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En
route south from Jack London Square, some of the open studios and
restaurants include: Art Trip 510 452-3554, a working studio and
school of sculpture, stonecarving and clay; The Fifth Avenue Studio,
which, in a funky little old house that someone moved here a while
back, shelters the work of Marie Guelld (oils, watercolors,
acrylics), Lisa Jacobs (pastels, monotypes), Lenore McDonald
(pastels, oils), and Irene Brady Thomas. Also here is Aqua Studio
with Anne Austin (acrylics and painted screens) and Betsey Lombard
(oils). You are welcome to wander the whole wonderful street down to
the marina, but keep in mind that, unlike the open studios, which
are work-only studios opening their doors for the tour, the other
residents are in live-work shops not on tour, and you would need to
make an appointment to visit them. Unlike the Port-owned portion of
the estuary, the Fifth Avenue Marina Street is privately owned by a
local art guru and collector. Here’s hoping that this cultural
haven is preserved from the fate of port development. The next turn
is 6th Ave, where you will find the Seabreeze Cafe, a waterfront
eatery owned by an Asian couple who serves hot-plate specials,
sandwiches and beer which you can enjoy out on the deck. Oyster Reef
in the 9th Avenue Terminal is another restaurant overlooking the
water. At the Embarcadero Cove Marina, the waterfront is packed with
relocated Victorians-all businesses juxtapositioned here next to
Quinn’s Lighthouse. Continuing along the Embarcadero you’ll find
Exchange Studios nearby at 527 23rd Avenue.
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
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Frutvale |
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
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Alameda ships at
anchor, including the Hornet |
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.)
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