Santa Cruz Beach Hill

I love this old postcard I just received from. As much as I love the image on the front of downtown Santa Cruz as seen from Beach Hill with the old trolley barn on the corner of Sycamore in the foreground, the message on the back just fascinates me.

Mailed on August 14, 1908 from someone named Fred to a Walter Cox in San Jose it says:

"Say maybe you thing [sic] I don't miss you but I do. It is some lonesome down here all by my lonesome but I am getting lots of rest and a bath every day. It is colder here than it was when we were here last year."

Where do I begin? That phrase just kills me: "It is some lonesome down here all by my lonesome..." (!!!!) And "maybe you thing I don't miss you..." I don't know why that just sends me.

And of course this was from when people came to Santa Cruz specifically to take the waters.

Spoonerisms

Walking down Mission Street to the bus I was behind three men, one of whom was carrying a 24 pack of beer at 8am. "He said he was taking a sow of violence but then at the meeting he got in a big yelling argument with Henry".

Kid Lore

When I take the bus to work I usually pass a group of kids and parents waiting for the Davenport bus on Mission Street. Whenever a truck drives by the kids pull down on an imaginary cord in the air asking the truck drivers to blow their air horns.

We used to do this when I was a kid. Only on in 5-10 truck drivers responded then. These kids got replies from almost every truck.

What I want to know is, was this kid lore passed down from parent to child or from kid to kid? If it is from kid to kid, that means there is an unbroken line of kids from at least the 60s until now who passed this on. What other kid lore is passed on like this?

Do trucks still have cords to trigger their air horns or do they now all have buttons?

How can we maintain the best of the past in the face of progress?

Something Rick Steves said in one of his books has been running through my head the past few weeks. He said that he looks for the towns in Europe which were once very prosperous and then went through a period of decline. During that decline, the people in those towns were not able to replace old buildings or remodel them significantly so those towns are the most unchanged from the way they were centuries ago.

Applying that idea to California, that is why so many Gold Country towns are so charming. They were incredibly wealthy a hundred years ago but that wealth went away and many of them have been without new sources of wealth since then so they are relatively unchanged compared to most towns in California.

It is important to watch out for the opposite of this. When a town starts becoming prosperous again, it is all to easy to quickly lose the best of what remains from the past.

Unfortunately this is what started to happen to Santa Cruz beginning in the sixties. The town started becoming more prosperous than it had in the past. Not very quickly, but consistently over the course of a few decades. Although I have not investigated it, I believe part of this new wealth came with the increased use of cars and the ease of travel this gave to day trippers who come to Santa Cruz from the Bay Area.

Part of it came from the University.

As that wealth came into town, some buildings were replaced with other buildings which allowed more profitable commerce. The galleria and the riverfront plaza probably allow for more efficient concentration of wealth than the chinatown area that used to be there.

As more people filled the town, the charming Carnegie library had to make room for the larger modern monolith that now serves us. The Hihn mansion had to make way for the now city hall that replaced it.

While the silicon boom was happening, the anticipation of millions to be made from courting lots of electronics companies downtown prompted the replacement of buildings like the Cooperhouse with the top-heavy monstrosities that now dominate downtown, full of probably underutilized office space.

Other small towns should be alert to this possibility when the start to become prosperous. It may be inevitable that some changes will happen to these towns, but if they are aware of it, perhaps they can mold it so they can keep as much of the good that exists from their town's past and meld it with the good of their future.

But where does this leave Santa Cruz?

Much of what was good from our past is gone but there are isolated fragments that still hang on. We need to cherish those fragments and find ways to incorporate them into the fabric of our evolving economy. We need to find ways to keep them profitable, for things which are profitable are more likely to survive.

How much different would our town be today if the Hihn mansion still existed with a civic center built up around it? Or if the McHugh and Bianchi building were still in place (although I am skeptical it could have survived the quake) ?

What places do we need to preserve and how can we preserve them?

The Emeryville Image Show

Last weekend I went to the Emeryville Image Show
(http://www.mpmpresents.com/index.html). Collectors of all sorts of images sell there.

