People's Park, Berkeley

People's Park in Berkeley, California, USA is a park off Telegraph Avenue, bounded by Haste and Bowditch Streets and Dwight Way, near the University of California, Berkeley. The park was created during the radical political activism of the late 1960s. Today it serves mainly as a daytime sanctuary for Berkeley's large homeless population who take advantage of meals offered by East Bay Food Not Bombs and a "Free Box" of donated items. Some students make regular use of the basketball courts, and a wider audience is attracted by occasional concerts held at the performance stage. Beyond the homeless, few Berkeley residents use the community garden or other facilities.^[1][2] Picture of Peoples Park in Berkeley, California taken by Minesweeper on December 14, 2003 and released under terms of the GNU FDL. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Picture of Peoples Park in Berkeley, California taken by Minesweeper on December 14, 2003 and released under terms of the GNU FDL. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Berkeley is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in northern California, in the United States. ... On a normal day, street vendors line Telegraph Avenue near the UC Berkeley campus. ... Sather tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ... The East Bay, in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, lies on the east shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay, and includes Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. ... Logo Food Not Bombs is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, serving free vegan and vegetarian food to others. ...

The mythology surrounding the park is an important part of local culture. The surrounding South Campus neighborhood was the scene of a major confrontation between student protestors and law enforcement during May, 1969. A mural near the park, painted by Berkeley artist and lawyer Osha Neuman, depicts the shooting of James Rector, a student who died from shotgun wounds inflicted by law enforcement on May 15, 1969. (See "Bloody Thursday" and Its Aftermath below). is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Peoples Park, Berkeley Peoples Park in Berkeley, California, USA is a park off Telegraph Avenue, bounded by Haste and Bowditch Streets and Dwight Way, near the University of California, Berkeley. ...

History

Origin of the park

In 1956 the Regents of the University of California earmarked this 2.8 acre plot of land for acquisition as part of the University's "Long Range Plan for Expansion." The University did not actually acquire the land until 1967, when it was finally able to raise the $1.3 million necessary to purchase it from the residents it displaced using its power of eminent domain. The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. ... Berkeley Davis Irvine Los Angeles Merced San Diego Santa Barbara Santa Cruz UC Office of the President in Oakland The University of California (UC) is a public university system in the state of California. ... Eminent domain (United States), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizens private property, expropriate property, or rights in property, without the owner...

Initially, the University had intended to build additional student housing, parking and office facilities on the land; however by the time the land was purchased the University Regents had decided to use it primarily for student parking and for a playing field. During late 1967, the University moved to prepare the land for that purpose. The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. ...

The University began to demolish the existing houses and other buildings on the property in November, 1967, a process that continued for over a year. By December, 1968, only a muddy, rubble-filled lot remained, which became dangerous with the advent of winter rains. For months lack of funds prevented the University from doing anything with the unsightly empty lot. Finally, a group of merchants from adjoining Telegraph Ave., along with University students and other Berkeley citizens, took the initiative to put the land to use as a neighborhood park, which they deemed more desirable than a parking lot or playing field. They conceived of the park as a place where people from all backgrounds could create a beautiful setting, share community food, listen to music, plant gardens and learn from one another.^[3]

Michael Delacour, whom some consider the "father of the park,"^[4] maintains that the primary motive was political. "We wanted a free speech area that wasn't really controlled like Sproul Plaza was. It was another place to organize, another place to have a rally. The park was secondary." ^[5] People's Park embodied the spirit of the earlier 1964 Free Speech Movement. A March 20, 2003 rally against the War in Iraq on the steps of Sproul Plaza, held by the Berkeley Stop the War Coalition. ... The Free Speech Movement was a student protest which began in 1964 - 1965 on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley under the informal leadership of student Mario Savio and others. ...

On April 18, 1969, The Berkeley Barb, an underground newspaper, published an article authored by Stew Albert, one of the original Yippies, urging Berkeleyans to bring materials to create "the People's Park." ^[6] That first Sunday, April 20, 1969, hundreds of people cleared ground and planted trees, grass, flowers and shrubs using equipment provided by local landscape architect Jon Read. Walter Cox, a former employee of Read's, arranged for Terry Garthwaite's and Toni Brown's band, "The Joy of Cooking," to provide musical entertainment. Others set up playground equipment and cooked meals, which were provided at no cost to everyone. It was a day of celebration, and over the next several weeks University students and other ordinary Berkeley citizens joined together to build the park.^[7] People's Park was born. is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... The Berkeley Barb was an underground newspaper which was published in Berkeley, California, in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Steward Edward Albert (December 4, 1939 – January 30, 2006) was a co-founder of the Yippies, an anti-Vietnam War political activist, and an important figure in the New Left movement of the 1960s. ... The Youth International Party (whose adherents were known as Yippies, a variant on Hippies) was a highly theatrical political party established in the United States in 1967. ... is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

