Lafayette Square Park

We were very curious about where the borderline between the West and downtown might be. First we rode to Lafayette Square Park (10^th and Martin Luther King), which dates back to Oakland’s earliest days. Nicknamed “The Old Man’s Park”, Lafayette Square underwent a major revitalization in 1999 after suffering for years as a drug dealing hotspot. At the opening of the event, people were very excited by the park’s potential: ``We said `no' to sweeping the poor out,'' Eller-Issacs said to rounding applause. ``That's not the way to rebuild a park. You make it a place for all people. This is a new beginning for Oakland.'' Learn more about the park’s reopening by reading the 1999 article in SF Gate.

When we arrived on the scene, it was shortly before noon.We rode around the park, impressed by its attractive seating (tables with embedded chess boards surrounded by chairs), sweeping old oaks and inviting play area.We were very surprised at how abandoned and empty the park seemed to be: all of ten people were using the space; several men gathered at one of the benches eyed us with inquisitive grins and a few other homeless folks were camped out with their carts. With its proximity to City Hall and the Federal Building, we thought this would be a popular lunch spot.We were wrong. It seemed like Jefferson Street was profound boundary; people walked around east of the Federal Building but not west of it. We also considered that the park might have more people in the later afternoon after school is out.