This picture is of the Port of Oakland shipping container cranes at one of the berths. I took it from a Ferry on the Port of Oakland’s Free Harbor Tour. As you have probably heard the ongoing urban legend that George Lucas got his idea for the AT-AT Walkers (All Terrain Armored Transport) from the Port of Oakland Cranes while flying into the Bay Area’s Oakland International Airport (OAK)at one time. Can it be confirmed? Who knows the truth. I think it is highly possible because he does live here in the North Bay at Skywalker Ranch in Marin, CA. However he claims recently that this is NOT the case. George Lucas says he did not get his AT AT Walker idea from the Port Cranes. Is this true? Would he give the Shipping Container Cranes credit for his Walkers? Or would he say it is obviously an unique idea created purely by my own imagination?
On another note these shipping container cranes are used to unload massive cargo ships at the Port of Oakland which is the 4th largest port in the Nation as far as container tonnage movement. The Port of Oakland moves 99% of Northern California’s shipping industry goods through it. We handle a lot of business here in Oakland in and out. The Port of Oakland also includes the Oakland International Airport.
Shipping routes below.
p.s. *updated* May 4th 2011. May the 4th be with you.
I have put up my Burning Man 2011 photos and must say they are amazing! I have awesome pictures of sound camps like NeXus, Robot Heart Art Car, Opulent Temple, The Temple of Transition, The Man, random Burning Man girls and fellows, Art pieces, theme camps, The Playa sunrise over Black Rock City or the sunset, The Man, fireworks, fire balls, explosions and more!
Below I only posted only 4 photos but follow the link to all 80 Burning Man 2001 Rites of Passage at Black Rock City pictures. Preview pics! Rest are atBurning Man 2011 photos.
Last night I attended the Occupy Oakland march with over a thousand other people. It was a great night full of power, voices, numbers and an all around positive vibe…. Until the force of Oakland Police Department(with the help from many other cities from around the bay) started tear gassing innocent peaceful protestors. They attacked the crowd with tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets. I got gassed at least 4 times last night and even after they gassed us it lingered in the air burning for a long time. They deliberately hurt people, throwing tear gas at a crowd of people helping Scott Olson get up. They shot canisters at protestors heads. The videos are all below. Of course the news did not tell you this. That’s why I am. Police brutality against innocent citizens will not be tolerated.
I’ll admit, there were a few people out there wanting to riot but there was no riot. This was done during the march after the police had already used gas a few times.
This was the general population.
Why were so many people out there? After 3 weeks Occupy Oakland’s encampment which was an off sprout of Occupy Wall Street was raided by OPD the night before at about 4:30am, arresting 85 people and destroying everything they had built. Their personal belongings were also confiscated and yet to be returned. The tent city had a kitchen, library, kids zone and all. This meant a lot to a lot of people and could have been handled another way by the City of Oakland.
Here you see Boots Riley from The Coup performing at one of the free live hip hop shows. He actually marched with us the day after the police attacks and I got to thank him for being out there and making some of my favorite music.
I know I’m going to get flak for this but here we go. I myself, personally went by the camp only about 7 times and found it to be rather disappointing and sidetracked from the actual Occupy Wall Street movement. I know a lot of people and I mean a lot that share this exact viewpoint so just STFU and let others speak instead of alienating yourself against other people who are fed up with the system as well. We need people like me and them that want to do something but disagree with a homeless village as the answer. It turned into way more of a “commune” as many of the Occupiers dubbed it and it seemed more of a place for the homeless to come get free stuff. Some claimed it was “their land” and they were “taking it back” and it is a “new way of living” and even called it “sustainable” and “commerce free”. However it was all bought, paid for then donated. That is a mooch economy and had nothing to do with the big corporations, banks, Federal Reserve and all else wrong with our country right now. So I just honestly could not support and was pretty upset it went from something positive to a food kitchen for the same guys that always hit me up asking me for change when I myself struggle to be where I am. Which is not really anywhere. I mean sure that’s a good cause, but not the Occupy Movement. And a lot of people are homeless beggars by choice, do nothing for themselves, are rude and overly aggressive. I’ll never support that.
