A Day in the Life

Bancroft and Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley


Bancroft Avenue, running west from the Berkeley Hills to downtown Berkeley - serves as a permeable barrier between the physical campus of Cal-Berkeley and Berkeley itself.



The difference in the air on each side of the street is marked, because even though the Cal-Berkeley campus is contained within the limits of the city, it is most definitely NOT the city of Berkeley.

It is state and federal land, which means that there isnt anything on one side of the street that ISNT the school, and therefore no commercial activity (apart from a school store).

The rules of the city does not apply. They set each other apart in not-so-obvious ways that isnt clear to a first-time visitor. Berkeley and the University, especially with its large government labs in the hills coexist in a fractious but closely symbiotic state.

Subtly, based on the architecture and the foot traffic of mostly students - the air is slightly schizoid. From the grand architecture of the playing fields to the hills where unauthorized visitors are turned away from the government labs, it's quiet but feels slightly ... odd.

A subtle albeit palpable difference that is hard to quantify, but its there.

Telegraph Avenue, feeding into Bancroft..


















Then, Bancroft itself where the tone, almost abruptly, changes.






















And with the university, flyers abound.

Its the same sorta thing youd see all over Berkeley itself, but concentrated.






















































































Then back to Telegraph, back to Berkeley


























And then the sun came out as I turned onto a side street