Aquatic Park (Berkeley)

Last updated
Pedestrian Bridge at the north end of the park AquaticParkPedBridge1.JPG
Pedestrian Bridge at the north end of the park

Aquatic Park is a public park in Berkeley, California, United States, located just east of the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80) between Ashby and University Avenues. The Works Progress Administration created the park in the 1930s simultaneously with the nearby Berkeley Yacht Harbor. [1] Its centerpiece is an artificial mile-long lagoon that was cut off from San Francisco Bay by the creation of a causeway for the Eastshore Highway, during the construction of the approaches to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, also in the 1930s. The lagoon still communicates with the Bay through culverts under the freeway (one in line with Ashby Avenue, the other in line with Grayson Street). The east shoreline of the lagoon used to be the original shoreline of San Francisco Bay.

Contents

Park features

Aquatic Park features picnic areas, "Dream Land for Kids"—a large children's playground, a pedestrian-bicycle path, and a disc golf course. The lagoon is used by the Berkeley Paddling and Rowing Club year round, and by the Berkeley Water Ski Club during the summer months. The lagoon is also used by the nonprofit organization, Waterside Workshops, for their youth boating and sailing, and boat rentals to the general public on weekends. [2] Waterside Workshops also houses a community bikeshop at the intersection of Bolivar Drive and Bancroft Way. Historically, the Aquatic Park lagoon was also a practice site for the University of California crew teams.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkeley, California</span> City in California, United States

Berkeley is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emeryville to the south and the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington to the north. Its eastern border with Contra Costa County generally follows the ridge of the Berkeley Hills. The 2020 census recorded a population of 124,321.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 24</span> Highway in California

State Route 24 is a heavily traveled east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that serves the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay Area. A freeway throughout its entire length, it runs from the Interstate 580/Interstate 980 interchange in Oakland, and through the Caldecott Tunnel under the Berkeley Hills, to the Interstate 680 junction in Walnut Creek. It lies in Alameda County, where it is highly urban, and Contra Costa County, where it passes through wooded hillsides and suburbs. SR 24 is a major connection between the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge/MacArthur Maze complex and the inland cities of the East Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caldecott Tunnel</span> Four-bore passage for CA SR 24 under the Berkeley Hills

The Caldecott Tunnel is an east–west highway tunnel through the Berkeley Hills between Oakland and Orinda, California. Its four bores carry California State Route 24. Named after Thomas E. Caldecott, former mayor of Berkeley, it opened in 1937 as a two-bore tunnel. The third bore opened in 1964 and the fourth bore in 2013. Currently, the two oldest bores carry eastbound traffic and the two newest bores carry westbound traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 123</span> Highway in California

State Route 123 is a 7.39-mile (11.89 km) state highway in the U.S. state of California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Named San Pablo Avenue for almost its entire length except for its northernmost 0.10 miles (0.16 km), SR 123 is a major north–south state highway along the flats of the urban East Bay. Route 123 runs between Interstate 580 in Oakland in the south and Interstate 80 at Cutting Boulevard in Richmond in the north. San Pablo Avenue itself, a portion of Historic US 40, continues well past the SR 123 designation south to Downtown Oakland and north to Crockett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkeley Pier</span>

The Berkeley Pier is in Berkeley, California. When constructed in 1926, the pier extended 3.5 miles (5.6 km) into San Francisco Bay from the end of University Avenue. Due to extensive filling of the bay and the creation of the Berkeley Marina, it presently extends only 2.5 miles (4.0 km). Since 1937, only the first 3,000 feet (910 m) were maintained and open to the public until July 2015, when public access was closed due to safety concerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claremont, Oakland/Berkeley, California</span> Place in California, United States

The Claremont district is a neighborhood straddling the city limits of Oakland and Berkeley in the East Bay section of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. The main thoroughfares are Claremont and Ashby Avenues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkeley Marina</span> Neighborhood of Berkeley in Alameda, California, United States

The Berkeley Marina is the westernmost portion of the city of Berkeley, California, located west of the Eastshore Freeway at the foot of University Avenue on San Francisco Bay. Narrowly speaking, "Berkeley Marina" refers only to the city marina, but in common usage, it applies more generally to the surrounding area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Berkeley, Berkeley, California</span>

West Berkeley is generally the area of Berkeley, California, that lies west of San Pablo Avenue, abutting San Francisco Bay. It includes the area that was once the unincorporated town of Ocean View, as well as the filled-in areas along the shoreline west of I-80, mainly including the Berkeley Marina. It lies at an elevation of 23 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 80 in California</span> Section of Interstate Highway in California, United States