I also could no longer defend to my friends who saw the same thing I saw. It became a joke and an eye sore. It smelled bad, it made the Occupy Movement look bad and was over all a fail. The City of Oakland only let it exist for so long because it wasn’t a protest, it shut nothing down, it made no difference, it was just there. Until it started becoming a safety and health hazard, then of course they shut it down real quick.
But, that got everyone else out in the streets. All of us that didn’t want to come hang out at a smelly tent city but wanted to be heard. Now what are we going to do with this forward momentum? There is a lot going on with this nation and it was good to see so many people out there just like me. A lot of people are fed up and willing to take to the streets. To some it was to take back Frank Ogawa Plaza, which has also been dubbed Oscar Grant Plaza by a few of the Occupiers. The Plaza was Occupy Oakland’s main base of operations where many set up tents and lived for 3 weeks.
I was not out there to take back some silly plaza. I was out there to show support in numbers and let America know we are fed up too! The nation is watching us, just like we were watching Occupy Wall St. and Egypt. The more of us that show support the easier it is for the others to come join us. We know we’re all fed up and don’t know what to do about it. Well just come out. That’s a start. A very simple way to help is to switch to a Credit Union. Take all of your money away from big banks.
Here you can see the march going down 19th St from Broadway to Telegraph. A lot of good people, hard working Americans that make up the 99%.
This is the scene just moments before the riot police attacked us for no reason.
This is the scene after they attacked. ONE person threw a single plastic water bottle towards the cops direction and they started attacking immediately hitting and injuring innocent peaceful people.
This is what Democracy looks like…… Peaceful innocent protestor attacked by the police.
Another innocent victim of rubber bullets fired into the crowd at peaceful people.
This next video I did not take but it clearly shows police brutality against lovely human beings that are helping the Marine Scott Olson who was also shot in the face by the police. Scott Olson the Marine Veteran was in critical condition fighting for his life and is now on the way to recovery. This is very sad and it makes me want riots and destruction. We were peaceful. They attack and harm us.
This is not the first time Oakland Police have used “non-lethal” crowd control weapons on peaceful protestors. Back on April 7th, 2003 at the Port of Oakland OPD attacked and wounded several protestors without warning.
WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS. WE ARE FED UP.
If you want to join and get updates on marches and other events here are some links. Occupy Oakland Facebook group This is where everyone argues. Occupy Oakland Twitter This is where you get important updates!!!!
After Oakland Police attacked the peaceful protestors and made complete fools of themselves mayor Jean Quan decided they will not be present for our demonstration the next day. They did not call on other cities for mutual aid and there were no police at all in our crowd of around 3,000. When we started marching there were very few police anywhere in the city and it seemed like there were more BART Police and Highway Patrol if anything. The march went great, it was awesome and inspiring. No problems at all with no police to cause them.
General Assembly
A huge march heading through the streets.
Violent Protestors!
Last man standing in a tree! Running Wolf.
The Oakland General Strike November 2nd 11/2/11 Well Oakland we did it again. We pulled off an amazing event for the people by the people. We showed the nation and the world that we mean business and we were out there in large numbers.
On our way to the Port of Oakland.
I have seen some media reports claiming we were only “hundreds”! We must have been at least 30,000 strong and they don’t say a word about that. So far the media has only focused on on a little violence carried out by the Blac Bloc Anarchist. A few bank windows were broken, a Whole Foods was smashed up and a fire was started in the street. This isn’t the protestors it is the small group of Anarchist using our numbers for their goals and tainting our name in the media and provoking attacks by the police. This same group came out during the Oscar Grant protest to incite riots as well. Good citizens and protestors tried to stop them from vandalizing and the anarchist tried to attack them too. But does the news cover that? No. They tell you that wild Oaklanders tore up their city again. This is NOT the case and anyone who was there can tell you that.
The event all together was amazing. Being part of it felt like something major because it was. We are not alone and many feel the same way we do and are willing to take to the streets to show it.
I arrived around 12:30pm and 14th and Broadway was full of good people carrying nothing buy joy and pride. There was music, dancing, speeches, great signs, people handing out stickers, papers, pamphlets, free water and more.
