OK, I’ll come clean. After reader Matt responded to my previous post with a link to a video about a designer who loved an old sign so much he bought it even though he couldn’t fit it into his car (and then swore a lot about the demise of good typography on signage in America) — I will admit I have a penchant for these old signs too. Here’s a couple I shot recently. One of them may even be in Berkeley.
The Seven Palms grocery store on Euclid was described by reader Matt as looking “blighted even while still open” in a recent post on developments on the 1800 block of the street. But there’s still something appealing about its retro signage.
Screenwriter Erik Tarloff writes an obituary:
For decades, legislatures and governors of both parties viewed the University of California as a special jewel in the state’s crown, worthy of nurture and protection. This pride in what the state had wrought paid dividends: Cal has long been regarded as one of the greatest universities in the country, and in the world. A remarkable, and unique, achievement for a public institution.
But it now looks as if those days are over. It won’t happen overnight, and it won’t happen completely. But absent an unlikely, massive injection of private funding, the university is on an inexorable glide path downward…
But still, without intending any particular political agenda, and without adducing on UCB’s behalf any hierarchy of injustice or worthiness, I still would like to acknowledge the tragedy of what’s about to happen. It’s not the only tragedy, nor even necessarily the worst tragedy, but it’s a very great tragedy. The damage to the university is likely to be irreversible. It will be less able to compete with other institutions in the hiring of distinguished faculty. Funding for complex research will be less accessible. Tuition fees will inevitably rise, as they’ve already risen, putting the place out of reach for the underprivileged. Staff will be let go. Programs will be zeroed out. No doubt Berkeley will remain an estimable institution, and a significant player in the intellectual and economic life of the state. But its days as one of the very greatest universities in the country are clearly numbered.
It’s a great loss. Not merely for the university itself, nor even solely for the state of California. It’s a loss for everyone who cherishes a certain notion of how higher education, and society itself, ought to function.
It’s worth noting that Tarloff is married to Berkeley professor Laura Tyson.
I found the Tarloff piece thanks to a link on James Fallows’ blog. Here’s what Fallows had to say:
When arguing about America’s strengths and weaknesses in my years overseas, I’ve often used “Berkeley” as a shorthand reference for the glories of America’s and California’s commitment to public education and research. And now…
Photo by Kukkorovaca from Flickr
I was just making some additions to InBerkeley’s custom Google map when I noticed something strange about the block of Milvia between Allston and Channing. Where you should see Berkeley High School, Google instead has Armstrong University. Huh?
Despite budget pressures I’m sure Berkeley High hasn’t sold its property. Google, or more accurately its data supplier, Tele Atlas, just has it desperately wrong. It’s particularly odd that there’s such a prominent error on a major site in a city that has its share of employees that commute to Google in Mountain View.
What makes it stranger is that there once was an Armstrong University in Berkeley, but it was never on the Berkeley High site (BHS moved to its present site in 1901). Armstrong University was founded in 1918 by Evan Armstrong as the California School for Private Secretaries. It moved to a Walter Ratcliff-designed building on Harold Way in the 1920s and renamed itself Armstrong College. It mutated at some point into Armstrong University, but moved out in 1996.
Although it seems to survive in online directories, as far as I can tell Armstrong University no longer exists. Except in the wrong place on Google Maps.
Freight & Salvage Coffee House is about to move up the street — literally — from 1111 Addison (off San Pablo Avenue) to its new location at 2020 Addison in the heart of downtown Berkeley (rendered above).
A grand opening celebration weekend is planned for August 27-30 with performances from, among others, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and the David Grisman Quartet.
August 27 sees the venue’s 21st Fiddle Summit with Alasdair Fraser, Liz Carroll and Darol Anger.
Visit Freight & Salvage’s website for details of the new building, the campaign for funds and the celebration weekend acts. And read this piece in The Monthly for a perspective on the venue which has been providing music and entertainment in Berkeley for 40 years.ome
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