The birth of People's Park coincided with the University's acquisition of the necessary funds to build playing fields on the land, which put the University in conflict with the thousands of Berkeley citizens who had contributed materials, money and labor to build the park. In a University referendum, the U.C. Berkeley students themselves voted 12,719 to 2,175 in favor of keeping the park.^[8] Regular meetings were held among concerned students, citizens, local merchants and the University. At the May 6, 1969 meeting, those assembled agreed to meet again in three weeks to brainstorm a solution to the problem. Chancellor Heyns promised that nothing would be done without warning and that he was committed to arriving at an amicable compromise. is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

"Bloody Thursday" and its aftermath

During its first three weeks, People's Park was enjoyed and appreciated by University students and local residents alike. Telegraph Ave. merchants were particularly appreciative of the community's efforts to improve the neighborhood.^{[9] [10]} Objections to the expropriation of University property tended to be mild, even among school administrators.

Governor Ronald Reagan had been publicly critical of University administrators for tolerating student demonstrations at the Berkeley campus, and he had received enormous popular support for his 1966 gubernatorial campaign promise to crack down on what was perceived as the generally lax attitude at California's public universities. Reagan called the Berkeley campus "a haven for communist sympathizers, protesters and sex deviants." ^[11] Many people were offended by Governor Reagan's assertions; other people were offended by the students' belief that decisions about University property should be shaped by the administration, faculty, and students who comprise the University instead of by the duly appointed Regents. “Reagan” redirects here. ... The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. ...

Reagan saw the creation of People's Park in ideological terms. He considered the creation of the park a direct leftist challenge to the property rights of the University, and he found in it an opportunity to make good on his campaign promise. Reagan decided to put an end to People's Park, and he proclaimed "If there has to be a bloodbath, then let's get it over with."^[12]

Governor Reagan overrode Chancellor Heyns' May 6, 1969 promise that nothing would be done without warning, and on Thursday, May 15, 1969 at 4:45 a.m., he sent 250 California Highway Patrol and Berkeley police officers into People's Park. The officers cleared an 8-block area around the park while a large section of what had been planted was destroyed and an 8-foot tall perimeter chain-link wire fence was installed to keep people out and to prevent the planting of more trees, grass, flowers and shrubs. is the 126th day of the year (127th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

Beginning at noon, approximately 3,000 people jammed into nearby Sproul Plaza at U.C. Berkeley for a rally, the original purpose of which was to discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict. Several people spoke, then Michael Lerner ceded the Free Speech platform to ASUC Student Body President Dan Siegel because students were concerned about the fencing-off and destruction of the park. Siegel said later that he never intended to precipitate a riot; however when he shouted "Let's take back the park!," police turned off the sound system. ^[13]. This angered the crowd, and they responded spontaneously, moving down Telegraph Avenue toward People's Park chanting "We want the park!"^[14] A March 20, 2003 rally against the War in Iraq on the steps of Sproul Plaza, held by the Berkeley Stop the War Coalition. ... Michael Lerner is the name of several notable people from the Americans: Michael Lerner, rabbi and left-wing political activist Michael Lerner, actor Michael Lerner, retailer with Lerner Stores This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Daniel Mark Siegel, known as Dan Siegel, was a student activist at UC Berkeley in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

Arriving in the early afternoon, protestors were met by the remaining 159 Berkeley and University police officers assigned to guard the fenced-off park site. Protestors opened a fire hydrant, the officers fired tear gas canisters, some protestors attempted to tear down the fence, and bottles and rocks were thrown. A major confrontation ensued between law enforcement and the unruly crowd. Initial attempts to disperse the protestors were not successful, so more officers were called in from surrounding cities. A riot control agent is a type of lachrymatory agent (or lacrimatory agent). ...