Then it was time to march! About 2:00pm we took off heading towards the banks to protest them being open. At this point I saw about 20 or more of these anarchist all rush together wearing their masks and hoodies with backpacks full of supplies heading for the front of the march. Along the way they broke out several bank windows along Webster including Chase, Wells Fargo and a small financial institution. My good friend is a security guard at one of these buildings that does NOT house banks. They attacked his building as well breaking windows on a small business dry cleaner and a few other places for no reason. So I stopped to take some photos. By this time they are carrying onwards and attacked Whole Foods as well. Luckily they were caught on video and hopefully this can clear Occupy Oakland’s name of the unwanted violence. Some of the protestors tried to stop them and they attacked them as well. This has to be stopped. What can we do? They were in large numbers by the end of the day starting fires in the streets and even throwing things at police again trying to provoke riots. And they got us tear gassed once again. While we stand by peacefully they give us a bad name, the media reports that it was us and no one who wasn’t there knows the truth.
I liked the first march, we were very visible and took a highly traveled route getting support from all the cars along the way. People everywhere saw us, waved and honked happily and told us they supported us. Sure those few acts of vandalism happened but whatever. It was great overall.
The second march I didn’t really understand. I don’t know what we think we accomplished by marching on the Port of Oakland. It was night, I saw very few ships and didn’t see any full of cargo. We supposedly stopped one shift from coming in to unload, but unload what? Did they do it all ahead of time because they knew we were coming? Did they wait till we left and come in late? Or was it just a slow day at the Port with minimal containers to unload? The Port of Oakland is not a bank and they haven’t done anything to us. In fact they employ a LOT of people. I myself used to work there in the IT Department and can say it was the best place that I have ever worked. Very friendly people that are not out to do any wrong. As for who we blocked? We didn’t really block the “Port of Oakland”, we blocked the shipping companies who rent their space. Again, from what? Did anyone see any full ships? There were so few trucks there, no train yard movement. It was a ghost town. Could it be because they truckers themselves striked the 2 days before due to explosive shipping containers arriving? When the Port is in full swing there are lines of trucks for days, trains full of containers and so on. But that’s usually early on in the day or when major ships arrive stacked full of cargo. I was against the idea but marched anyways with a bunch of my friends to be one of the numbers, to show support and to let others know we’re all out here in solidarity. I kind of think whoever came up with this idea wanted to steer us away from downtown or where others can see us. But around that time of night there is not a lot to shut down anywhere besides like Walmart or something.
Regardless of what I find to be misdirection a lot of positive came form the General Strike. March on Occupy Oakland. I will continue to join. I just hope we have better ideas in the future.
There is a lot of incorrect information being spread amongst Oakland Transplants and even Oakland grown residents. I hope this article helps spread some proper and informative information to all to share with others. Lake Merritt framed photo available to purchase through cafepress.
Is Lake Merritt Man Made?
For one, I often hear that Lake Merritt is a man made lake, as if it never were. Truth is it is not even really a lake when you get all technical. It is a natural salt water tidal lagoon connected to the Oakland / Alameda Estuary. So that means the Bay and yes the Pacific Ocean. Currently there is a dam under 12th Street but it is still open and the water runs freely so that you can see the tide coming in and out every day. Also this dam can be opened and closed to help prevent flooding during heavy rains. Lake Merritt is also an outlet for 5 or more fresh water creeks running through Oakland and for 62 storm drains. The creeks include the Park Boulevard Creek, Indian Gultch Trestle Glen Creek, Wildwood Creek, Pleasant Valley Creek, Glen Echo Creek and a few other small ones.
Measure DD
Currently Measure DD is in full force and the Lake is undergoing a massive beautification project. Measure DD was passed in 2002 with a price tag of $198 million dollars. The Lakeshore side has already undergone a massive makeover and does look a lot better than it did a few years ago. Presently construction is undergoing on the 12th Street Project which includes dam removal, a pedestrian / bike bridge and converting the old 12 lane expressway(also known as the “worlds shortest highway”) to a 6 lane boulevard with trees and a park. It seems they will also change the name to Lake Merritt Boulevard. Interesting because East 14th(now International Blvd.) and 14th St. connect there. There will now be a gap between the two with a whole new street.