I am thinking I might enjoy collecting old images and maybe having a small side business selling them. Much easier to store and ship than camera equipment. I was most taken by the stereoview I saw there. I'll post the few stereo cards I purchased when I get a chance. I didn't find any of Santa Cruz or Alum Rock Park which I was most looking for but I did get a nice stereoview of the first Cliff House and one of Half dome as well as some others.

Here are a few post cards I got there.

I don't know if this is the same pier that is in SC now but it looks to be in close to the same place.


Pacific Avenue in the teens or twenties.




Looking back the other direction on Pacific.


Next is the Cooper House. I would like to find a better picture of the whole thing but this should do for now.
(I really need to get a better blog host. For some reason Blogger wont let me put the text where I want it. Argh.)
Natural Bridges when there were still two bridges. I'm looking for a picture from the other side.

Lighthouse Point before they put in most of the fences.

Big Sur, Big Creek Reserve

We spent the past weekend camping in Big Sur and walking in the Big Creek Reserve. Normally Big Creek is closed to the public but Saturday was the second annual open house. It looks like this will happen every first Saturday after Mother's day from here on out. I highly recommend it.

Here are a few photos from Big Creek. More are

available at:http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=sh9x23e.9psignei&x=1&y=faf6f3 and http://www.flickr.com/photos/56679160@N00/sets/72057594142901641/

Nina Paley's latest: Sita sings the Blues

I first fell in love with Nina's work when she did a strip in a local tabloid called: "Nina's Adventures in Santa Cruz". Here is her latest. Pretty wild. Caution: Graphic cartoon violence in the second half. Watch out if you get upset seeing poor little cartoon characters eat it.

http://www.ninapaley.com/2006/05/fakin-it.html

Let Abbey Road Be

Although I have always been a Beatles fanatic, I have never really realized how much a part of the lives of my generation they have been (even for the people who were not Beatles fans) until recently while I have been enjoying the performances that the White Album Ensemble has been giving of all of the albums the Beatles never performed live.

Last night we went to their performance of "Let Abbey Road Be". The last of those albums at the Rio. It was wonderful as all of these have been.

Sorry for the blurry snapshot but hopefully it gives a little sense of the feeling of the concert.

Ducky Derby

A great charity event if you have kids.

I was told that originally they floated all these rubber ducks down a section of the San Lorenzo river by the beach but one year a surge pushed them all on shore so they now use this artificial stream in Harvey West.

Garfield Park Library

The Garfield Park Library is one of a number of public buildings in Santa Cruz designed by William Weeks. I believe the sign said it was built in 1914.

This is exactly what I think a neighborhood library should be. Handsome and inviting from the outside, cozy on the inside. perfectly in scale with the westside "circles" neighborhood.

Under the tree in the lawn there is a plaque that we had never noticed before saying something like: "Stop here and say a prayer for peace." Donated by the local VFW chapter.(!)

Bay Mission Market Gone?

The Bay Mission Market (at the corner of Bay and Mission of course) has long been a Santa Cruz fixture albeit a funky one. I remember a newspaper article about it when I was a student in the late seventies. The reporter had found products on their shelves from the early sixties containing cyclamates which had been banned 15-20 before.

I have wondered how it has stayed in business so long. the past few years it seems mostly to subsist on alcohol sales from the look of the ads that were in the window.

Walking by it to the bus stop this morning I saw this sign in the window. The insides are pretty much gutted.

I wonder if they are just remodeling, putting it up for lease or turning it into another type of business entirely. It has always seemed to me much too valuable a piece of real estate to let deteriorate the way it has. If it was a real grocery store it would be very convenient for UC students to pop down and buy groceries rather than heading all the way into town. I know there has been a shopper shuttle that goes down to Mission Safeway but this would be an easy straight shot down Bay via bus or car and would also be easier for newbies to find.

Turkeys in Santa Cruz?

This is the first time I have ever seen a turkey in Santa Cruz. It was wandering aroung the parking spaces for the Chancellor's office at the top of the festival glen. We saw a bunch of wild turkeys up in Clearlake a few weeks ago. I wonder if the extra rain this year is providing more food for them and increasing their population?

