My last two days, much to my surprise, I chose never to leave re-born downtown Oakland and to really explore it for the first time. First morning out to take Roxie for a walk, we were delighted to discover an Oakland Gnome on our own corner. These little wooden squares with gnomes painted on them began to appear screwed to the bases of utility poles all over town. After some discussion, PG&E just decided to embrace the concept and let them stay.
Gentrification is playing a big part, following the destruction of some old buildings in the 1989 earthquake. Katherine’s apartment is in a beautiful neighborhood. right across the street is the new Cathedral of Christ the Light. Hard to warm up to this building, but it is very interesting and is actively in the business of doing good works in this refreshingly multi-ethnic community . Looks like this from the outside:
I thought it looked something like a bishop’s mitre from the outside. Then there was this surprise view of it from the inside:
You would never expect this from the outside. The 58 foot image is created by natural light passing through aluminum panels that have been pierced with 94,000 holes, all of which were computer generated Really amazing to see on a bright day. I didn’t know that the earlier, traditional cathedral fell down in 1989, but quite a lot of art was saved from that. Here is a painting of Baby Jesus having a traditional procedure performed on his little baby hood so he can be a Jew.
Later, an interesting observation on a walk to Whole Foods:
Across the street in the other direction is the old I. Magnin building, now offices of some sort.
Next day, I walked around Lake Merritt to the museum.
Saw a number of fine works, but I think one of my favorites was this scene of engaged and engaging little girls studying a triptych.
Of course, for this tree-hugger, it’s always about the redwoods, in the museum and on the walk home.
Lots of old buildings have withstood the test of time.
If I lived here, I would surely find a way to paddle my kayak to the museum and possibly to church at St. Paul’s across the lake on Sundays.
