Page One

New: Berkeley’s Aquatic Park (Photo Essay)

By Louis Cuneo and Marcia Poole
Wednesday March 07, 2012 - 11:18:00 AM
Covered Pier in fog at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Covered Pier in fog at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Boathouse at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Boathouse at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Aquatic Park's lagoon and boathouse with view of Berkeley
Aquatic Park's lagoon and boathouse with view of Berkeley
Swooning tree at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Swooning tree at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
View of Albany Hill from Berkeley's Aquatic Park
View of Albany Hill from Berkeley's Aquatic Park
View of the lagoon at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
View of the lagoon at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Nature's pathway at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Nature's pathway at Berkeley's Aquatic Park
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #1
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #1
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #2
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #2
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #3
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #3
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #4
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #4
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #5
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #5
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #6
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #6
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #7
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #7
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #8
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #8
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #9
The birds of Berkeley's Aquatic Park #9
Children Enjoying Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Children Enjoying Berkeley's Aquatic Park
Sunset at Berkeley's Aquatic Park #1
Sunset at Berkeley's Aquatic Park #1
Sunset at Berkeley's Aquatic Park #2
Sunset at Berkeley's Aquatic Park #2

Editor's Note: Current proposals for developing the area around Aquatic Park in the draft revision of the West Berkeley Plan threaten views and wildlife. This photo essay by two Berkeley artists highlights what's at risk.

Berkeley’s Aquatic Park , an unmanicured, still environment filled with wildlife and accessible to all, sits directly to the east side of busy Interstate 80 and yet gives the feeling of being a wildlife sanctuary. The park, built in 1935 as part of a WPA project, serves today as a wetlands preserve as well as a lovely place for individuals and families to refresh themselves on nature’s beauty.

A convergence of species takes place here. The park is home to many resident and migrating birds, a shelter for animals and a preserve for fish (no fishing permitted). Birds, the last of the few truly free species on earth, take shelter to feed and rest here.

Louis Cuneo and Marcia Poole created these digital prints. Cuneo took the photographs and Poole edited them in such a way that one takes a second, deeper look at the images. She printed them on archival watercolor rag paper with archival inks. Their collaborative work captures a series of moments — the intersections of time and space — in the Japanese tradition of Haiga, the visual form of Haiku.