Food Bin Way Out

Food Bin Sign2 4272006

Food Bin Sign1 4272006

Sidewalk Signs

I love this line that I found on the sidewalk on my way home the other day walking up Seaside. There were other chalk drawings on the walkway of one of the houses but this was the only thing on the sidewalk itself and the only one not in white chalk.

Santa Cruz Urban Archaeology Series #1

Palm Drugs used to be on Mission Street at the end of Palm Street. I don't know if they went under because Longs opened next door to them or before longs went in. The building is now a video store but the paint is starting to peel off the side of the building where the old sign was so you can see the words: "Palm Drugs" underneath. Across the street is the recently remodeled Palm Center looking very spiffy.

Clearlake

My partner, R. , and I went up to Clearlake last weekend. Here are a few of the (as usual) zillions of pictures I took while we were up there.


Her band was supposed to play at an adoption party up there but it was cancelled because all the rain we have been getting has caused the lake to come up way above its usual level so the pier they were to play on and half the parking lot of the hotel were flooded.

So we got a nice 3 day vacation instead.

This first picture is of "Old Faithful" geyser in Calistoga on the way up there. I always assumed that there was only one "Old Faithful" but apparently it is a classification having to do with the regularity with which they erupt. As well as this one and the one in Yellowstone there is apparently one in New Zealand.








They have various goats, sheep and llamas there too...














Here is a poster of what the geyser looked lik in the 50's
The Buckingham country club in Soda Bay on Clearlake. Rather windy that day. I've always loved weeping willows. We had one in the first house we rented in northern California when I was two. Its branches hung down to the ground and I always wanted to hide under them to play but the older kids told me there were snakes under it. Usually I like ultra sharp photos but even though this one is a little soft from the wind and the gathering dusk, there is something about it that really appeals to me. The movement of the branches, the glowing impressionistic color of the tree and the grass.



We hiked around Clearlake State Park just outside of Soda Bay. As with many places around the lake, the park was rather flooded. Most of the camp sites were closed because they were under water. the Dorn nature trail was very nice with good views of the lake and the general area as well as beautiful details such as these moss covered rocks and various wildflowers.


I love this one with the miner's lettuce growing out of it.

You can see more of these pictures at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=sh9x23e.71cn1jey&x=0&y=-vw850o . Click on the button at the bottom right that says: "view photos without logging in" if you don't want to set up an account on Kodak's site. I'll post the rest of the good ones there when I get a chance.

The Cherry Blossoms are Back at McHenry

The Cherry Blossoms are back.
But sadly some of the trees are gone to make room for the new library addition.

The Food Bin Sign, a Santa Cruz Icon

The Food Bin and Herb Room are great stores. If you ate vegetarian you could probably buy everything you need from the Food Bin. Open late, 11pm I think. Been here for decades, a real Santa Cruz institution.

Their sign on Mission street is definitely an SC icon. This is not one of their greatest lines but it is representative. I'll put up more as I find them.

Kresge College Memories Part 2

Here is a flickr set I am starting about Kresge. I'll add more as I go along.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56679160@N00/sets/72057594084492705/

My first year at Kresge, 77-78, There were still many students seniors and juniors living on campus. The rents were cheap then and because of the low enrollment at UCSC in general, it was easy to get a spot on campus. When I came back in 81 after spending a few year at Foothill College and San Jose State, it was much harder to stay in on-campus housing your whole four years. This, combined with the fact that most of the people who founded Kresge had left and that the campus was involved in a major push to make its image more conservative, meant that there was little continuity and the students who came in later had very little connection to or understnding of the original goals of the college.

I myself had only a hazy understanding of it due to the factors I mentioned in part one of this story. Bateson had left Kresge the year before, only Michael Kahn was left of the prime movers and I think he was a little weary of the experiment.

