Have a Heart mural is at the 7th St. side. Hear a Heart is a cannabis dispensary…read more the theme of the mural highlights events/symbols seen in Oakland: sideshows, A's baseball, Oaklandish symbol, Hello Kitty, spray painting, vaping, bart, bitcoin, green apple, blue skies, red skies, etc. creator: Charms Von

These types of murals in general prevent a lot of graffiti. Some building these owners turn over…read moretheir exterior walls to artists at a specific cost. I recently spoke to one of these artists. There is some pay involved and there is an understanding that the art work generally doesn't last forever. Its a unique relationship between artist and tenant or building owner. I think the bad part of it is the ulterior motive - its not as if people have these murals for pure love of art - rather its to avoid something bad. I suppose building owners are 'in like' with these sorts of projects. I guess I see it as putting a missing person's face on the side of a milk carton.

this mural is on the Bay St. side. it shows a young Korean female dressed in an Hanbok, a…read moretraditional garment worn in ancient Korea until the late Josean period. the mural has a dark background, the female is in the center, over her shoulders are words written in traditional Korean characters. pink flowers are all over the mural. creator: John 0329, Noodle_belly

This is a lovely sculpture located at the Center Walk across from Frank Ogawa Plaza. It's labeled…read more"fountain" on the Oakland City Center map/directory. The piece was inspired by Gertrude Stein's quote "There is no there there", referring to her childhood home, despite her words being interpreted in different ways. The artist, Roslyn Mazzilli, spent decades creating sculptures that reflect aspects of nature and add vibrant color to the various settings in which her public artworks are displayed. "There!" is seemingly ageless and certainly an attractive centerpiece among the surrounding shops and eateries at the City Center, and a prime representation of Mazzilli's work.

This colorful sculpture is in the middle of the city center plaza right outside the 12th street…read moreBart station. I'd been here many times before and even sat around the fountain but never paid attention to the name of the sculpture nor it's creator until my last visit. Thanks to yelp, I learned something new once again. Now I know that this sculpture is knows as There!, created by sculptor Roselyn Mazzilli. Upon closer look, I saw the nameplate for the first time including the date of installation which is 1988. The entire plaza is a nice place to hang around with lots of restaurants providing outside seating around the sculpture and the fountain. Due to severe drought in California, the fountain is currently off but the sculpture is still a beauty to behold.

Totally responsive upon initial request. Came and looked at job, very quick with quote. Very fair…read moreprice. Work is quite outstanding, down to minutest detail. Very agreeable to work with, had 5-6 exchanges of ideas, with John the customer is the driver, John delivers what he says he will in the time he says it will take. HIGHLY RECOMMEND for mural work, small scale (mine 250 sq ft), or large.

Very creative, professional, easy to work with, and the work is very widely appealing.read more

mural with header "East & West at Peace" is on the 151st St. side of an existing liquor store…read more The header is a reference to an old rap rivalry in which Tupac Shakur on the West Coast and Notorious B.I.G. on the East Coast died. Their pics are at the top left and right, respectively. The feud is no longer oncoming. A truce was negotiated. other themes portrayed: -break dancing -bay bridge labeled "Dreams" -Jemco sign a reference to Gemco now Target. -In Loving Memory John Gomes -"welcome to San Leandro" sign -Bal theatre sign -DJ spinning vinyl -Raider fan in gear carrying boombox -teenage female hanging around -smiling Sikh wearing turban -a convenience store -skyline of Oakland downtown skyscrapers.. Creators: Amend, TDK, MERX

This memorial to Mac Dre aka Andre Louis Hicks is on the backside of a building hosting a pupusa…read moreeatery. Mac Dre was a Vallejo based rapper influential in popularizing hyphy, a cultural movement during the '90s that combined dance movements with rap. He started Thizz Entertainment which distributed his underground creations as well as many local rappers. Mac Dre died via a drive by killer in Kansas City on 11/1/04. Creator: Chez Note: Too Short was a popular Oaktown rapper. A portion of Foothill Blvd. was named after him recently.

this utility box looks a swirl of pink, ruby, and light blue paint with grey streaks. the theme is…read moretoo abstract to comprehend. at the bottom is the label either Ghost Ghost or @host @host it could also mean that nothing is for certain, that everything is an haze. creator: Simon Tran

This is a love story, really. On man's work to put what he can on the scale, to in a modest and…read moresimple and gentle way tip the balance in a better direction. This is a tale of affirmation. Of how even at the dark hours when for a moment it feels as if the sun will never come up it does. The gnomes stand where you're looking only if you're looking down. Standing waiting to greet you when the load gets heavy. Standing patiently. Rumor has it there are over 2,000 gnomes attached to over 2,000 utility poles around the City. The subject here is next to the tennis courts across the street from Portal on Second a little bit east of its intersection with Foothill. Thanks to the electric company for resisting the temptation to take them to jail. To me, this is the stuff of life.

They came out of the blue! What do they want?…read more Can we appease them? There's no hiding from them! The gnomes are a spontaneous artistic splurge that got its start around 2012 when gnome after gnome started popping up around Lake Merrit & Lakeview areas on... PG&E utility poles. That's right, the gnomes felt it was crucial to have solid back support and chose some of the tallest structures around. They came in all shapes & sizes and became beloved almost instantly. So much so, that when PG&E labeled them a hazard (big word for such tiny things) the locals rallied behind them and made the utility provider back off. The New York Times headline for this development? "California: A Win for the Little People". Damn, right. It's 2019, and gnomes are still holding on (to poles that is), and you might even see some non-original variations, like squirrel gnomes here & there. KQED did a nice little piece about the Oakland gnomes, and I highly recommend you give it a read/listen: https://www.kqed.org/news/11655269/how-oakland-became-a-gnome-mans-land

This place is crazy nostalgic, and I'm loving it. Playing the games I grew up with, along with the…read moresounds of kids having fun, the games are clean, and the area is fantastic. A nice park around the corner and plenty of restaurants a short walk away. I drove just shy of 100 miles to get there and try their games, and it was worth it. The town is like a cool getaway, especially if you live in an area that gets hot.

Some cool nostalgic games. It was smaller than I expected, maybe 25 games. Several games were not…read morefunctional.

Back here after august 2021 ..visited all the tourist spots luckily ..pay for Bart round trip and…read moreit's sunny ..2018 2021 2025 ..nice at lake Merritt sunny ..lake chalet museum and the historic house ..nice

I was invited to a celebration of the Soroptimists International 100th anniversary at CSH today…read more The event was outdoors on the grassy space behind the house. This was right by Lake Merritt's pathway. The food was catered box salads. In the shade as we were it was a pleasant time. What a cool, historic building, just a half a dozen blocks from Lake Merritt BART station. Nice weather out in Oakland. Round tables set up with table top decorations. CSH is a nice event space. Looking forward to visiting again!