Reagan's Chief of Staff, Edwin Meese III, was a former district attorney from Alameda County, where he had established a reputation for firmness in dealing with those protesting the Vietnam War at the Oakland Induction Center and elsewhere. Meese was put in charge of governmental response to the People's Park protest, and he called in the Alameda County Sheriff's deputies, which brought the total police presence to 791 officers from various jurisdictions.^[11] Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) served as the seventy-fifth Attorney General of the United States (1985 - 1988). ... Alameda County is a suburban county in Californias San Francisco Bay Area. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

In keeping with Governor Reagan's "bloodbath" statement, the police were given carte blanche to use whatever methods they chose against crowds that swelled to approximately 6,000 people. Officers in full riot gear (helmets, shields and gas masks) obscured their badges to avoid being identified and headed into the crowds with nightsticks swinging.

The most aggressive were the Alameda County Sheriff's deputies—later dubbed "The Blue Meanies"—who resorted to using shotguns loaded with "00" buckshot. "00" buckshot consists of lead pellets that are much larger, and thus more lethal, than the birdshot that is occasionally used for crowd control. The Alameda County Sheriff's deputies used shotguns to fire "00" buckshot at people sitting on the roof at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, fatally wounding student James Rector and permanently blinding carpenter Alan Blanchard. Neither man was a protestor.^[8] Blue Meanies may mean: Blue Meanies, fictional music-hating creatures who invade Pepperland in the movie Yellow Submarine Blue Meanies, fictional cat-like creatures in Katherine Applegates book series, Remnants. ... A shotgun shell is a self-contained cartridge loaded with shot or a slug designed to be fired from a shotgun. ... A shotgun shell is a self-contained cartridge loaded with shot or a slug designed to be fired from a shotgun. ... French mobile gendarmes doing riot control. ... Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. ... Peoples Park, Berkeley Peoples Park in Berkeley, California, USA is a park at Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street that was created as part of the citys radical activism in the Sixties. ...

As the protestors retreated, the Alameda County Sheriff's deputies chased them several blocks down Telegraph Avenue as far as Willard Junior High School at Derby Street, firing "00" buckshot into their backs as they fled. Many people, including innnocent bystanders, suffered permanent injuries, some with as many as a hundred lead pellet wounds in their scalps, necks, backs, buttocks and thighs. One man, John Willard, lived for years in intractable pain with lead pellets lodged near his spine.^{[citation needed]} John Willard is the name of: John Willard (died 16 August 1692), executed as a witch. ...

At least 128 Berkeley citizens were admitted to local hospitals for head trauma, shotgun wounds, and other serious injuries inflicted by law enforcement. The actual number of seriously wounded was likely much higher, since law enforcement arrested many of those who sought treatment. ^[15] Many more protestors and bystanders were treated for minor injuries. Local hospital logs show that 19 police officers or Alameda County Sheriff's deputies were treated for minor injuries; none were hospitalized.^[16]

The authorities initially claimed that only birdshot had been used as shotgun ammunition. When physicians provided "00" pellets removed from the wounded as evidence that buckshot had been used ^[17], Sheriff Frank Madigan of Alameda County justified the use of shotguns loaded with lethal buckshot by stating "... the choice was essentially this: to use shotguns—because we didn't have the available manpower—or retreat and abandon the City of Berkeley to the mob."^{[citation needed]} Sheriff Madigan did admit, however, that some of his deputies (many of whom were Vietnam War veterans) had been overly aggressive in their pursuit of the protestors, "as though they were Viet Cong."^{[18] [19]} Frank Madigan was sheriff of Alameda County, CA in 1963-1975. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ...

Governor Reagan declared a state of emergency in Berkeley and sent in 2,700 National Guard troops—ironically some Guardsmen were student protestors called to active duty.^[11] The Berkeley City Council voted 8-1 against the decision to occupy their city,^[20][21] however this vote was ignored. For two weeks the streets of Berkeley were barricaded with rolls of barbed wire, and freedom of assembly was denied as National Guard helicopters sprayed tear gas on anyone who gathered in more than small groups. The United States National Guard is a reserve forces component of the United States Army (the Army National Guard) and the United States Air Force (the Air National Guard). ... A riot control agent is a type of lachrymatory agent (or lacrimatory agent). ...

