South Berkeley, Berkeley, California

Coordinates: 37°50′56″N 122°16′18″W / 37.84889°N 122.27167°W / 37.84889; -122.27167

South Berkeley is a neighborhood in the city of Berkeley, California. It extends roughly from Dwight Way to the city’s border with Oakland, between Telegraph Avenue in the east and either Sacramento Street or San Pablo Avenue in the west. It lies at an elevation of 102 feet (31 m).

Demographics

This neighborhood is the center for Berkeley's African-American community, with a population of 9,341 that is roughly 52% African American. Traditionally, it was considered to be the most economically depressed portion of Berkeley; however, as rent has risen in the city over the past several years, South Berkeley has become more attractive to students and other young people, and rents in the area have become comparable to other, more affluent Berkeley neighborhoods.^[1] South Berkeley is crisscrossed by bus lines and is arguably among the most bicycle-friendly areas of the San Francisco Bay Area.

History

Along Ashby Avenue, the Union Pacific once ran a trolley that took passengers to the shoreline, which at the time extended along what is now San Pablo Avenue. South Berkeley has been the East Bay mecca for sports, from competitive softball leagues to the Midnight & Twilight Basketball League at Grove Street Park.

Places

Services and businesses located in South Berkeley include the Ashby BART station, the Shotgun Players theatre, La Peña Cultural Center, and the Berkeley Tool Lending Library. The Berkeley Bowl supermarket, which has one of the most extensive selections of produce and specialty foods in the Bay Area, operates one of its two stores there. The Ashby BART station hosts a flea market each weekend in its parking lot. The area is also home to Wat Mongkolratanaram, a Thai Buddhist temple that serves a Sunday brunch.

Parks and recreation

The Tennis court area at "Grove Street Park" is now called William C. Charles Courts, named after the late "Mr. Charles" (also known as "the waving man"). He would stand in front of his house on the corner of Grove and Oregon Streets every morning from about 7 am to 10 am waving to passersby while saying "Keep smiling" and "Have a beautiful day". He did this every day for 25 years. South Berkeley residents respected and appreciated Mr. Charles, who died in 1998, and the Grove Street Park tennis courts were named in his honor.

Grove Street Park is home to a nationally ranked men's basketball team, the Berkeley All-Stars, coached by Bay Area basketball legend Eugene Evans. Grove Park and San Pablo Park have been the training grounds for many well-known athletes, including Don Barksdale, Claudell Washington, Phil Chenier, Shooty Babitt, Je'Rod Cherry and Jason Kidd.

Other Famous People

Wiliam Bryon Rumford (February 2, 1908 – June 12, 1986) was an American pharmacist and politician. He was the first African American elected to a state public office in Northern California. He became the first African American hired at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California, where he was assistant pharmacist. In 1942, while still working for the state, he purchased a pharmacy in Berkeley which he named Rumford's Pharmacy. In 1942, Berkeley Mayor Laurance L. Cross appointed Rumford to the Emergency Housing Committee, which sought to find housing for wartime laborers. In his capacity as committee member, he was able to push for more integrated housing.In his first year in the state assembly, Rumford succeeded in passing legislation barring discrimination in the state National Guard. One of Rumford's most important achievements was the passage of the 1959 Fair Employment Practices Act, which outlawed employment discrimination. In 1963, Rumford introduced assembly bill 1240, the Fair Housing Bill. It became known as the Rumford Fair Housing Bill, and its purpose was to outlaw discrimination in housing. The bill was at the top of Governor Brown's legislative agenda, and it had been endorsed by the NAACP and the California Democratic Party. Nonetheless, it faced strong opposition and was amended several times before being passed by a vote of 47 to 24. When it reached the state senate, members of the Congress of Racial Equality occupied the rotunda of the California State Capitol. Rumford asked them to leave, but they refused. The bill was held up for three months, and the committee didn't hold a hearing on it until the last day of the session. Despite the opposition of the California Real Estate Association, the Apartment House Owners Association, and the Chamber of Commerce, the bill passed the senate and was signed into law by Governor Brown.Rumford was honored at the 1972 World Symposium on Air Pollution Control, which recognized his contributions to the fight against air pollution.

In 1980, a segment of the Grove-Shafter Freeway was renamed the William Byron Rumford freeway in his honor. The postal station at the Oakland federal building is named for him, as is a senior housing community in Berkeley. His archives are housed at the African American Museum and Library, a research center operated by the Oakland Public Library.

References

↑ "trulia.com real estate statistics". Retrieved 2011-04-03.