Author Archive
February 5, 2024 by tomdalzell
San Francisco 1957
As you know, almost nobody from Berkeley says “Bezerkeley.” And even more almost nobody from the Bay Area says “Frisco.” Except my friend. He came to San Francisco with his family in 1957, one of the last trips that he took with his family. He heard his dad say “Kids, we’re going to drive […]
April 8, 2022 by tomdalzell
Katie Hawkinson – Amazed That She Gets to Do What She Gets to Do
Katie Hawkinson is an abstract artist. Her paintings, drawings, prints, and constructions are based on nature. She teaches at Stanford and the College of Environmental Design, U.C. Berkeley – and she makes art. All the time. Her art is not on its face quirky, but as the arbiter of what is and is not quirky, […]
February 23, 2022 by tomdalzell
Tssui Revisited
The first big news from Tssui is that he has been hired to work on the Flintstone house in Hillsborough. It is also referred to as the Dome House, Gumby House, and Bubble House. Driving north on 280, you can see it just east of the Eugene A. Doran Memorial Bridge Bay Area architect William Nicholson built it […]
September 6, 2021 by tomdalzell
Avram Gur Arye / Alan Gur Arye
The pandemic and the resulting social isolation have put me through some changes, most relevant of which for these purposes is that I stepped away from Quirky Berkeley. I don’t know for how long or under what conditions, but today I return with a story and photos of the loving, quirky art of Avram Gur […]
February 8, 2021 by tomdalzell
A Normandy Village Photo that is as Cool AF
In October, 2013 – early in the life of Quirky Berkeley – I rejoiced in Normandy Village in all its quirky glory. Normandy Village, aka Thornburg Village, is a cluster of apartments, some of which have been converted to condos, on the first block north of campus on Spruce Street. It was built in the […]
February 2, 2021 by tomdalzell
People’s Park 1969: Where Are They Now?
Among the cast of thousands in the battle for People’s Park in 1969 was Charlie Palmer, the outgoing President of the student body. The Establishment among Cal students, voiced by the editors of the Daily Cal, initially opposed the community takeover of the abandoned plot of land that we now know as People’s Park. After […]
January 26, 2021 by tomdalzell
People’s Park – Gentrification Tape!
I have been criminally negligent to Quirky Berkeley. I am trying to repent. I have a number of photos and pieces in the assembly line. I must and shall get them posted. As Bob Dylan sang, I can change, I swear. We know that I have a great interest in People’s Park. The University has […]
October 19, 2020 by tomdalzell
Sam’s 58 McNevin Singing
These were tough times. Sam was robbed twice in the 1960s, once in 1964 on the way back to the club from the bank, and in 1966 in the parking lot. He was shot in the parking lot heist. When Michael McNevin heard that there were traces of the bar intact, he communicated a strong […]
September 14, 2020 by tomdalzell
Fito – Ten Years Since his Transition
Newspapers reported that in the early morning of September 12, 2010, Adolfo “Fito” Celedon Bravo died shortly after being shot on this spot at Emerson and Adeline during an armed robbery as he walked home with his fiancée Amber Daniela Nelson after a night of dancing at Ashkenaz on his birthday eve. Nelson uses a different verb […]
September 9, 2020 by tomdalzell