Quirky Berkeley

The Quirky Material Culture of Berkeley

Quirky Berkeley
  • Walkers
  • Help us!
  • Links
  • Blogs/Albums
  • Contact us
  • Latest Posts
  • Quirky Berkeley in the Media
June 26, 2016 by tomdalzell

Urban Ore – Quirky Treasure – DIY Quirk

Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015

Urban Ore is a gold mine of quirk.

Its purpose is printed on every receipt – To End the Age of Waste. It started in 1980, recovering and trading resources from the City of Berkeley’s landfill.

LoneR-FrontA scavenger with a mission!  It has grown, evolved, and moved.  Reuse!  Recyle!

Dan_Knapp03-1024x683

Photo by Pete Rosos, Berkeleyside

I associate Urban Ore with co-founder Dan Knapp. A few years ago his grandchild and my youngest daughter were good friends.  I had good long talks with him about Urban Ore sitting at his daughter’s kitchen table in University Village.

The long rows of toilets and doors and sinks in the Building Materials Department are not without a quirky charm, but they are not the point of this exercise.  The point here – the mostly big, quirky stuff in the Salvaging and Recycling Department.  Some may be for sale, some not.  Instant DIY quirky though –

Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015 Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015 Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015 Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015 Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015

A few months after this visit to Urban Ore, I saw the dog at the Oakland home of BAD RAP pit bull rescue, the statue having been rescued by Donna Reynolds and Tim Racer – about whom I will post in the very near future.

Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015

Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015

Quirky Berkeley in Berkeley Calif, on December 30th, 2015.

Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015Quirky Berkeley 12-30-2015

When I showed these photos to my friend he smiled. “I gigged for Warner Brothers prop department for a few months in the summer of ’74.  Couldn’t focus though.  Too much cool stuff.  Reminds me of Urban Ore.  Don’t think I could focus there.”

I remembered his short stint with Warner Brothers.  What was his overall impression of the photos?

IMG_3677-225x300

Posted in Uncategorized. RSS 2.0 feed.
« The Murals of Stefen
Art and Dogs: BADRAP in Oakland »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Here you will find photos of the oddball, whimsical, eccentric, and the near-rhyme quirky material culture of Berkeley.
Read More

Subscribe

Categories

  • Animals
  • Architecture
  • Cars, Trains and Planes
  • Food
  • Gone
  • Graffiti
  • Ma
  • Mailboxes
  • Major Quirky
  • Miscellaneous
  • Murals
  • Painted
  • Peace
  • Signs
  • Walks

All content © 2025 by Quirky Berkeley. Base WordPress Theme by Graph Paper Press