Anyways, with the 12th street project on the verge of being completed it will be even less of a lake and even more of a tidal lagoon. When the 12st street construction is completed in August 2012 it will actually allow for small boats, crafts, kayaks and what not to pass under the bridge. Eventually they will redo the 7th and 10th street bridges as well. You can see the before and after below.
1857: Open to the estuary, full on salt water tidal lagoon.
2006: Dam in place but still water flowing in and out from the estuary making it a salt water “lake”.
August 2012?: The current Measure DD project’s projected outcome. I like.
So as you can see the tide comes in and exits at the foot of the Lake on the Henry J. Kaiser side. The wiki article claims it is not a tidal lake, but I have no idea who put that there and maybe they are not aware of the tide connecting under the the 12 street bridge. You can actually stand there and watch it come in and out and watch the local bird wild life fishing as the tide comes in or goes out. It’s pretty neat. Actually you can’t see that anymore because of the construction. But when it’s done!
The Nations First Wildlife Refuge
Another thing no one seems to know is that Lake Merritt is the nations very first declared Wildlife Refuge. Declared by Dr. Samuel Merritt himself when he was mayor of Oakland back in 1869 and it was approved in 1870. Today the Bird Sanctuary is just the 5 man made bird islands which began construction in 1925. It’s kind of neat that we have the Nations first wildlife refugee right here in Oakland. Cool! As of 1963 it is registered as a national historic landmark. Actually while doing research for this article I have become slightly confused. Is it the FIRST or just the last standing / oldest? Can anyone help with this? I was always taught it was the first. The gov site says Florida in 1903, so yes we would be first but they don’t even have us listed? To learn more about Lake Merritt and it’s wildlife you can visit the Nature Center in Lakeside Park near the Bird Sanctuary.
Lake Merritt is not 5 miles around!
Also I keep hearing the lake is 5 miles around? It’s 3.1 miles! Which is 5 kilometers. However the actual circumference of the lake is 3.4 miles. So 3.1 miles around for you on foot or bike, 3.4 total. Either way, it’s a beautiful walk and I do it all the time. Yes, I’m that guy with a beer in my hand when you see me.
Cleveland Cascade
While walking the lake you can also cross the street and visit the Cleveland Cascade, another old Oakland secret. Built in 1923 by Howard Gilkey. Unfortunately this gem was later ignored. It was actually a fountain at one point but they shut it down in the 1950′s and filled it in with dirt. Overtime it became pretty beat up with neglect however thanks to locals with a passion in 2004 it has been brought back and is now a place for joggers and walkers to hang out. Measure DD actually did allocate some funding to bringing the fountain back to life. It would really be awesome if the water fountains worked again. If you would like to help visit their website.
Necklace of Lights
The Necklace of Lights was put up around the lake in 1925. It consist of 126 lamppost and 3,400+ lights. In 1941 during World War II they were shut off for the blackout and remained off for many decades. They were finally brought back to life in 1985. In 2006 they were replaced with a new modern more green lighting system saving the city thousands of dollars.
Bellevue-Staten Building
Have you ever wondered what that red orangeish gothic looking building is at the top of the lake? It’s the Bellevue-Staten Building built in 1929 by Herman C. Baumann. I find it to be a really great addition to the Lake Merritt skyline. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Below is one of my photos of it.
Children’s Fairyland
Lake Merritt is also home to Children’s Fairyland which opened 1950. It was sponsored and created by the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club. It is claimed to be the first theme park in the United Sates that catered specifically to families with small children. A great place to take your kids with a fully fairytale themed park, art installations you can climb on and a key that can bring story tale audio to life. My Dad took my sister and I there a lot as a kid. We sure loved it. If you have children please do them a favor and take them there.
Bonsai Garden
Also in that area of Lakeside Park there is the Bonsai Garden. I haven’t been in there since I was like in elementary school on a field trip so I don’t have much info other than their website. But if you’re into that sorta thing, go! It’s waiting for you.