Santa Cruz and San Jose memories

My family moved from southern California to San Jose in 1962 when I was 2. I remember reading many years later that the population of San Jose at that time was 60,000. Quite a difference from the millions it is today. I remember looking down from Mount Hamilton sometime around then and seeing mostly trees covering the Santa Clara valley, prune plum trees on the west side of the valley and apricots on the east with a long narrow straight streets such as Alum Rock avenue cutting through them and the Bank of America building sticking up one of the few high spots that rose above the trees.

We would go on summer weekends occasionally to Santa Cruz to go to the beach and the boardwalk. I remember sitting in the shade under the band shell or under the boardwalk when it got too hot or wandering around the castle which was still at castle beach.

The boardwalk at that time had the Giant Dipper and Mad Mouse rollercoasters. I was too young or too short to go on them. I was always curious about what the Mad Mouse was like to ride. It was a cube shaped coaster and the cars did 90 degree turns when they came to the corners of the cube. It was replaced by a rather mild log flume ride before I every got a chance to ride it.

I think I mostly went on rides like the tilt-a-whirl, went in the fun house and played "skee-bowl". The fun house at that time had a giant slide, moving sidewalks, a rolling barrel you could walk through, a large disk that you sat on until centripetal force flung you off, and funhouse mirrors. Apparently the slide was built over what used to be an indoor pool.

I lusted after the big skee-bowl prizes such as the portable TV which took hundreds or thousands of tickets to win. I only ever saved up enough tickets to get the little toy prizes. The only one I remember was a miniature hurricane lamp about 3 inches high. I do wish I still had that one though.

I never got to go on the roller coasters when I was a kid but later on, when I went to college in Santa Cruz, I made it a personal ritual to go on the Giant Dipper about a dozen times in a row after my last final for each quarter.

The castle at castle beach was actually just a regular building made of stucco. Most of the times that we were there it was closed. I don't know what was in the rest of the building but the bottom floor had a snack bar and a recreation room with ping pong tables ad such.

Kresge College UCSC, Memories 1977-78 part 1

I arrived at Kresge College in early October 1977. The first three or four days of classes it rained almost non-stop. I remember sitting in the Idler cafe (next to the Kresge Town Hall) reading and looking out at the redwoods in the rain.

During our orientation weekend the architect who designed Kresge spoke to our class (this must have been Charles Moore, http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/moorekresge/kresge.html ). [Apparently this was more likely Bill Turnbull, see: http://www.well.com/~abs/Cyb/4.669211660910299067185320382047/c3m_0311.txt for some very interesting commentary on Kresge from the years just before I got there. I just found this link a few days ago.] He said that the original inspiration for Kresge was a small Mediterranean village. The exterior walls were to be covered with wood shingles and the street down the middle was to be cobblestone. there were fountains distributed throughout the college, connected by a small stream that flowed from one end of the school to the other.

But during the construction of the college the Kresge foundation said that it was costing too much money so the shingles and cobblestones were replaced with stucco and asphalt. I don't know if the project was over budget or what but we students always assumed that they were just cheap. This fit into our idea of the Kresge foundation since Kresge is the "K" in Kmart, home of the blue light special.

The fountains were turned off during the water shortage of the early 70s. One or two of them at the bottom of the college have been turned back on from time to time but the one at the top of the college has been removed. It was in the center of the courtyard between the Town Hall and the cafe with wooden benches around it and a wooden cover that could be put over it when it was not in use. It was replaced with a very nice bronze plaque made by Kresge alum and Santa Cruz bronze artist Sean Monaghan (sp?).

The architect said that he had gotten quite a bit of flak for the design of the "suites", one of the three types of apartments at Kresge. the suites originally had 8 bedrooms surrounding a large central bathroom with two toilet stalls, a large shower enclosure with two shower heads and a larger main part of the room with sinks and mirrors.

Since the only other rooms were bedrooms (mostly singles of fairly modest size), the bathrooms ended up being the place the students would congregate. Moore attributed the fact that the bathroom was so huge and central to the fact that he had grown up during the anal retentive 1950s which had somehow subconciously influenced his design.

