24 photographs

[escapewindow]

I've got tons of pictures left over from my photo walk, with a rough theme of "downtown Oakland". This encompasses Old Oakland, a bit of Chinatown, and areas that still haven't been restored. They certainly don't have the semi-cohesive feel of the Preservation Park or Jack London Square photos, but I think, as a whole, they tell a bit of a story. Whether that story is Oakland's or merely of my eccentric photographic style I'm not entirely sure.

This is the abandoned theatre I was planning on buying once I got rich and famous.
Looks like the city is restoring it. Fair enough.


The ticket booth. For some reason this reminds me a great deal of the venue The Prodigy were playing at in London, the day that I missed both The Prodigy and Underworld for lack of a ticket to either show (and lack of money to buy a scalped ticket at four times the price).


Across the street from the Fox. Blue tile, murals, and security cameras.


The green I.Magnin building and the Paramount Theatre, the next block over.
I've purchased four tickets to Dead Can Dance at the Paramount in September. Exciting.


Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling.


Fire escape. This reminds me a bit of my paternal grandparents' old apartment in Nagoya, Japan with the tight knit apartment skyscrapers. Laundry drying on the roof. But on a closer look, not so much.


I love the textures in an abstract kind of way. It's also vaguely disgusting.


I like this little courtyard by the salt and pepper shakers, though it's tied to memories of my exgf.
Enough time's passed that it's just another memory.


Across the street, the walkway of toy stores, frozen yogurt, and whimsical art.
A non-24hr Kinko's and escalators down to 12th St. BART.


Dahlink, I simply adore your window treatments. And the colors! So vibrant.
Seriously, what were they thinking? The yellow building is surrounded by scaffolding; maybe they'll paint it when they're done fixing it up. I'm thinking a paisley of avocado green and fiery orange, the better to clash with the doughnut box in the foreground.


Worn down building across from the Winchell's box. I'd bet the Mexican food inside is good though.
And there's this lovely brick wall on the other side of the parking lot...


For the love of God, Montresor!


For the love of God!


A few blocks away is the restored Old Oakland.
No Parking, 3am-6am. Mon-Wed-Fri. Street cleaning.


Write your own silly silly caption? Um...
"The better to spit on your head, my dear."  "Troll crossing." Um...


"If she had kept on going down that way, she'd gone straight to that castle."


Geeks!
Across the street from the Pacific Coast Brewery. (off camera)


With a little money invested I think Oakland could become really beautiful, in a more traditional sense, that is. Some people don't properly appreciate green gunk and industrial/urban decay aesthetics.
I think Jerry Brown has us going in the right direction, at least.


Wanted: a little tender loving care. And money.
There are a ton of these, though generally not anywhere near as well-maintained as in Preservation Park.


Oakland Chinatown isn't so much about the architecture as it is the sidewalks full of produce and people, and the storefronts stacked full of antiques and curios and odd smelling dried herbal seafood pig uterus.


Oh, that's just great.


I wonder how many dogs have peed on this thing.


The folks in the restaurant were looking at me oddly when I took this photo.


Lake Merritt. Actually the first photo I took that day, but it didn't fit anywhere so I shunted it off to the end.

... I seriously can't believe you made it this far. Congratulations. I think.

Comments

[mopmonster.livejournal.com]

Aight. I took some a few evenings ago. Think I want to do some daytime shots as well.