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Today's journey to the neglected Fox Theater yielded a few interesting images. The goal was to show how dilapidated the building is, but the magic of photography makes this old theater look much better than it looks "in person". The restoration will involve a LOT of hard work.
OK, I think I've outdone myself. I booked a private tour of Oakland's magnificent Paramount Theater today. The two panoramas I shot have my head spinning down here. I think I'm getting better at this. :)
I like them both so much! I wonder if they could/should be hung as a set somewhere. Even if one of them winds up on the fourth floor, I'd love to see the other displayed somewhere...
Clicking on these image thumbnails will open a large, 4,000 pixel-wide image. Bear in mind that even the 4,000 pixel wide images have been shrunk dramatically from their original 12,000+ pixels in width. Plus, to save time, these pano's were stitched together using JPEG's, not RAW files. If the consensus is that we should use these images somewhere, then I'll take the time to recreate them from the camera RAW files and make them look even better than what you see here.
Ooh - I can't resist posting one more just for fun.
OK, we're off to a bad start with the water heater replacement. After speaking with the nice folks at Home Depot and at the Fast Water Heater Company, it seemed we were all set to go with a replacement this afternoon. I provided all of the necessary measurements as well as my credit card number so that they could charge me $807 for a new water heater and the required permit.
The service man arrived at 1:00 PM and immediately informed me that he could not install my new water heater because doing so would cause a code violation. It seems that the 10" of clearance above my water heater is not sufficient. Codes rewritten since the building was converted to lofts now require 12 inches of clearance above the water heater. Somehow, 10" of clearance was sufficient during my phone call with the plumbing company earlier in the day, but now I was 2 inches short. ARGH!
The installer told me that there is no shorter GAS water heater. There are smaller electric models, but they're less efficient, and the association's architectural committee would not approve conversion to electric water heater.
I called Wayne at Just Water Heaters because my installer told me that they carry the Bradford and White water heater I currently have installed. Wayne confirmed for me the 12" of clearance rule and also that there are no shorter gas water heaters. He recommends I contact Penny at the Oakland Permit Office during business hours at 510-238-3759 or 510-238-6309. Hopefully, I can get an inspector to come out and grant an exception. This seems likely, since there is a fire sprinkler head in the closet where my water heater lives, but I won't know until I spend the $150 to find out.
So, be warned - if you have a short storage space under your loft like we do, there will be complications when you consider replacing your water heater.
Home Owners may download a PDF here.
NEIGHBORS
MATT CIASCHINI has just moved into #405. He's in the wine business. Matt is the Vice President of Winery Operations for Silverado Wine Growers.
WENDY TINSLEY, formerly of #405, has moved to San Diego.
Sepia Sound has vacated the premises and Unit #206 will be going up for sale by the owner.
ERIC CHENG/301 is in the Big Apple, taking a sabbatical from his underwater photography. He is writing software, doing computer photography work, and visiting friends. Eric plans a side trip to DC to view his contest-winning photograph on display in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Eric's turtle photo won the "Animal Antics" category of the Nature's Best Magazine nature photography contest, the most prestigious nature photograph contest. His hammerhead shark photo placed in the "Oceans" category. These and other winning images will be on display through March 2006.
For those who can't travel to DC, the weblink is:
http://echeng.com/journal/images/misc/ericcheng-naturesbestwinner.jpg
The winning entries are in the November issue of Nature's Best magazine, or online
http://www.naturesbestmagazine.com/index.php?nav=awards&subnav=winners
CHECK OUT THIRD FLOOR MURAL!
Another stunning photographic mural has been hung, this time on the Third Floor. Thanks go to PATTI BEADLES for the photograph of the Bay Bridge at night, and to JIM PIRE for conceiving and carrying out the plan.
Patti took three four-second photographs with a Canon Digital camera Monday night 23 January from Middle Harbor park, near the far parking lot down by the cranes. She put them all together in a single photo. Jim took that large image, printed and mounted it.
Jim then spackled the wall before painting the display niche, changed out and focused the lighting appropriately, and with help, hung the mural.
Thanks to both!!!
