San Francisco - Alison Bing [201]
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BERKELEY
With over 30,000 students and enough Nobel Prize winners to give the Swedish Academy its reason for being, the University of California is what makes Berkeley more than a picturesque bedroom community. Intellectual inquiry and political discourse are part of everyday conversation. For an idea of what Berkeley stands for (or doesn’t), get stuck in the town’s maddening traffic, tune in to KPFA 91.4FM (Berkeley’s ‘free-speech radio’) and scope out the parade of bumper stickers. Some are the usual rallying calls, like ‘If You’re Not Outraged, You’re Not Paying Attention,’ but you’ll occasionally spot counter-counterculture knee-slappers, like ‘If We’re Not Supposed to Eat Animals, Why Are They Made of Meat?’ You’re nothing in Berkeley without an opinion. Much of the student culture concentrates on a few grungy blocks of Telegraph Ave, immediately south of the university campus.
The number one reason to visit Berkeley is hedonistic: some plan their entire California trip around dinner at Chez Panisse in the ‘Gourmet Ghetto’ at the northern end of Shattuck Ave – the counterpoint to Telegraph Ave’s grunge.
Cesar Chavez Park and the Berkeley Marina sit side by side at the western end of University Ave, and provide panoramic water-level bay views. Unleashed dogs sniff the grass, while shorebirds squawk overhead, defending their airspace against kites.
Information
Berkeley Convention & Visitors Bureau ( 510-549-7040, 800-847-4823; www.visitberkeley.com; 2015 Center St; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri; Downtown Berkeley) This friendly bureau has free visitors’ packets and also sells the useful book 41 Walking Tours of Berkeley ($7.50).
Moe’s ( 510-849-2087; 2476 Telegraph Ave; Downtown Berkeley) Founded at the height of the beatnik era, this bookstore provides four packed floors of new and used books.
Visitor Services Center ( 510-642-5215; www.berkeley.edu/visitors; 101 University Hall, 2200 University Ave; 8:30am-4:30pm Mon-Fri; Downtown Berkeley) Pick up campus maps and information. Provides free 90-minute campus tours at 10am Monday to Saturday, and 1pm Sunday – from Monday to Friday meet at the Visitor Services Center, on Saturday and Sunday meet at the Campanile (see below).
Sights
The campus of the University of California, Berkeley – aka ‘Cal’ – is California’s oldest university. The college was founded in 1866, and the first students arrived in 1873. Today UCB has over 30,000 students and more than 1000 professors. From Telegraph Ave, enter the campus via Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate, ground zero for people-watching, soapbox oration and pseudo-tribal drumming. Alternatively, enter from Center and Oxford Sts, near the Downtown BART station.
The Campanile (elevator rides $2; 10am-4pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat, to 1:30pm & 3-5pm Sun; Downtown Berkeley), officially named Sather Tower, was modeled on St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The 328ft spire offers knockout views of the Bay Area, and at the top you can stare into the carillon of 61 bells, ranging from the size of a cereal bowl to that of a Volkswagen. Recitals take place daily at 7:50am, noon and 6pm, with a longer piece performed on Sunday at 2pm. The University of California, Berkeley Art Museum ( 510-642-0808; www.bampfa.berkeley.edu; 2626 Bancroft Way; adult/child, student & senior $8/5; 11am-5pm Wed-Sun; Downtown Berkeley) has 11 galleries showcasing a wide range of works, from ancient Chinese to cutting-edge contemporary. The complex also houses a bookstore, cafe and sculpture garden, and the much-loved avant-garde Pacific Film Archive (opposite).
The Bancroft Library ( 510-642-3781; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri; Downtown Berkeley) houses, among other gems, a copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio and the records of the Donner Party. Its small public exhibits of historical California include the surprisingly