On Wednesday, May 21, 1969, a midday memorial was held for student James Rector at Sproul Plaza on the University campus. Rector had suffered massive internal injuries from his shotgun wounds, finally dying at Herrick Hospital on May 19. In his honor, several thousand people peacefully assembled to listen to speakers remembering his life. Without warning, National Guard troops surrounded Sproul Plaza, donned their gas masks, and pointed their bayonets inward, while helicopters dropped CS gas directly on the trapped crowd. No escape was possible, and the gas caused acute respiratory distress, disorientation, temporary blindness and vomiting. Many people, including children and the elderly, were injured during the ensuing panic. The gas was so intense that breezes carried it into Cowell Memorial Hospital, endangering patients, interrupting operations and incapacitating nurses. Students at nearby Jefferson and Franklin elementary schools were also affected.^[8][22] May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is a hospital group located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... CS or 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called o-Chlorobenzylidene Malononitrile)(chemical formula: C10H5ClN2) is a substance that is used as a riot control agent and is claimed to be non-lethal. ...

During the occupation, National Guard troops were stationed in front of Berkeley's empty lots to prevent protestors from planting flowers, shrubs or trees. Young hippie women taunted and teased the troops, on one occasion handing out marijuana-laced brownies and lemonade spiked with LSD.^[8] A few stripped to the waist and danced for the young recruits, who tried to hide their smiles from superiors. Citizens who dared ask questions of National Guard commanders, or engage them in debate, were threatened with violence. Singer at a modern Hippie movement in Russia Hippie (sometimes spelled hippy) refers to a member of a subgroup of the counterculture that began in the United States during the early 1960s, becoming an established social group by 1965, and expanding to other countries before declining in the mid-1970s. ... A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ...

A curfew was established, and protestors jumped fences after dark to plant flowers in the guarded lots. Guardsmen destroyed the flowers each morning. Protestors, their faces hidden with scarves, goaded and harassed police and National Guard troops. Hundreds were arrested, and Berkeley citizens who found it necessary to venture out during curfew hours risked police harassment or beatings.

The battle lines were drawn, Flower Children versus The Establishment; the conflict mirrored widespread 1960s societal tensions that tended to flow along generational lines regarding the war in Vietnam, race relations, sexual mores, women's rights, traditional modes of authority, experimentation with psychedelic drugs and opposing interpretations of The American Dream. ^[23] Flower child or Flower Children originated as a synonym for hippie, especially those who gathered in San Francisco and environs during the summer of 1967, which was called the Summer of Love. ... The Establishment is a pejorative slang term to refer to the traditional and usually conservative ruling class elite and the structures of society which they control. ... The American dream is the idea (often associated with the Protestant work ethic) held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. ...

On May 30, 1969, 30,000 Berkeley citizens (out of a population of 100,000) secured a Berkeley city permit and marched without incident past barricaded People's Park to protest Governor Reagan's occupation of their city, the death of James Rector, the blinding of Alan Blanchard and the many injuries inflicted by law enforcement. Young girls slid flowers down the muzzles of bayonetted National Guard rifles^[24], and a small airplane flew over the city trailing a banner that read, "Let A Thousand Parks Bloom." ^{[25] [26]} is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

The events at Berkeley during May, 1969 foreshadowed an even more violent confrontation in Ohio less than a year later. On May 4, 1970, the same societal tensions that precipitated "Bloody Thursday" erupted once again at Kent State University in an incident that came to be known as the Kent State shootings. There, National Guardsmen armed with high-powered rifles fired without warning into a crowd of students protesting the bombing of Cambodia, killing four students and seriously wounding nine. is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Filos iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Mary Ann Vecchio, a fourteen-year-old runaway, kneeling over the dead body of Jeffrey Miller after he was shot by the National Guard. ...

No police officers, Alameda County Sheriff's deputies or National Guardsmen, either at Berkeley or at Kent State, were disciplined for their actions. The violence at Berkeley and Kent State did, however, cause America to reexamine its conscience with respect to its treatment of disaffected American youth. The next few years brought an end to the Vietnam War and the flowering of a broad array of societal changes: minority rights, women's rights, citizen review boards for law enforcement, less lethal crowd control methods and an increased tolerance of public dissent and diversity in American life. The term minority rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class or religious minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups. ... The term women’s rights typically refers to freedoms inherently possessed by women and girls of all ages, which may be institutionalized or ignored and/or illegitimately suppressed by law or custom in a particular society. ...

People's Park Annex/Ohlone Park

Main article: Ohlone Park

Another lasting outcome of the confrontation over People's Park was the establishment of "People's Park Annex" on a strip of land called the "Hearst Corridor," located adjacent to Hearst Avenue just northwest of the University campus. People's Park Annex was eventually enlarged to become the City of Berkeley's Ohlone Park. At 9.8 acres, Ohlone Park is several times larger than People's Park itself. Ohlone Park is a public park in the city of Berkeley, California. ... Ohlone Park is a public park in the city of Berkeley, California. ...