TRASH BASH VII
Our traditional neighborhood cleanup is next weekend, to coincide with Earth Day activities. You can do your part to help clean up the neighborhood, meet some of your neighbors, and have fun. Just bring yourself, wearing casual clothing and work gloves if you have them. The City of Oakland provides the tools and cleanup bags. We all meet at The Egg Building at the corner of Third and Harrison at 9:30am for coffee, doughnuts and assignments. The work goes on until noonish, and is followed by a Free BBQ. This year we also have a raffle with goodies to be given away, including an Apple iPod.
Please RSVP for the BBQ by email to trashbash@jlda.org.
JACK LONDON DISTRICT ORGANIZATION
For the newbies or others who may not have yet heard, the neighborhood has its own association, the Jack London District Organization, with its own structure and website - jacklondondistrict.org. Wendy Tinsley of Fourth Street Lofts had been President. Recently elections were held and new officers are in place.
MONTHLY NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPER MEETINGS
The attendance at the meeting is dwindling as the projects near completion, or at least enclosure. The meetings are held monthly with interested neighbors and representatives from the ongoing developments.
Both Pulte across the street from Cuckoo's Nest and Signature on Alice are now enclosed. Signature hopes to have its crane moved by the end of the month, and Pulte moved its crane this week, and hopes to have tenants start moving in mid-July.
Complete details are on the JLDA website.
DISRUPTIONS NOT OVER
Just when we thought the neighborhood was getting quieter, cleaner and less disruptive, comes the news that the Amtrak Station parking lot, now known as Site G, is the next site to undergo construction. Expect this one to be noisier due to loud pile driving. The pile driving noise with Signature and Pulte was nothing compared to what we are told to expect starting mid summer.
FARMERS' MARKET
There was no Jack London Square Farmer's Market this Sunday. For the next two weeks the market will be moved closer to Barnes & Noble, due to two back to back boat shows.
THIRD STREET RETAIL TENANTS?
There doesn't seem to be any hurry for the tenants of the retail space on Third Street between Alice and Jackson. There was supposed to be an Art Boutique and a Watch Store, but neither have shown much movement lately. (pun intended)
Happy Easter!
Happy Day before Tax Day!
Lynne Huntting
Loft #103
Members may download the April 2006 draft agenda here.
The third floor is finally done. Sorry it took so long. I hope you'll agree that the results were worth the wait. I now like the third floor more than the second floor!
Thanks to Patti Beadles for the excellent image and to those who stopped by to offer encouragement while I painted.
In a year or two when these prints are beginning to fade, I do hope we'll give more artists in the building the chance to display their work. For example, I think an installation of three or four of neighbor Eric Cheng's world-class underwater images printed large would look absolutely fantastic!
Sunday, April 23, 2006 is TRASH BASH VII. Trash bash is what we call the neighborhood clean-up efforts that we do annually around Earth Day. This is our 7th organized effort and my fourth year to organize the event.
If you missed out, ask Jay how much fun it is to meet new friends and do your good deed by helping to clean up the trash. As disgusting as it can be, it still manages to be fun. There's also the added bonus of a free afternoon barbeque, whether you clean up or not.
Did I mention the free food? Free beer? Free ice cream?
This year we're doing something even better! We're raffling off some prizes for all those that help clean. So while everyone can come to the (free) bbq, only those that clean are eligible for the raffle. An iPod Mini, some great wines, and some gift certificates from local merchants are among the prizes.
DETAILS:
SUNDAY April 23, 2006
Cleaning starts at 9am at 229 Harrison (at 3rd St) and goes until around noon. FREE Barbeque starts at 1pm at the same location.
We need RSVP's so that we can make sure that we have enough tools, food, and beverages. Also let us know if you are vegetarian. RSVP by email (preferred) trashbash@jlda.org or by calling Joanna at Jack London Mail (510) 893-4100 - leave a message if I'm not there.
You can see a few photos from last year's event online at http://www.jlda.org/trashbashvi/. There are also photos from 2004 (http://www.jlda.org/trashbashv) and from 2003 (http://www.jlda.org/trashbash).
Hope to see a great turnout - hopefully the sun will be back out in full force!
Thanks!
Joanna
JLDA Event Organizer