Two of the single rooms in each of the suites have since been converted to a kitchen and a living room but the bathrooms still end up being natural gathering spots. When I was a student there, one of the key pieces of furniture in the apartments was large foam chairs, basically a 6' cube of foam with a notch cut out of it and tucked in and a cloth cover over it. These were some of the most comfortable chairs I have ever sat in and each one held two people comfortably if they liked cuddling up. In at least on of the suites the students moved these chairs into the bathroom which became a very comfortable place to hang out. The one suite I remember which was set up this was had white sheets coveering the walls with a "light organ" with colored lights which would change in time to the music on their stereo.

The other main piece of furniture were "palasets" (sp?). These were 70's Danish modern plastic cubes about 16" on a side. Some were cupboards with doors, some open shelves. They could be stacked and connected in any combination to make bed frames, desks, etc. I think I made a bed loft of mine and put my desk below it. Oh yes, there were also wooden desks and chairs, some of which I have seen for sale from UC surplus recently for $5 apiece. They were quite nice, well built oak desks that seemed to stand up to anything.

The other two types of apartments were "flats" with two twin rooms , a large living room and a kitchen nook and the "Sextets", multi-level apartments without any walls except for the bathroom. I believe they were called sextets because they held six students but given the culture of Kresge at that time I always imagined it had to do with sexual experimentation. One of my first year roommates said he got an invitation to an orgy in the sextets in his mailbox. He looked in on it and said that it wasn't really very interesting.

The first year that I was at Kresge I lived in R-6, in the top left suite. Later on I was in a suite in R-8 which was called "The Zoo" because the lower level was a long row of rooms with sliding glass doors right on the street so people would always look in as they walked by. . At that time all of the buildings had names. R-9 or 10 was called "bittersuite". R-3 was "the corner of the college" It was specifically designated as an internationally oriented building and a social hub. The sextets were just the sextets. I wish I could remember what the rest of them were. If anyone does, please post.

[Along with the above mentioned link to the article on The Well by Scrivener, I also have just found a number of articles in the Special Collections section of the McHenry library about the early years at Kresge. Apparently I got there in 1977 just as the original experiment of Kresge was in its last throws of dying (or being killed depending on who you ask) several of the main reasons that I went to UCSC had vanished a few years before or were just ending unbeknownst to me. I had often wondered why Kresge and UCSC were so different from the way I thought they would be and am only finding out the more interesting reasons for this right now. ]

Santa Cruz Conference Center

Last year Santa Cruz decided not to build a conference center out by the wharf amidst rather heated debate about the trade-offs we would make in order to have this presumed money maker. Over the years the residents of Santa Cruz have rejected other money makers because of the ways they would affect the environment and the quality of life here. We have avoided having heavy industry or large developments on the coast.

But there are always trade-offs for everything. If we choose not to have industry here we must either choose to find the money for the public amenities we want elsewhere or do without. In the past I think we have avoided these choices because the cost of living in Santa Cruz was relatively cheap, the California economy was booming and the people who chose to live in Santa Cruz were by and large willing to do withouth certain public services in return for the protection of open space.

Over the past 20 years the population of Santa Cruz has been changing. Many of the people who went to college here chose to stay and have now grown up and are raising families of their own. I believe there are also more people who originally lived over the hill who figure that since the were commuting an hour to work anyway, they might as well raise their families in a beautiful place on the coast. The people who could afford to move here were relatively wealthy and this combined with the number of people already in town who want to buy homes, the landlocked nature of SC and the restrictive nature of our building laws has sent the cost of housing through the roof.

Both of those populations are raising families and so their perceptions of what public services are important is changing. They want to make sure we have the best schools, parks, etc.

In other places like Lafayette and Orinda, the residents have chosen to keep industry out and pay very high local taxes to pay for the services they want. Less wealthy communities make the trade-off and court one industry or another. If the residents of Santa Cruz county choose towards higher local taxes and fees I believe we will even further reduce the diversity of this areaby forcing out even more of the artists and other people of modest income.

But if we do decide to fund the services we want/need by inviting in particular industries, what industries will have the least impact on our environment and our way of life? What blend of industries will be best for the Santa Cruz we want to create for tomorrow?