Just another sight you'll see on the streets of Terry Gilliam's London After the tempered enthusiasm I offered it last week, I’m delighted to report that Terry Gilliam’s latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, is the director’s best in ages. This comes as something of a relief after his two previous misfires—the off-kilter The […]
Downtown Berkeley
Posted inBusiness, Housing & Development
Dwight and Fulton: A veritable graffiti fest
Someone has really gone to town plastering the corner building at Dwight and Fulton with graffiti (above). No part of the exterior has been spared: windows, walls, even the real-estate broker’s sign advertising the fact that the offices are up for lease or sale has been “tagged”. The 20,500 sq ft building comprises 25 private […]
Posted inArts, Events
Party on the sidewalk for art opening
By Kim Weisberg This Sunday, the Addison Street Windows Gallery will host a free sidewalk party to kick off the opening of its latest exhibit, Re-Formed!: Found Object Art. The party is from 1:30-3:30pm, and will feature “live music, a block-long art treasure hunt and sidewalk chalk for artists of all ages” to celebrate the work […]
Posted inSchools
Helios West to go before UC Regents next week
Artist's rendering by Jennifer Mahoney New plans for the Helios Energy Research Facility will be presented to the UC Board of Regents next week. The project calls for a new five-story, 112,800 sq ft building across the street from the UC Berkeley campus, on the site bounded by Oxford, Berkeley Way, Shattuck and Hearst. The […]
Posted inArts
Big Screen Berkeley: The Imaginarium of Frank Capra
Frank Capra behind the camera Capra-corn: ever since 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life morphed into an American pop culture staple, that’s the pejorative term often used to describe the work of director Frank Capra. Pacific Film Archive is doing its part to put the term out to pasture with their new series, Before “Capraesque” (the […]
Posted inNosh
All-organic restaurant comes to Berkeley’s downtown
A curious passerby looks inside the new Gather Restaurant Berkeley’s newest all-organic restaurant, Gather, is scheduled to open for dinner on December 15. Located on ground floor of the David Brower building on Oxford Street, Gather is co-owned by Eric Fenster and Ari Derfel, of Back To Earth, an organic catering-outdoor adventure company. Since 2001, […]
Posted inBusiness
Plans for Safeway on Shattuck
Emunah Hauser writes: The Shattuck Safeway community meeting Monday night at the East Bay JCC on Walnut Street was low-key. Visualizations of the latest plan were displayed around the room. Safeway representatives were available for questions, comments and conversation. The plan will be submitted to the city by the end of the week. Lowney Architecture […]
Posted inCity
North Berkeley meeting on Downtown Plan
If you live in North Berkeley and you’re interested in what’s going on with the Downtown Area Plan, Council members Laurie Capitelli (District 5) and Susan Wengraf (District 6) are holding a Town Hall meeting tomorrow at 7pm. The meeting will include an informational presentation on the Downtown Plan including Q&As with Council members and […]
Posted inArts, Crime, Crime & Safety
Thanksgiving a thankstaking for Berkeley musician
Pete Madsen’s Thanksgiving weekend ended abruptly this morning when he discovered three precious guitars were stolen from his music studio at 3501 Adeline Street. A working musician, writer, and teacher, Pete performs frequently throughout the Bay Area and teaches finger-style guitar at the 5th String. Audiences see his early blues, ragtime, and slide guitar performances […]
Posted inArts, Schools
What might have been
The city of Berkeley traditionally has acted as though its downtown bore no relation to UC, despite their shared border. The university repaid the favor by treating downtown like a back alley, necessary but of little note. Read John King in today’s Chronicle on the city’s loss of a Toyo Ito-designed art museum.
Posted inCity
Berkeley at a crossroads: the Downtown Area Plan
The citizens of Berkeley have a critical choice to make concerning our Downtown Area Plan. The direction that the city takes with this plan will determine if we can confront the problems this city faces and maintain our commitment to sustainability and social equity, or if we will continue a slow retreat towards an increasingly […]
Posted inArts
UC drops plans for Toyo Ito-designed museum
UC Berkeley has abandoned its plan to construct a new $143m Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive downtown designed by “starchitect” Toyo Ito. Read the full story in today’s Chronicle. [Photo: Photo: Kuramochi / Jeanne Collins & Assoc.]