Tuesday, March 1, 2016

At the Albany Bulb

The Bulb, largely owned by the city of Albany, is the west end of a former landfill peninsula jutting west from the east shore of San Francisco Bay.  The dumping ended in 1983 and the bulb quickly vegetated and became a home for a variety of wildlife.  Starting in the early 1990s, a community of homeless individuals lived there undisturbed for over 20 years.  Their presence was generally tolerated so long as the number of residents remained low. The population living on the Bulb was approximately 50 or 60 by early 2013, and in May the Albany City Council voted to evict and offered 30 of the residents $3,000 each if they would leave in order to settle a lawsuit brought by the East Bay Community Law Center on their behalf. 28 of the 30 plaintiffs accepted the buy-out and voluntarily left by April 24, 2014.

Today, the Bulb is home to a vast array of urban art, often made with found materials, and is a great place to hike and walk the dog as well as being a site for wind and kite surfers.  Superb panoramic views of the Bay, SF and Marin County.

(Information adapted from Wikipedia)

Wooden dragon sculpture against SF skyline

Rock tower sculptures at the edge of the water

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