Author Archive
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Painted
Painted Doors House doors and garage doors. Solid colors and abstract and representational. Bright and dull. All quirky. Flowers Painted on Houses We paint flowers on our houses. More than you would imagine. This house on Parker is the queen, but there are others. Birds Painted on Houses We also paint birds […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Miscellaneous
Addison Antiques – Quirk 4 U Geneva Addison’s store is a one-stop-shop for elegant quirk. There is nothing in the store that I wouldn’t like. The store is by me all that a quirky antique store can be. Harold Adler: Cultural Polymath We’ve seen his Art House – now a little bit about his life. […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Major Quirk
Buddhist Shrine on Arch Street Frederic Fierstein’s Buddhist altar/shrine on Arch Street. A gift to the street, given without expectation of reward. Muffler Men Almost in Berkeley Ron doesn’t run Ron’s Mufflers anymore. Ron’s Berkeley Mufflers isn’t in Berkeley. But the muffler men out front – really special. Giant Orange on Spruce […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Mailboxes
Whimsical mailboxes are not unique to Berkeley, but they are prevalent enough to add a significant degree of quirkiness to the overall fabric of our city. Animals Fowl and fish, mammal and reptile, realistic to impressionist to surreal, painted to sculpture. Arty Quirk From Legos to mosaics to paint, cameras to VW Microbuses. […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Graffiti
In the beginning of Quirky Berkeley, I was not sure if I would include graffiti. After a few months, it was clear. Graffiti is material culture. It may be ephemeral, it may be invasive, but it is there. We aren’t the graffiti capital of the world, but what we have adds to the mix. Stencil […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Gone
I pledged that my mission was to discover, inventory, photograph, and write about contemporary material culture. I gave that pledge up quickly and have enjoyed trips down memory lane, to a quirky Berkeley of the past. Emeryville Driftwood Sculptures We had the very quirky driftwood sculptures in the tidal flats and marshes of Emeryville. […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Food
I am blogging about quirky material culture. Food is material culture. Hence food can be quirky. So I include it. Hot dog joints, donut shops, and a couple of dives I find hot dog stands intrinsically quirky. I find donut shops often quirky. And of course dives are. This is a great start to quirky […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Cars and Trucks; Trains; Planes and Rockets
Cars from outside Berkeley can and do come to Berkeley, and Berkeley cars and trucks are sometimes not here – two challenges for a car/truck-based investigation of quirky Berkeley. Knowing my limitations, here are the vehicular postings: Art Cars We didn’t invent the art car, but we have a bunch and they are great. Pure […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell
Animals
Not animals as in breathing, living organisms, but as in artistic depictions of animals as public art. Big Birds My standards have changed since I published a post about big birds in October 2013. In this post I I omit birds that have gone away. I include birds that have newly arrived on our scene. And I […]
August 2, 2014 by tomdalzell