Places Of Note

Who Are We?

Actually, this isn’t an existential question.  We’re on a little quest to understand who lives around here.

Today, I discovered the most common types of 94611 people, though a marketing site.  We’re a mix of affluent empty nesters and young achievers who hang out in the urban uptown.

Who Lives in 94611

The “top five” groups living here sound like a conflicting mix of freewheeling and stodgy folks.  It turns out these segments do a pretty good job of defining who we are, along with what we’re most likely to consume.  See where you belong:

  • Bohemian Mix – The Nation’s most liberal lifestyles, with an ethnically diverse, progressive mix of young singles, couples, and families.  This segment features early adopters who are first to check out new movies, nightclubs, brews, etc.  They eat at Au Bon Pain, buy Spanish/Latin music, read The Economist, watch soccer and drive an Audi A4.
  • Money & Brains – They have it all with high incomes, advanced degrees, and sophisticated tastes to match their credentials.  This segment typically includes married couples with few children, who live in fashionable homes.  They shop at Nordstrom, contribute to NPR, read the Sunday newspaper, watch Wall Street Week and drive a Mercedes Benz E class.
  • Movers & Shakers – America’s up-and-coming business class: a wealthy suburban (!)  world of dual-income couples who are highly educated.  This segment is most likely to own a small business and have a home office.  They eat at Bertucci’s, go scuba diving/snorkeling, read Inc., watch Saturday Night Live and drive a Porsche 911.
  • Upper Crust – The wealthiest lifestyle in America, and a haven filled with empty-nesting couples between the ages of 45 and 64.  This segment has the highest concentration of post-grad degrees too.  They shop at Saks Fifth Ave, spend $3,000+ on foreign travel,  read The Washington Post, watch Golf Channel and drive an Astin Martin DB9.
  • Urban Achievers – The first stop for up-and-coming immigrants from Asia, South America, and Europe.  This segment mixes young singles, couples, and families who are college-educated and speak a second language.  They shop at Rite-Aid, download music from web, read Latina, watch BET and drive a Toyota Yaris.

Well, at least we answered that non-existential question.  We’re not all cut from the same cloth, which keeps things lively.  And no one’s struggling much, at least based on stuff they do or own.  However some of these descriptions seem so pat, crass and make me want to scream…a little.

Greet Mountain View Cemetery Denizens, This Saturday

You probably drive past Mountain View Cemetery frequently, just running errands around the city.  If you have stopped by the place, then you know this huge cemetery feels like an oasis.  Our Frederick Law Olmsted legacy also features spectacular views that visitors and denizens appreciate together.

Mountain View Cemetery Millionaires

Whether you have been to Mountain View before or not, we think it’s worth taking an official cemetery tour.  Join the Oakland Heritage Alliance’s annual visit this Saturday, from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm.  You will be introduced to old movers and shakers interred here, along with some interesting monuments.  This hilly tour meets up at the Chapel of the Chimes (4499 Piedmont Ave, map), and costs $15/head to benefit the Alliance.

The Genesis of Mountain View

Well, Dr. Samuel Merritt and his buddies didn’t want to be buried downtown in the depressing, Webster Street burial ground anymore.  After Christmas Day 1863, Merritt organized a fateful meeting of city elites along with up-and-comer Rev. Isaac Brayton, who owned some lovely hillside acreage.  Brayton willingly sold this land, used his proceeds to finance the College of California (later Berkeley) and, of course, now rests peacefully at Mountain View.

These Oaklanders wanted a fabulous place for eternity, and asked Frederick Law Olmsted to design his first-ever cemetery.  According to The Monthly, Olmsted “recommended a handful of Mediterranean plant species and one indigenous tree – the evergreen oak – to create a more formal, low-water, low-maintenance landscape.  He was more than a century ahead of his time in thinking about drought-resistant and native plants.”

Who’s Buried At Mountain View

You’ll find former captains of industry, politicians and other famed Westerners.  The ones you probably know best are railroad titan Charles Crocker,  chocolatier Domingo Ghirardelli, architect Julia Morgan and murder victim “Black Dahlia.”  Notable Oaklanders include industrialist “Borax” Smith, poet laureate and Jack London mentor Ina Coolbrith, and even Leland Stanford’s brother Josiah, who produced the first Californian champagne.

We poured through a Mountain View site, and discovered other interesting denizens.  Foodies will appreciate the mother of olive oil, Freda Ehmann, or the father of the Pacific fruit industry, Henderson Luelling.  Educational leaders there include U.S. kindergarten movement founder Emma Marwedel and California’s public education system founder John Swett.

Plus two folks who left a nice legacy are Sarah Plummer, who made the poppy our state flower; and Glenn Burke, the A’s ballplayer credited with inventing the high-five!

Of course, hearing cultural and historical perspectives from the Oakland Heritage Alliance will shed far more light.  We’re fortunate to have some real experts, historians and architectural buffs who care about Mountain View.  If you can’t make this Alliance tour, then no worries – check out the cemetery schedule for other docent-lead, free tours.

More info:    Mountain View Site – Cemetery Events – Tomb with a View – Lives of the Dead:  Mountain View Cemetery People – Oakland Museum’s Online Exhibit – Cemetery Book Preview – Cemetery Book Order – Oakland Heritage Alliance

Montclair Tweeters Getting Outside Lately

Twitter has become a tour de force.  It provides a means to deliver messages that can’t be blocked by any government, including faraway spots like Iraq.  It creates a channel for everyone to share and read their memories of one Michael Jackson.  These communications can be a real window into the collective zeitgeist.

