Culture

MacArthur B Arthur, an art gallery and a home, launches its final show

Through the windows of 4030 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Kevin Clarke can be seen lounging in a chair, typing away at his laptop with his full-sized bed in full view. Clarke’s bed and lounge chairs sit near the front window of a 2,000 square foot warehouse space, where everything from the vintage stove in his kitchen to his niece’s scribbled drawing tacked on his work space wall are all part of the gallery experience. “I like that it’s a little…

The architecture of Oakland: The Tribune Tower

Many of the reporters at Oakland North are new to the Bay Area, and one of the first things we noticed while touring the city was its beautiful and sometimes unusual architecture. On the reporting team for this series, one of us is from Brazil and one is from Southern California. We decided it would be great to learn more about some of the structures that represent Oakland’s beautiful landscape. With a great deal of assistance from the representatives at…

Oakland Zoo receives surprise $1 million gift from anonymous donor

In December, staffers at the Oakland Zoo opened the mail to find an unexpected gift: a $1 million anonymous donation. The gift, which came from a donor or donors with the San Francisco Foundation’s Serendipity Fund, will go into the zoo’s general fund. Emma Lee Twitchell, who oversees fundraising at the zoo, says she was “absolutely surprised and delighted” with the unexpected donation. She said she was out touring the zoo with visitors when zoo president and CEO Dr. Joel…

Oakland company rolls out Rockbot, a social jukebox app for deejaying in-store music

A few years ago, developers Garrett Dodge and Ketu Patel were working on a mobile app called Fido Factor, which helps dog lovers find canine-friendly parks and stores. But then one night at a bar Patel realized there was a bigger problem that needed solving. “One of the things that Ketu had noticed was that when you’re using a jukebox, it’s kind of a pain in the ass to walk across the bar and go use that while your friends…

The architecture of Oakland: Howden and Sons building

Many of the reporters at Oakland North are new to the Bay Area, and one of the first things we noticed while touring the city was its beautiful and sometimes unusual architecture. On the reporting team for this series, one of us is from Brazil and one is from Southern California. We decided it would be great to learn more about some of the structures that represent Oakland’s beautiful landscape. With a great deal of assistance from the representatives at…

New Year’s Eve 2012 events in Oakland, plus what’s open during the New Year’s holiday

Out with the old and in with the new. The Oakland North staff has put together a list of special events happening around Oakland this New Year’s Eve 2012. As always, we have included the holiday schedules for the AC Transit and BART and in this issue of “What’s Open” we include the schedule for the Broadway Shuttle as well.  Happy New Year! POP New Year’s Eve Party Monday, December 31, 5 p.m. Oracle Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA…

At Linden Street, West Oakland Brewery brings back Californian brewing tradition

The Linden Street Brewery is small and unpretentious, but its owners are proud of their brewing tradition, which goes back to the early 1800’s, when settlers from Germany first made Oakland their home.
The West Coast tradition of brewing, or the California lager, is a steam-brewed ale that is made at a temperature closer to that of lagers. This method creates a “hoppy, more bitter taste”, says Andrew Ritter, lead brewer at Linden Street.