Sea Wolf

Parked at Jack London Square, the city's rescue ship is ready for any emergency on the estuary.  You don't hear about it being used much, but it's clear they keep everything spiffed up and ship shape in case they are called to duty.

A is for American Bag Company

Many of the warehouse district buildings have recently been converted to office spaces and condos.  The American Bag Company, built in 1917 and now providing office spaces, is listed on the the National Register of Historic Places.  This building is only two blocks from the waterfront, Jack London Square, and lots of excellent restaurants.  The conversion process started years ago when now Gov. Jerry Brown bought a loft in this neighborhood where he lived and ran his campaigns for the presidency.  Later, when he was mayor of Oakland, he spearheaded the building of thousands of condo units in the downtown area.  This initiative has gone a long ways to revitalize this part of Oakland.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Y is for yacht

As you can imagine, boating in the estuary and bay is a popular activity.  Our estuary has lots of marinas where folks can berth their boats.  This cool, wood trimmed yacht drops anchor at Jack London Square.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

W is for Whiskeydrome

The Whiskeydrome is a group of guys who like to build stuff.  They made this in homage to the traveling velodromes that amazed folks with their daring-do early in the 20th century.  Here they impress the crowds at the annual Pedalfest in Jack London Square.  This photo was taken in August.  Today it's sunny but cold and we're all shivering in our boots.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Q is for quirky

We do quirky real well in Oakland.  This contraption was only one of several unusual wheeled vehicles at the summer Pedalfest in Jack London Square.  This is an annual event that promotes bikes and biking.  Often with tongue firmly in cheek.  Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Spruce Deuce

The Spruce Deuce spotted at Pedalfest last weekend.

lighthouse ship

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This is the lightship Relief.  Floating lightships were anchored in areas that were too deep, expensive, or impractical to build a lighthouse.  Lightships were used in the U.S. from 1820 to 1983 and one served the San Francisco Bay from 1898 to 1971.  The Lighthouse Society is dedicated to preserving lighthouses and the country's remaining lightships.

F is for face painting

This post could just as easily be called A is for ambivalence.  The little guy wanted to have a balloon painted on his face, but didn't seem to like the sensation.  In the end, he stuck it out.  Spotted at Pedalfest, an annual event promoting bicycling for fun and transportation.  Linking to ABC Wednesday.

B is for Bocanova

Bocanova is at Jack London Square.  It's a pan-american restaurant with recipes from all the Americas using local ingredients.  Small plates are perfect for sharing.  It has a large dining room but

if the evening is warm, the terrace can't be beat.  If you go, definitely order the shishito peppers with Trapani sea salt.  Warning: they are addictive.

Linking to ABC Wednesday.

walking tall

Part of the scene at Jack's Night Market in Jack London Square on the first Friday of the month.  This event is an expansion of Art Murmur activities which take place in the Uptown area also on the first Friday of the month.

Flag Day

Taken at Jack London Square.

Flash Gordon, anyone?

This is a PG & E substation near Jack London Square.  For some reason all these coils, wires, and electrical humming reminded me of Flash Gordon.  Or maybe something from Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory.  It's alive!!

Monday Mural: peace tiles

This peace wall is in Jack London Square.  It is composed of tiles created by Oakland school children under the guidance of local artists.  As best I can determine, it was done in 1998.  There are actually two walls of tiles, which line steps that move down toward the waters of the estuary.  The steps used to lead up to a Barnes & Noble, which suddenly closed up shop two years ago.  No new tenant has yet come forward.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the murals posted this week.  Once you start looking, it's amazing how many you can find.

Monday Mural: Jack London

This mural is on the back of Heinold's First and Last Chance saloon at Jack London Square, which Jack London frequently visited.  Heinold apparently let the young London study there and later lent him money for tuition to Cal Berkeley.  The original building from 1883 is still a functioning bar and a popular place to have a beer and watch the boats sailing the estuary.  A few feet away is the cabin London lived in when he went north to the Alaskan gold fields.  (An image of it is in the above mural).  London wrote about Heinold's in John Barleycorn.

This detail quotes London's belief, "The proper function of Man is to live, not to exist."  I was so happy to find this mural and get pictures before the light failed that I forgot to look for the artist's signature and the date it was executed.  My bad.

If you like murals or have a mural you'd like to post, this meme's for you.  Just follow the Linky steps below.  You decide what constitutes a mural.  Be sure to link back to this blog and visit your fellow posters.  Looking forward to the murals posted this week.  Once you start looking, it's amazing how many you can find.

bay trail

This is part of the Bay Trail near Jack London Square.

ABC Wednesday: K is for kayak

One of the cool things you can do at Jack London Square is rent a kayak for paddling the estuary.  Unless that's too slow for you.  In which case there's always jet skis.  For more "K" photos visit the ever entertaining ABC Wednesday.

out for a walk

The weekend was cold and dreary and it even rained.  Today started clear and turned quite warm.  Everyone was out for a walk.  Spotted at Jack London Square.

night scene in Jack London Square

On a recent warm evening, I took this shot after visiting Dancing Under the Stars in Jack London Square.  Linking to Night Shot Monday.

Monday Mural: new mural

This mural was done this year by Chase and Bui.  It's near Jack London Square at 3rd and Broadway on the side of a vegan restaurant.  It's vibrant colors and cartoon design really catch your eye.  Don't know if the speech balloons are supposed to be sincere or ironic.  Maybe the cartoon characters have a specific reference.  It's hard keeping up with pop culture to know for sure.

ABC Wednesday: F is for ferry landing

The Oakland ferry to San Francisco is at the foot of Broadway at Jack London Square.  It runs hourly and the trip takes about 30 minutes.  Lots of folks commute to their SF jobs by ferry.  There also are ferries to AT&T Park during baseball season and summer ferries to Angel Island.  Before the bridges were built ferries were the only way to get to SF from the East and North bay.  As our car culture grew, the ferries more or less became novelties and often faced extinction.  After the big earthquake in 1989, the Oakland Bay Bridge was out of commission for a number of months and the use of ferries became essential and once again valued.  Be sure to visit ABC Wednesday for more "F" photos from around the globe.