Author Archive
April 29, 2017 by tomdalzell
The Signs of Shattuck
Signs are no stranger to Quirky Berkeley. In past posts, I have shown business signage from San Pablo Avenue and from University Avenue, the signs of Little India, neon signs of Telegraph Avenue, and neon signs from University and San Pablo Avenues. Plus, I now notice, a couple more. Today – signs from Shattuck Avenue south of […]
April 24, 2017 by tomdalzell
April 26, 2017: Ashby Corridor with Friends of the Library
On April 3, 2016, I led a Friends of the Library walk along the Ashby corridor with a major excursion south on Shattuck. It was a beautiful April day. We met at Adeline and Emerson. At Emerson and Adeline, you have perhaps seen the “Imagine” mosaic honoring John Lennon in Central Park, New York, based on a […]
April 22, 2017 by tomdalzell
Random Acts of History – The 1970s
I have published posts about Ken Stein here before, first about his collection of Berkeley-themed souvenir spoons and then about his collection of Berkeley buttons. Stein has been part of Berkeley’s DNA for almost five decades. He is a rare combination of political activist, writer/journalist, collector, and historian. In the photo above he is […]
April 15, 2017 by tomdalzell
Helly Welly – Another Visit
In late 2014 I published a post on Helen Holt and her Helly Welly lamp shop at 1649 Dwight. Technically a lamp shop – in reality, that a lots more. I visited again. Holt and her dog Charlie Parker are still hard at quirky work. She still personifies Quirky Berkeley. When words add value, […]
April 8, 2017 by tomdalzell
Murray Street – The Spirit of Makers
I have already pronounced Claremont Avenue near the Star Market as the quirkiest commercial block in Berkeley, and I’m not about to rescind this pronouncement. That said (a nominative absolute – but you knew that, no?), Murray Street is some kind of superlative. It is a half-block south of Ashby and runs only from […]
April 1, 2017 by tomdalzell
Automatic Response
I had never heard of a comptometer. The comptometer was the first commercially successfully key-driven mechanical calculator. It was manufactured without interruption from 1887 until the mid 1970s when electronic calculators took off, took hold, and took over. Key-driven calculators are fast because each key adds or subtracts its value to the accumulator as soon […]
March 24, 2017 by tomdalzell
Jacquet Magique on Monterey
I didn’t think that I had a photograph of the first manifestation of quirk at 1235 Monterey. It’s gone now but I remember it – a micro miniature golf course in the verge / devil’s strip / sidewalk strip. After publishing this post, I found my photo of it! The rainbow fence came next. If […]
March 18, 2017 by tomdalzell
Peace Poles
Peace poles, the mass-produced ones distributed by the World Peace Prayer Society, proclaim “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in many different languages. You pick the four languages you want. The World Peace Prayer Society estimates that there are 200,000 worldwide. There are a few in Berkeley. The first peace pole that I knew was at […]
March 11, 2017 by tomdalzell
New Crop of Bumper Stickers
In a previous post, we learned that Mykael Moss was born in Quincy, Massachusetts and that after college she moved to Chicago to raise a family. We learned that she retired to Berkeley three years ago. We didn’t learn anything about bumper stickers though. Many experts credit Forest P. Gill, a silkscreen printer from Kansas City […]
March 4, 2017 by tomdalzell