Twitter Homepage

In that spirit, we decided to see what’s happening in Montclair and the hills.  There’s nothing explosive taking place here, only the Fine Arts Festival this weekend.

After conducting a few local searches, the good news is that Montclair tweeters are getting off their duffs, venturing outside and generally enjoying the summer so far:

  • Heavy_Jumbo:   up in the Oakland Hills again…long day inspecting the hills…don’t believe the (news) hype, Oakland has spots that are just spectacular.
  • BAltmanArt:   Just back from Redwood Park, Oakland – great off leash dog walk all the way to views of Mt. Diablo – dogs look @ dogs.
  • sirshan:   Riding tomorrow AM…the heck am i doing up? Gonna be a hard climb without rest in these Oakland Hills.
  • bluecinema:   I’m in a beautiful cemetery in the Oakland Hills looking at the most epic view.   Somewhere nearby someone is blasting Stevie Wonder.
  • MatAttack:   Back from hiking in the Oakland/Berkeley hills. Lots of sun. Awesome!

Of course, there are many perfunctory messages flying among tweeters.  When you screen through a few dozen of them, you get a sense of Montclarions or Montclair visitors in general:

  • YounGabeReal:   fire scaping the jungle at the back of my house. The price of living in the Oakland hills. I should hire some help.
  • jenncharina:   @mo_par Forgot. I’ll ask Miriam. But most taquerias should have it. Go to Oakland, there’s a little place called Montclair, so precious.
  • LorenMcDonald:   Awesome mting w/ @KennyL in my childhood hood (Montclair district Oakland) – talking social/email/customer strategy & sipping Peet’s java

We have always acknowledged the village as a peaceful and slightly escapist spot, where folks go about their business without much fanfare.  The latest 140-character tweets simply underscore this sense of place.

P.S.  We are on twitter as well (link here), if you prefer to pick up Today in Montclair blog postings and links that way.  You won’t see tweets about running errands to the 7-Eleven there.

Newcomer Magpie Sells Must-Haves

Finally there’s a great place for teens and college kids to stock up on their jeans, tops, tees and more – without shlepping to Walnut Creek or other shopping mall meccas.

The Magpie (map) aims to be “a boutique that offers comfortable clothing and fashionable styles” and showcases “quality, hip apparel from prominent and cutting-edge designers.”  Yes, we can confirm that’s what you will find on La Salle Avenue.

The Magpie

The Magpie opened their doors in early June, after months of preparations.  Owner Kevin Benafield sought advice from his son and daughter on what to stock right now.  This seems like a wise move, as any baby-boomer can tell you it’s awfully hard to keep up with hip-versus-passe things.  Benafield now wants to hear from all their customers, and fill the shelves with more popular and less stodgy fare than what you typically find at department stores.

What impressed me is that everything seems really wearable too, even for young-at-heart older folks.  I have to tell you that Magpie’s clothes are nice but not cheap, with a strong selection of boot cut, flair, skinny and ultra-skinny jeans from brands like DL161, Paige and soon-to-arrive Joe’s Jeans.  There are nice women’s tops including those old peasant shirts now back in style.  You’ll find a mix of bathing suits, shorts and flats too.

On the guys’ side, there’s skateboard paraphernalia and chic everywhere – like Chocolate shorts or Santa Cruz swim trunks.  What caught my eye were all the Retro Brand tees that have a broken-in appeal and the Just A Cheap Shirt button-downs, in many colors and patterns.  I also liked the hoodies, shirts and socks made partly from hemp.

Since the 1960s are definitely “in” again at The Magpie, you’ll have no trouble picking up something for Father’s Day.  Give ’em a try.

Re4m: New Gift Shop Without Guilt

One of the newcomers to the Village shopping scene this past week is re4m, pronounced “reform.”  It’s a place with high ideals, to “re-claim, re-source, re-invent and re-commit.”  All I know is that the shop features great gifts for friends or family, and nothing would destroy my budget either.

re4m location

The shop feels a wee bit like a museum store, as items have been carefully collected and curated from places scattered around the globe.  Currently the display window features handbags made from tire inner-tubes, which says re-use loudly.  Inside the shop, small handbags made from soda can pop-tops look surprisingly beautiful.

My favorite pieces are made from telephone wires (!) transformed into colorful, old-fashioned basket weavings.  If you’re not ready to commit to these pieces, then re4m offers a few cute wire animals created by the same artists.

Additionally, re4m carries some interesting Japanese do-it-yourself paper art where you make little sculptures from paper tubes.  There are greeting cards which can be planted for their wildflowers.  Some nifty kid-things are placed near the back.  All the items have a story from their makers.

Owners Ashesh Patel and Lisa Tana are very passionate about what they are offering to locals, but not overbearing in their green-first sensibilities.  The artistic aura of the place likely comes from Tana, who previously ran Desa Arts in Oakland.  Plus everything feels cool – it’s hard to describe so check it out during your next coffee or bagel run.

More info:   re4m is a sustainable living shop conveniently located at 2054 Mountain Blvd, Montclair Village.  You can reach them at 510-339-re4m (7346), and their website will be created shortly.