was Berkeley? Ken Stein’s Berkeley buttons
Ken Stein’s collection of several thousand political buttons tell a compelling tale of Berkeley’s contempoarary history.
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How Quirky is Berkeley? Relief sculpture
There is a lot of bas relief sculpture in Berkeley and almost all of it is quite beautiful. Here’s a look at just some the gems that we may often walk right by without noticing.
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How Quirky is Berkeley? In praise of bungalow courts
Berkeley’s bungalow courts have strikingly different characters, but they are all undeniably, incontrovertibly, inexorably, and intrinsically quirky.
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How Quirky is Berkeley? Ken Stein’s souvenir spoon collection
One of Ken Stein’s several collections is of Berkeley-themed souvenir spoons, most of which date from the 1890s through the 1910s.
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How Quirky is Berkeley? Jon Balderston’s art and collections
Jon Balderston is Quirky Berkeley personified. He is self-effacing and funny. He is unceasingly creative. He is a Son of Berkeley to make us proud of who we are and of our values.
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: The Village indoor mall on Telegraph is quirky and should be saved
The Village on Telegraph Avenue strongly conveys Berkeley’s local color and personality and we should find ways to ensure it dodges the wrecking ball.
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How Quirky is Berkeley? The Star Grocery block on Claremont Avenue
The 3000 block of Claremont Avenue is one of the quirkiest in Berkeley, with a strip of unusual stores.