Ohlone Park
Ohlone Park is a public park in the city of Berkeley, California, United States, situated on a strip of land along the north side of Hearst Avenue between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Sacramento Street. Directly underground is the subway used by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Richmond–Millbrae + SFO Line and Berryessa/North San José–Richmond Line. It is part of the Ohlone Greenway.
The park is mostly grass with a scattering of trees and includes pedestrian and bicycle paths, a dog park, a basketball court, and a small ball field. The dog park was the first off-leash dog park in the US.[1][page needed]
The park was created ad hoc by Berkeley citizens in connection with the People's Park controversy of the late 1960s. The land was originally occupied by residences which were acquired, then razed by BART in the construction of its subway through Berkeley. After the trench for the subway was filled in, BART planned to construct apartment complexes on the strip. However, before their plans were complete, Berkeley citizens began planting sod and trees and dubbed the strip "People's Park Annex".
After much haggling and public discussion, BART agreed to turn the Hearst strip over to the City of Berkeley. The park was formally named "Ohlone Park" after the name of the local indigenous people.
References[edit]
- ^ Goodavage, Maria (2002). The Dog Lover's Companion to California. Avalon Travel Publishing. ISBN 1566914035.