by Ken Katz Mother’s Day without flowers would be like Christmas without trees or Hanukkah without latkes. That being the case, rejoice over the fact that Grand Lake residents have easy access to three flower shops on the same block — each with its own unique charms: Lee’s Discount Florist, Brother and Sister Flower Shop […]
Ken Katz
Grand Avenue Merchant News – April 2022
by Ken Katz The three-story commercial building at 3645 Grand, which was constructed in 1964, was sold in 2018. Shortly thereafter, the new owners emptied the building with the expectation that it would be turned into condos. After two years of heavy construction that included new HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and a lot of other high-end […]
One Less Bridge to Cross: Part Two
by Ken Katz Last month’s article about tentative Caltrans plans for upgrades to 580 between Webster Street and Fruitvale came (in 2019) with an estimated budget of 20.9 million dollars. Part of that cost can be attributed to the demolition of the existing pedestrian overcrossing between Santa Clara Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard, but the lion’s […]
Grand Avenue Merchant News – March 2022
by Ken Katz Radbird Fashion and Consignment, which just celebrated the 5th Anniversary of their location in Berkeley next to the Claremont Hotel, quietly opened its second location at 3223 Grand a couple of weeks ago. The owner, Lori Tiedemann, chose Grand Avenue for a number of reasons. One being that the new shop is […]
One Less Bridge to Cross?
by Ken Katz Chances are you know more about the fictional “Bridge on the River Kwai” than you do about the pedestrian overcrossing that spans 580 from MacArthur at Van Buren to Santa Clara at the westbound 580 on-ramp. That will likely change now that Caltrans has announced plans to tear it down as part […]
Grand Avenue Merchant News – February 2022
by Ken Katz If you’re already missing the Grand Avenue Knimble, you can ease withdrawal symptoms by popping into the Urban Furniture shop across the street to visit the mannequins that director Tracey Weaver adopted. More importantly, if you’re worried about empty storefronts on Grand, you can take comfort in knowing that several vacancies are […]
Splash Pad Park Updates – February 2022
by Ken Katz C. J. Hirschfield’s December 2020 homage to the early years of the Festival at the Lake is a gift that keeps on giving. For starters, thanks in part to our sharing a link on the Oakland History Facebook page, it’s the best-read and most heavily commented on article we’ve ever published. More […]
Grand Avenue Merchant News – January 2022
by Ken Katz The best Grand Avenue news this month came in the form an article in The Oaklandside by C. J. Hirschfield announcing that the annual City Noir Film Festival was moving from San Francisco to the Grand Lake Theatre. Produced, programmed, and hosted by “Noir Czar” Eddie Muller, this year’s festival, titled “They […]
Grand Avenue Merchant News – December 2021
by Ken Katz We don’t typically spend a lot of time in beauty supply stores or barber shops, but a Friday afternoon visit to Grand Avenue turned out to be a treasure trove of information and photo opportunities. Mimi Moon, the owner of J & J Beauty Supplies, says she’s been in business at 3242 […]
What Happened to Norman Needn’t Be Normal: Part Two
by Ken Katz While writing last month’s article about Norman Allen and the other mentally ill homeless individuals who continue to frequent the Grand Lake neighborhood, I couldn’t help but think back to 1968 when I moved to Oakland to work as the Resident Counselor in Oakland’s first psychiatric halfway house. It was opened as […]