Water Fountains
The three semi newly installed fountains are very pretty but also serve a purpose which is aeration of the water. Keeping it moving and cycling helps to prevent it form becoming stagnate, oxygen deprived and smelly. That is another added benefit to Measure DD. Opening the waterway wider will allow for more tide to roll in and out keeping the water moving and fresh which should in return enhance the local micro-climate and habitat for the wild life. Be excited! Another cell phone pic.
Lake Chalet
Lake Merritt also has a restaurant now! The Lake Chalet which is a semi new establishment right on the water that I encourage you to check out. They have a deck on the water and great Happy Hours every day from 3pm to 6pm and 9pm to close. The building itself was originally built as a high pressure salt water pumping station for the Oakland Fire Department back in 1909. It has undergone a lot of changes and was closed down for most of my childhood. Reopened in August 2009 for the beautiful Lake Chalet. I myself have never eaten dinner there and heard it is over priced for what it is, however the Happy Hour is very affordable and you have a great view on the water. It is actually the sister restaurant of the Beach Chalet in San Francisco near Ocean Beach. I say you must try their specialty beers such as the Lake IPA. Taco Tuesdays are my favorite. You can also take gondola rides from the dock out on the lake! Cell Phone Pic. View from.
Boat Rentals
The Boating Center is actually still active and they do rent paddle boats and other small crafts. I did this a lot as a kid but have not in my adult life. Soon, soon. It’s a great idea, bring some food, have a picnic in the water. Just don’t go swimming! Actually, you can’t. There is no swimming signs at various places around the lake. But the rentals are affordable and from what I can see pretty underused. Maybe most people don’t know about this or they are just like me and keep saying later. Do it!
Camron Stanford House
Ever wonder what that big white house on the corner of 14th and Lakeside / Oak st is? It’s the Camron Stanford House, one of the original Victorian mansions built around the lake. It was later used as the City of Oakland’s Museum and now give tours and cater to events.
Lake Merritt Birds
The lake is home to many types of birds including but not limited to the Black Crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Herons, California Brown Pelicans as well as White Pelicans, Mallard Ducks, Cormorants, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Cranes, Forester Turns, Canadian Geese, Coots and many more! With the wildlife refuge it is truly a home to many kinds of species. Lucky for me growing up here and my mom being a bird watcher I got to learn them all as a kid. I know everyone hates the Canadian Geese, me included because they crap and get feathers everywhere. But did you know the year round population is only about 140? With a surge in the summer to 2,000. I thought there were way more than that. Some of my cell phone pics.
Festival at the Lake
If you recall back when we were kids Lake Merritt used to host Festival at the Lake. This was such an awesome event for me as a child starting in 1980 and running till 1997. It’s sad but the festival ran into problems when a small riot occurred in 1994. The attendance and funding dropped severely after that year and it was canceled. Luckily now here in Oakland we have so many more festivals that have sprung up over the last decade. We truly do live in an amazing city. Thank you all for being a part of it.
Lake Merritt is not a even lake….
So in conclusion, Lake Merritt’s not even a lake! Really, in conclusion we live in an amazing city full of history and character. I appreciate you all whether you were born and raised here or just got here. Oakland has grown so much since I was a kid and it is continuing to grow with all the local Oakland love being spread. You guys bring it and help it grow. If you feel there is anything you would like me to add to this article please contact me. And please do share this article with your fellow Oaklanders. It is actually still in draft state and I will be adding more info and photos over time.
I’ve decided to to start a running article where I will add random photos I have taken from around Oakland. These will all be graffiti paintings, murals and other Oakland ART mostly taken with my cellphone.
5th Ave Train Yard Graffiti
Dimond Park Liemert Bridge graffiti
Park Blvd bus stop graffiti
I found this on International and 1st ave on the alley way that goes to the burrito truck.
And the beloved taco truck sign!
This was a huge sticker but still cool.
Some cool fire art.
Trees on 14th st.
I’m sure you’ve seen this guy hanging on the Lake even during the construction.
