Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda for June 19, 2023
Don’t worry. You did not miss a Lady Gaga appearance at Lower Washington Park (LWP). For all the poop on this Gaga reference, see below.
Before diving into what is known today as LWP and all its features, I want to let everyone know that today’s park area did not exist 70ish years ago. How did I unravel this mystery? It started with this email that Nancy S. send me about her memory of the area:
“Your recent article about Washington Park in the Alameda Post brought back memories (late 1940s, early 1950s) of swimming at the beautiful beach at Washington Park. There was a long stairway (near the bathroom facilities) to the beach. A group of neighborhood kids would walk to the beach with our tire tubes and spend most of the day swimming in the bay or looking for crabs near the sea wall by Portola Avenue (next to Eighth Street).”
Thanks for writing, Nancy. Your email brought out the sleuth in me, and I went back to LWP to look for clues as to where the beach line started. Based on your description, I found the long stairway near the bathrooms that lead to the Toby Chavez baseball field. In the ’50s, this would have been a better place to play water polo.
I crossed Eighth Street to Portola Avenue and found the sea wall you wrote about and the opening in the wall that you might have gone through to look for crabs. I went to the end of the wall and looked through the backyard of the house to see the lagoons.
There’s more proof of the historic water’s edge. My human companion also found a Shell Gas Station map on the computer. It shows that Eighth Street dead ends at Portola and that Portola runs along the water.
Finally, if you didn’t know, the lagoons were created to preserve a waterfront view for the houses that were right on the Bay shoreline before the bay got filled in. I think Sherlock Holmes would be proud.
Now to LWP. I already mentioned the Toby Chavez baseball field—it is really nice. There is a bullpen where the pitchers can brag about how good they are, a resident flock of Canada geese, and the field is fully lit for night games. There’s also a very short par course with two stops for exercising.
Tennis is really popular at this park, with six courts that can be reserved through the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department and a wall to practice against. I stopped at the bleachers for a few minutes to watch a game.
After a few minutes of watching the back and forth and listening to this person who was looking for love (at least she kept yelling it on the court), I got up to check out the practice wall. I have to admit that both my chase and fetch reflexes got really activated when I saw the tennis ball mural that was painted on one of the walls.
There are a number of picnic tables near the bathrooms and close to the LWP Dog Park. This is where I had to stop even though I couldn’t see the dogs, because I could smell and hear them with my super canine senses. I am still a little reactive, and it’s not a pretty sight.
I sent my human companion on assignment to get a pan shot of the dog park so everyone could see both the small dog and big dog sections.
In my other wanderings around LWP, I came across a Gaga Court. What’s Gaga you ask? I asked myself the same question. Turns out there is a sport called Gaga Ball, and of course there is a Youtube video explaining how to play the game. Check it out:
Finally, it looks like the major paving work on Encinal Avenue from Broadway to Sherman Street is going to start on Monday. There are “NO PARKING” signs along both sides of the street, and that restriction includes Saturdays. Plan to take an alternate route.
Mouf, Roving Reporter
Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda
Mouf and his human companion can be reached via [email protected]. Their stories are collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jeff-Cambra/. All photos by Jeff Cambra.