In the immediate aftermath of the May, 1969 People's Park demonstrations, and consistent with their goal of "letting a thousand parks bloom," People's Park activists began gardening a two-block section of the Hearst Corridor, between McGee Ave. and Sacramento Ave. The Hearst Corridor was a strip of land located along the north side of Hearst Ave. that had been left largely untended after the houses had been torn down to facilitate completion of an underground subway line by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).

During the 1970s local residents, especially George Garvin, pursued gardening and user development of this land, which became known as "People's Park Annex." Later on, additional volunteers donated time and energy to the Annex, led by David Axelrod and Charlotte Pyle, urban gardeners who were among the original organizers of the People's Park Project/ Native Plant Forum. The Forum is a student and community group of gardeners and park volunteers sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC) and dedicated to the principles of user development and community control.

As neighborhood and community groups stepped up their support for the preservation and development of the Annex, BART abandoned its original plan to build apartment complexes on Hearst Corridor. The City of Berkeley negotiated with BART to secure permanent above-ground rights to the entire five block strip of land, between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Sacramento Ave. By the early 1980s, this land had become a city park comprising 9.8 acres, which residents decided to name "Ohlone Park" in honor of the Ohlone band of native Americans who once lived there.

Today the Berkeley Parks and Recreation Commission mediates neighborhood and community feedback with regard to issues of park design and the maintenance, operation, and development of Ohlone Park amenities. These amenities—which include pedestrian and bicycle paths, children's playgrounds, a dog park, basketball and volleyball courts, a softball/soccer field, restrooms, picnic areas and community gardens—continue to serve the people and pets of Berkeley.

Subsequent history

During subsequent years, the 2.8 acre plot of land known as "People's Park" has remained a focus of controversy between the University, and disparate elements of the Berkeley community.

Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates has stated that "over time, people have come to realize that the park has not become what they had hoped it would be...I love the idea of having some kind of memorial recognition there, but right now it is not a place that a lot of people are comfortable going to."^[1] This attitude towards People's Park has been steadily growing in recent years, as concerns over the cleanliness and safety of the Park have begun to trump the Park’s historical significance. Current UC Berkeley students experience People’s Park in a much different way than did UC Berkeley students from the 1960s and 1970s. ^[27] Now, during welcome orientations, freshmen students living in dormitories in the vicinity of People’s Park are warned to stay away for safety concerns, especially at night.^{[citation needed]} Tom Bates City of Berkeley Mayors Office (born February 9, 1938) is a California politician, currently serving as the Mayor of Berkeley, California. ...

Dan Siegel has said recently that the park "has now become this somewhat forlorn urban park… It's a place that no longer reflects the will for independence of the campus community. I think today if the university turned off its Wi-Fi, they’d get bigger demonstrations than they would for People's Park."^[14] Daniel Mark Siegel, known as Dan Siegel, was a student activist at UC Berkeley in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Official Wi-Fi logo Wi-Fi is a wireless technology brand owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance intended to improve the interoperability of wireless local area network products based on the IEEE 802. ...

On January 8, 2007, at his retirement ceremony celebrating 50-plus years in law enforcement, outgoing Alameda County Sheriff Charles Plummer remained unrepentent about his role as a Berkeley police officer during the People's Park riots: is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Charles C. Plummer has been the sheriff of Alameda County, California since 1987. ...

"I wish I would have hit some people harder during the riots," said Plummer, speaking of the riots in Berkeley in the late-1960s. "I regret that."^[28]

Timeline

Unofficial memorial: 25 years of People's Park. "Remove parking lot, put in a paradise" is an allusion to Joni Mitchell's song "Big Yellow Taxi".

• After the peaceful May 30, 1969 march in support of People's Park, the University decided to keep the 8' tall perimeter chain-link wire fence and maintain a 24-hour guard over the site.

• On June 20, 1969, the University of California Regents voted to turn the People's Park site into a soccer field and parking lot.

• In March, 1971, when it seemed as though construction of the parking lot and soccer field might proceed, another People's Park protest resulted in 44 arrests.

• In May, 1972, an outraged crowd tore down the 8' tall perimeter chain-link wire fence surrounding the People's Park site after President Nixon announced his intention to mine North Vietnam's main port.

• In September, 1972, the Berkeley City Council voted to lease the People's Park site from the University. The Berkeley community proceeded to rebuild People's Park through user-development, mainly with donated labor and materials. Various local groups contributed to managing the park during rebuilding.