Interstate 80 (I-80) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. The segment of I-80 in California runs east from San Francisco across the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge to Oakland, where it turns north and crosses the Carquinez Bridge before turning back northeast through the Sacramento Valley. I-80 then traverses the Sierra Nevada, cresting at Donner Summit, before crossing into the state of Nevada within the Truckee River Canyon. The speed limit is at most 65 mph (105 km/h) along the entire route instead of the state's maximum of 70 mph (110 km/h) as most of the route is in either urban areas or mountainous terrain. I-80 has portions designated as the Eastshore Freeway and Alan S. Hart Freeway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schoolhouse Creek (Alameda County)</span>

Schoolhouse Creek is a creek which flows through the city of Berkeley, California in the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaughlin Eastshore State Park</span> State park and wildlife refuge

McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is a state park and wildlife refuge along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of the East Bay between the cities of Richmond, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland. It encompasses remnant natural wetlands, restored wetlands, as well as landfill west of the Eastshore Freeway. Its shoreline is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long, and its total area is 1,854 acres (750 ha), which includes both tidelands and uplands. Originally named just Eastshore State Park, it was renamed in October 2012 to honor the late Save the Bay founder Sylvia McLaughlin, who, along with the late Dwight Steele of Citizens for Eastshore Park, drove the establishment of the park. Prior to 2013, it was jointly managed by the California State Parks and East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). The state agency and EBRPD executed a 30-year agreement for EBRPD to manage the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Isabel Regional Shoreline</span> Multi-use park

Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California, is operated by East Bay Regional Park District, and is a multi-use park for joggers, windsurfers, kayakers, photographers, picnickers, and people walking dogs. It has access for pedestrians and via public transit, private vehicles, and bikes. It also features a concession offering food for people and grooming for pets. A longtime community organization and nonprofit, Point Isabel Dog Owners and Friends (PIDO), is active in the maintenance and improvement of the park.

Point Isabel is a promontory on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in the Richmond Annex neighborhood of Richmond, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkeley I-80 bridge</span> Pedestrian bridge overpass spanning the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80/580) in Berkeley

The Berkeley I-80 bridge also known as the University Avenue pedestrian bridge and the Berkeley Marina overpass is a 15-foot (4.6 m)-wide bridge spanning the Eastshore Freeway in Berkeley, California. It forms part of the San Francisco Bay Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seal Slough</span> Body of water

Seal Slough, also known as Marina Lagoon, is a narrow winding tidal channel through a tidal marsh in San Mateo and Foster City, California. This slough has been the object of a wetland restoration project in recent years to enhance habitat value. Dredging has been carried out in Seal Slough since at least 1954. When the original sewage treatment plant for the city of San Mateo was constructed in 1935, its discharge was directed to Seal Slough.

Fluvius Innominatus or Central Creek is a creek in Richmond and El Cerrito, California, in western Contra Costa County. There is one main source and a secondary unnamed tributary. The creek drains into Hoffman Marsh and then flows into the bay through Point Isabel Regional Shoreline's Hoffman Channel. However, before the area was developed and as early as 1899 the creek had 11 sources which stretched far higher into the Berkeley Hills.

Hoffman Marsh is a wetlands on San Francisco Bay in Richmond, California. The marsh has been protected within Eastshore State Park, and adjacent to Point Isabel Regional Shoreline. The marsh is an important nesting ground for wildfowl and stopping ground on the Pacific Flyway, as it is one of only a handful of undestroyed wetlands in the Bay Area. It borders Point Isabel Regional Shoreline and Interstate 80.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marin Creek</span> River in California, United States

Marin Creek is a creek tributary of Codornices Creek in northwestern Alameda County, California. The lower stretch of Marin Creek is also known as Village Creek.

Citizens for East Shore Parks (CESP) is a United States environmental organization that focuses on the acquisition and preservation of parkland in the San Francisco Bay Area. CESP works to protect open space along the East Bay shoreline for natural habitat and recreational purposes through a combination of advocacy, education, and outreach. Since its founding in 1985, CESP has worked to secure approximately 1,800 acres (730 ha) of public land, primarily through the creation of the 8.5-mile (13.7 km) long Eastshore State Park in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany Bulb</span> Former landfill in Albany, California

The Albany Bulb is a former landfill largely owned by the City of Albany, in California. The Bulb is the west end of a landfill peninsula jutting west from the east shore of San Francisco Bay. The term "Bulb" is often used to refer to the entire peninsula, which includes the Albany Plateau, north of Buchanan Street at its base; the high narrow "Neck," and the round "Bulb." The Bulb is part of the City of Albany, and can be reached via Buchanan Street or the Bay Trail along the east side of San Francisco Bay.

References

  1. Annual Reports of the City of Berkeley Recreation Department, 1933-1940
  2. "Waterside Workshops".

Coordinates: 37°51′25″N122°17′56″W / 37.856871°N 122.298859°W / 37.856871; -122.298859