Author Archive
November 16, 2019 by tomdalzell
Al Geyer and his Annapurna
Annapurna and its owner Al Geyer have been part of Telegraph Avenue for 50 years. Annapurna was from the start part head shop, part import store. The term “head shop” was coined in the late 1960s to describe a store specializing in marijuana paraphernalia and items related to marijuana culture and the counterculture. The accepted narrative is that the first […]
November 9, 2019 by tomdalzell
1725 Eighth Street Kitsch
On Eighth Street between Virginia and Delaware is an elegant and simple ode to kitsch. Nothing says kitsch like a begging raccoon. Are you starting to see what I meant about elegant and simple? This plastic log cabin mail box may surpass / transcend the word “tacky.” There are no socially redeemable features. Pure junk. From […]
November 2, 2019 by tomdalzell
Murals
I have written many posts about murals. They are in our heart, they’re in our soul. Here are a handful of new ones. How can I not start with Connie Bleul, a Quirky Berkeley OG? I have posted on her public art and her private art. Now, a new micro-mural on Telegraph. Also on Telegraph […]
October 20, 2019 by tomdalzell
The Material Culture of Mexican Restaurants
The thought for this post came to me on a walk. We passed this burro. The burro has a black mask, hence the reference to Zorro, a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, and appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles during the era of Spanish California (1769–1821). He is typically portrayed as a […]
October 12, 2019 by tomdalzell
More Print Mint
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October 7, 2019 by tomdalzell
The fence that Doug Heine made for Rob Garross (and more)
Doug Heine and his assistant Rogelio Miranda made this fence for Rob Garross in front of Rob’s house at 1406 Fifth Street. The green of the fence matches the green of the birch leaf – Garross planted the tree 20 years ago. Doug introduced me to Rob a few years ago. They often eat breakfast […]
September 28, 2019 by tomdalzell
Gas Stations of Berkeley – Old and Former
When I made my list of old and former gas stations to shoot for this post, I did not have this Coast Gasoline station on Ashby near Claremont. John Storey, who normally pretends he doesn’t know where we are in Berkeley, suggested this gas station. Good idea! A lapsed enthusiast of Quirky Berkeley had urged us […]
September 22, 2019 by tomdalzell
Country Cheese – After 50 years, Gone
San Pablo Avenue just north of University is not in the Gourmet Ghetto, either geographically or culturally. Gourmet Ghetto or not, Country Cheese had a 50-year run on San Pablo, closing in August. Shirley Ng and her ex-husband bought the store in 1991 from its original owners, who opened it in 1969. It closed in […]
September 19, 2019 by tomdalzell
Mini Post: El Dumpo
BAHA has recently published several photos of El Dumpo, a restaurant on Allston just above Shattuck in the 1940s and 1950s. The front door was carved by Emil Janel, a Swede in San Francisco. He was lauded as “the world’s greatest sculptor in wood.” Chris Treadway published this El Dumpo ad. Several matchbooks from El […]
September 15, 2019 by tomdalzell