Places Of Note

Quake Epicenter Visits Montclair

It’s time to celebrate our Hayward Fault legacy, which delivered the Big Quake some 140 years ago.  That Hayward shaker’s considered one of the three majors, along with the 1906 and 1989 quakes.

We began the commemoration with a light jolt.  Last Friday afternoon, a magnitude 3.1 earthquake shook Montclair.  This quake is worth mentioning because the epicenter was near Mountain Avenue – right under our feet.

You just have to be philosophical, while living on the fault-line.  The last big quake occurred on October 21st, 1868 and the U.S. Geological Survey scientists “describe this fault as a tectonic time bomb.”

The U.S. Geological Survey says we’re due right now, while the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory declares a 27 percent chance of delivering a 6.4+ quake in the next 30 years.

To honor the past destructive forces, there are all kind of earthquake commemorations and activities:

  • Lawrence Hall of Science – Ride the earthquake simulator in the museum’s outside park.  Also attend their family-friendly show about Quakes & Shakes – Sundays, Oct 12th and 19th, at 12:30pm and 2:00pm – U.C. Berkeley Campus (map)
  • U.S. Geological Survey – Visit the USGS to see a special photo exhibit of the Hayward Fault damage back in 1868, and how these spots look today – Monday-Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm – USGS Building 3, Menlo Park (map)
  • The Great Quake Lecture – Listen to Timothy Swenson, local author and historian, discuss the 1868 earthquake – Tuesday, Oct 14th, at 7:00pm – Fremont Main Library (map)
  • Mission San Jose Commemoration – Attend the official 140th anniversary, which will be held at the exact quake time – Tuesday, October 21st, at 7:55am – 8:30am – Mission San Jose (map)

More info:   Oaklander Andrew Alden shares more about Montclair itself.  There are also interesting virtual sites covering the Fault, including the USGS Field Tour, Cal Berkeley Tour, and Cal State Hayward Tour.

Foreclosures In Our Zip

How have foreclosures hit our zip?  There are precisely 1,105 housing units that are in pre/foreclosure status, including 519 that are currently owned by banks.

This morning, I was listening to a radio report about subprime foreclosures which are equally hitting urban, suburban and rural reaches throughout America.  Of course, I needed to find out and share how we’re doing locally.

The chart shows distressed counts reported by realtytrac, including pre-foreclosures, auctions, bank-owned properties, for sale by owners, and resale homes.  These counts are divided by total housing units, as reported in the 2000 census.  Finally these rates are compared in the last column.

On a proportionate basis, our zip seems to be hit twice as hard as Oakland or Alameda County.  At first this result surprised me, but it can be tough to meet the larger monthly payments around here.

What are you hearing around the Village?

Appreciation For Montclair Park

When I drive by Montclair Park, I pretty much take it for granted.  It’s the place where villagers gather for large events, kids play sports or hang out, and various recreational programs are offered.

Sometimes our local park can seem magical.  Last month, a flickr photographer snapped this shot and was able to clarify the colors using HDR (high dynamic range) techniques.  The trees and carriage/horses look like they were painted in this image.

Another artist, Jason Quisenberry, created this nice charcoal sketch of the park: “I would have drawn more, but a girls softball team started to play nearby and I decided to move.  I just didn’t want to be hit in the back of the head with a ball.”  The work seems complete to me, as an almost-abstract landscape.

With these odes to Montclair Park, I’m wondering what will happen to the place.  This year, we were able to bid for improvements to the park.  Additionally, the park has scheduled a full slate of programs, classes and activities for our kids.

However, Oakland is dealing with financial crises and all budgets are at risk.  Like all city-supported services, there’s going to be cutbacks soon.  Is it time to “queue up” the local philanthropists?

Free Admission Today At Chabot Space

The Chabot Space & Science Center has free admission on Saturday.  Normally general admission costs $9/kid and $13/adult, but not today!

As part of Museum Day 2008, you need to fill out this form and print out admission cards.  Each card is good for two people, and must be presented at the box office.   Please note this offer isn’t mentioned on the Chabot web site, but is available here.

Of course, a trip to Chabot Space & Science is never completely free.  Additional planetarium shows run $4/kid and $5/adult.  Plus there’s the gift shop, which is tough to leave empty-handed.

It’s a beautiful day but why not go indoors and contemplate the universe?  You can take a quick walk at Redwood Park, right outside.  Or wait until sunset, and use the cool telescopes.

The Chabot Observatory is opened from 10:00am to 10:00pm Saturday.  It’s easily reached off Highway 13, at 10000 Skyline Boulevard (map). If you have questions, please call the box office at (510) 336-7373.

More Museum Day Locales:  The Berkeley Art Center and San Francisco’s Exploratorium are free today, too. Sign up for admission cards, also on the Smithsonian Magazine web site.

Mapmaker Honors Oakland

Check out this Bay Area representation posted by Strange Maps, where the mapmaker honors Oakland through this two-handed perspective.  Our city appears in a position of prominence, along the right-hand index finger.

The Bay Area bridges also figure prominently because this cartoon was drawn back in 1938, only a few years after the Golden Gate and Bay spans were opened for business.   While I thought all those details meant the artist lived around here, I was mistaken.

Reginald Manning (1905-1986) drew this map, while serving as the editorial cartoonist for the Arizona Republic newspaper.  He penned cartoons there for 50 years, which were nationally syndicated.  The Pulitzer Prize-winning artist primarily focused on political cartoons.

Reg was an attentive tourist, though.  There’s a lot of scratchings around Oakland and nearby Berkeley, depicting our urban reaches really well.  We’ll accept this loving portrayal of Oakland – at least we’re not a large, blackened thumbnail like San Francisco.

(Kudos to CBS Eye on Blogs for discovering the map.)