At Park Street the Embarcadero ends, but you can continue south (or start over and take BART to the Fruitvale station from which you can journey one block) to San Leandro Street and more studios, like the Dutch Boy Studios at 4701 San Leandro Street and the Vulcan Foundry at 4401 San Leandro. Hundreds of artists are housed in old factories converted to studios here, and it is one of Oakland’s great cultural attributes. Though not on the Pro Arts tour, you should check out Splady Art Studio at spladymetalart.com. Chuck Splady is an Oakland artist of 32 years. He is a metal sculptor, producing unique architectural items in styles ranging from 17th-century Italianate to modern steel. Chuck explains that the large artist population here is partly because war-time manufacturing left these huge, ideal, factory spaces that perfectly accommodated artists. Some

came in from Sausalito and San Francisco when rent became prohibitively expensive there, but many have always been in Oakland, because of the area’s plethora of art schools, like UC Berkeley, California College of Arts and Crafts, Mills College, Merritt College, and Laney College. As a metal sculptor, Chuck relishes in the fact that Oakland and Alameda were shipbuilding areas during the war. Along the waterfront, the old shipbuilding yards provide an excellent supply of materials for metal workers. "Swords into plowshares, ships become sculptures," he says. Spaldy Art Studio is located in the Dutch Boy Factory, one of Oakland’s first studio complexes. This was the factory where the paint for Pacific Fleet was made. Sixty people live there now. Seven people work full time at Splady Studios where there is a complete blacksmith shop. If you are interested, you can visit the website art gallery, and email him about an appointment to visit the studio.

Otherwise, visit the Vulcan Cafe in the Vulcan Foundry, which is frequented by artists from all over. Originally run by an artist, the Vulcan Cafe is now the craft of a Thai family, where you can get great Thai or American food, such as vegetarian spring rolls with taro. Many artists post signs for their upcoming shows here. It is a fun place to go with great food and it’s fun to check out Oakland’s living local art scene. Throughout the remainder of the Fruitvale district, the commercial best lies along East 14th, from 29th up to and past High Street. At the intersections of Fruitvale Avenue and High Street, there are Latin markets and street vendors selling churros, as well as restaurants, Mexican bakeries, and vibrant murals. Fruitvale is a good place to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos-when local artists create incredible wares for the celebration. Also seek out Ford Street, which is very funky and neat, and houses the Ford Street Studios at 2934 Ford Street and 2989 Chapman Street. What a fine introduction to the Oakland art scene!

4. Alameda by Bike

In Alameda there are still more artists, history and good places to eat. You can also take a cruise along Crown Beach where you’ll find wildflowers and sunsets. You can follow the Bay Trail from Crown Beach over the Bay Farm Island bike bridge to Bay Farm Island and along San Leandro Bay. Check out the birds and bike trails at Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline, or peruse the collection of historic aircraft and exhibits on the aviators at the Western Aerospace Museum at Oakland Airport’s historic North Field. This Oakland City Landmark was originally dedicated by Charles Lindbergh himself, and is the landing place of Amelia Earhart’s historic solo Pacific crossing from Hawaii to North America in 1935. This was also the point of departure for her ill-fated around-the-world flight the following year. You can also bike around on the Alameda Naval Air Station, now open to the public, where you can check out the USS Hornet, a W.W.II-vintage aircraft carrier that recovered the Apollo 11 space capsule and the first men to walk on the moon. Or bring a spotting scope and watch for the colony of rare and endangered nesting California Least Terns on the old runway. (There is no food, water or restrooms unless you go aboard the USS Hornet.)