• In 1979 the University attempted to convert the west end of the park, which was already a no-cost parking lot, into a fee lot for students and faculty only, excluding community members. Significantly, the west end of the park was (and remains) the location of the People's Stage, a permanent bandstand that had just been erected on the edge of the lawn within the no-cost parking lot.

• The People's Stage, completed in the spring of 1979, had been designed and constructed through user-development and voluntary community participation. This effort was coordinated by the People's Park Council, a democratic group of park advocates, and the People's Park Project/ Native Plant Forum. Park users and organizers believed that the University's main purpose in attempting to take over the west end of the park was the destruction of the People's Stage in order to suppress free speech and music, both in the park and in the South Campus neighborhood as a whole. It was also widely believed that the foray into the west end presaged the subversion and expropriation of the entire park for the purpose of University construction.

• A spontaneous protest in fall of 1979 led to an occupation of the west end of the park that continued twenty-four hours per day throughout December, 1979. Park volunteers proceeded to tear up the asphalt and heap it up as barricades next to the sidewalks along Dwight Way and Haste Street. This confrontation led to negotiations between the University on the one hand and the park users and activists on the other. The park users and activists were led by the People's Park Council, which included park organizers and occupiers, as well as other community members. The University eventually capitulated. Meanwhile, the occupiers, organizers and volunteer gardeners transformed the former parking lot into a newly cultivated organic community gardening area, which remains to this day.

• The People's Café, a house trailer configured and decorated as a café, was mysteriously installed in People's Park one night in 1988, with no one claiming responsibility. It appeared overnight, and volunteers from the Catholic Worker Movement and elsewhere began serving food from it the next day, distributing approximately 100 breakfasts per day. It lasted a few months, then the University ripped it out early one morning after an inspection by the Berkeley Health Department.

• The University built sand volleyball courts at the south end of the park in 1991, which set off demonstrations. After the university police began trying to clear the park of protesters and arrested some demonstrators, riots began. Opponents saw the building of volleyball courts as yet another attempt by the University to transform the park's open space into eventual housing, parking, or other possible University-managed projects.

• The volleyball courts were dismantled in 1997. There had been little use by community members, and the costs of maintaining them were extraordinarily cost-ineffective.

• In an April 2000 referendum, UC Berkeley students reaffirmed their preference for People Park remaining a park rather than having another use such as housing.

• In October 2005, some park supporters attempted to rebuild the freebox after it had been burned down for the second time in 2 years by persons unknown. When park supporters came to rebuild, they were videotaped by the University police and threatened with arrest. The supporters started rebuilding anyway, and no arrests were made, although the University police returned during the early hours of the morning and destroyed what had been built. Subsequent rebuilding attempts were also dismantled.

• A a group of interested community members are working towards improving the children’s play area . ^[29]

• People's Park is co-managed by the University and by various community groups.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 547 pixelsFull resolution (3432 × 2348 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 547 pixelsFull resolution (3432 × 2348 pixel, file size: 2. ... Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. ... Big Yellow Taxi is a song originally written and performed by Joni Mitchell. ... Coffeehouse in Damascus A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. ... The Catholic Worker Movement is a Catholic organisation founded by Servant of God Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933. ...

References

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Bibliography

• Berkeley Daily Gazette. "Sheriff Frank Madigan." 30 May 1969.
• California Governor's Office. The "People's Park" - A Report on the Confrontation at Berkeley, California. Submitted to Gov. Ronald Reagan. 1 July 1969.
• Gruen, Gruen and Associates. Southside Student Housing Project Preliminary Environmental Study. Report to UCB Chancellor. Feb. 1974.
• Hauser, Luke (2003) Direct Action: An Historical Novel. Scenes at People's Park - visit www.directaction.org.
• People's Park Handbills. Distributed May-April 1969. Located at the Bancroft Library - University of California, Berkeley.
• Pichirall, Joe. The Daily Californian. Cover Story on People's Park. 16 May 1969.
• "Reagan's Reaction to Riot: Call Park Here 'Excuse'" The Daily Californian. 16 May 1969.
• Statement on People's Park. University of California, Berkeley - Office of Public Information. 30 April 1969.
• Weiss, Norman. The Daily Californian. "People's Park: Then & Now." 17 March 1997.

External links

• People's Park homepage
• What Really Killed Rosebud? By Claire Burch
• Collection of articles in local media about free box
• Funky Nixons - House Band of People's Park