My first glimpse of People's Park, Berkeley, California, after thirty-one years

"Of course this was not the ONLY reason I came to America, but..."

... it was something I badly wanted to see. On the second last day of my visit. Alexi, one of my hosts, said he could spare an afternoon if I would care for a tour of Berkeley... including Peoples' Park. As we walked in the direction he indicated this image above was my first glimpse. It was an odd feeling; this icon of the counterculture had been lurking in the back of my mind for thirty years and suddenly here it was in reality - not especially beautiful as parks go, but gradually I was to learn that the history of the Park was very much alive. And the really weird thing is... after all this time the situation really hasn't changed much since 1969.

Suddenly this gentleman approached and wanted to know my business; why was I photographing? I explained that I'd come halfway around the world to see this historic site and just as suddenly he was cool. He'd been there in '69 - that's why he felt protective towards the Park and why he proved to be the full bottle on it's history. I was too taken by surprise to make a note of his name (I'd like to think it was Kermit Lynch).

This wooden bench, he explained, was the last of the original benches installed by voluntary labour way back then. The land upon which the Park sits is still owned by the University of California (administered by the Berkeley Council) and they still plan to do something else with it. In recent years the University fenced off an area of the park for a basketball court but took the fence down after it was subject to a total boycott.

Police patrol the park at night to enforce this curfew. Many homeless people frequent the park during the day and are evicted at night. Notwithstanding the area is relatively neat and clean and the publically-available do-it-yourself gardening area is flourishing.

Drop off and distribution point for free food and clothing to the jobless and homeless, People's Park 2000.

Large mural a block from the Park depicting the events surrounding the setup, riots and subsequent bloodshed in 1969. Notice the Black and White. I was very impressed by the large police presence in Berkeley. Of course I don't know but I suspect authorities worry about both the extensive youth street culture in Berkeley as well as almost certain eruptions if the University ever attempts to redevelop the Park area (which - to be fair - it owns).

The University also has its own not inconsiderable campus police force. Here their vehicles are seen parked in a side street on the campus but close to the commercial centre of Berkeley.

This mural, across the street from the one above, is behind a vacant lot surrounded by a ten foot (2 metre) wire fence. Apparently it depicts a disturbance in the early 90's during which demonstrators were injured and at least one was killed. So the legend of the Park lives on and so does the threat of violence. If you think the enmity between the University and the supporters of the park has diminished by 2003, just wrap your eyeballs around the SLAPP-suit story.

Berkeley: The Battle of People's Park (Rolling Stone, June 14, 1969)
People's Park (first page)

Continue on the unauthorised San Francisco tour:

(1) Home - (2)Sanfrancisco.com - (3) Luver and Me - (4)Visit the Tenderloin
(5) Peoples' Park - (6) Land's End Beach - (7) People's Park Today - (8) The Innocent Arrives
(9) The Mural Culture - (10) My exhibitions in SF - (11) The Battle for San Francisco
(12) Victorian Architecture - (13) Return to Travel Page